Muncy Baseball Wins First Round of State Playoffs

Muncy won its first state playoff game since 2006 last Monday at Connell Park in Scranton, 8-3, over five-time defending District 2 champion Old Forge. Muncy has never lost a first-round PIAA playoff game.
Muncy’s starting pitcher Doug Zehner, Skylar Ebner and Brendan Bonnell, who picked up the final out of the seventh inning, all worked out of a bases-loaded jam without giving up a run over the final four innings.
Ebner entered the game following starting pitcher Zehner (4 2/3 inning), he threw first-pitch strikes to just four of the 11 batters he faced, throwing just 29 of 52 pitches for strikes, the left-hander recorded three strikeouts in his two innings of work, including against leadoff hitter Mario Martinelli and Michael Long in the sixth inning. And those came after he loaded the bases by giving up a double, walking a batter, and when defensive miscommunication left first base uncovered on a bunt play. He worked back from a 3-1 count to Martinelli who came into the game hitting .429 to strike out the leadoff hitter for the first out. He then struck out Long, who was hitting .433 on three pitches. He then got three-hole hitter Connor Fultz to pop up to Ring midway between home and first to end the inning.
Ebner then got the first two outs of the seventh inning with a line drive to left field and his fourth and final strikeout before a single and a walk put two runners on.
Bonnell gave up a controversial infield single the ball appeared to hit the runner between first and second before striking out Tony Goodall, who had homered in the third inning, to end the game.
Trent Sellers hit a two-run single in the third inning that scored Bonnell and Dawson Fox to give Muncy a 3-0 lead. And after Old Forge had cut Muncy’s lead for 4-3 in the fifth inning, Bonnell hit a two-run triple when he tomahawked a curveball destined for his face into the left-field corner scoring Colburn and Ring.
Muncy got the leadoff runner on base in six of seven innings, and scored in five of those innings.
Muncy012 013 1 8 9 0
Old Forge001 020 0 3 11 2
Doug Zehner, Skylar Ebner (5), Brendan Bonnell (7) and Dawson Fox. Tony Goodall, David Chromey (6) and Gary Puckett.
W-Zehner. L-Goodall.
Top Muncy hitters: Tim Colburn, 2-4, run, RBI; Matt Ring, 1-3, run; Brendan Bonnell, 2-3, triple, 3 runs, 2 RBIs; Dawson Fox, 1-2, RBI, run; Trent Sellers, 2-3, triple, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Collin Ruby, 1-3, RBI. Top Old Forge hitters: Mario Martinelli, 3-4, run; David Argust, 2-3, RBI; Dominic Avviasto, 2-4; Gary Puckett, 1-2, double; Tony Goodall, 1-3, solo home run.