Montague’s arms freeze rival Whitehall’s offense in WMC conference sweep

WHITEHALL – Montague traveled to Whitehall on a frigid Tuesday evening early in the season and slammed the doors on their own diamond. In game one, neither team was able to create much offense, while in game two, the Wildcats were able to put up a ten-spot on the scoreboard.

This was both teams’ first WMC-Lakes doubleheader of the season. Montague proved to have a deep team and will most certainly compete for the Lakes title. Dominance on the mound in both games proved to be the difference-maker with wins of 1-0 and 10-2.

Last season, Oakridge won the division outright after going 10-0 in conference, followed by Whitehall, and then Montague.

Game One

In game one, righty Eli Petersen got the nod on the mound from skipper Jeff Moss, and he sliced through the Vikings’ order for seven innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 13 while posting a shutout. Petersen held a no-hit bid until the bottom of the 6th, when Noah Morse dug out an infield single to the left side. Petersen now holds a 4.40 ERA and 23 strikeouts through his three starts on the season.

The Vikings, threw their ace Brock Morningstar in the opener, tossed seven innings himself and gave up four hits on one earned run while striking out eight. The lone run of the game came off the bat of Cole Moss, who struck a single into centerfield and would score Jack Degan from second. Morningstar ran into some trouble in the sixth after a one-out double from Bryton Belinger, followed by an error that put runners on first and second with just one out. A strikeout and a groundout from the next two batters kept Whitehall in the game heading into the bottom half of the sixth.

The Vikings were threatening with runners on first and second and nobody out, but Petersen was able to work around a jam and hold Whitehall scoreless. The Vikings would get one last chance in the seventh; however, they would go down in order, and Montague held off its rival, securing a game one win.

Game Two

The nightcap was no different for the Vikings’ offense and the Wildcats’ pitching staff, as Belinger would hold Whitehall to just two hits in the game and allowed zero earned runs.

For Whitehall, it was southpaw Evan Thomas who toed the rubber in game two. The junior went four innings, allowing five hits on one earned run and five strikeouts. The Vikings committed eight errors in the game, which resulted in five runs for Montague.

In the bottom of the fourth, the game was knotted at one apiece until Montague’s Cooper Bradley hit a two-RBI single to the right side, and the Wildcats would take a 3-1 lead. The 5th inning was a disaster for the host Whitehall, as they made three errors that would snowball into four runs. In the bottom of the 6th, Belinger scorched his second double of the day, which would score the ninth run for the Wildcats.

Kellan Francis, Fletcher Thommen, and Eli Pendell each recorded a hit in game two.

Looking Ahead

Montague advances to (2-4, 2-0) and will face Muskegon Catholic Central on Wednesday.

Whitehall falls to (1-3, 0-2) with a doubleheader against Mona Shores on Thursday.

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