Hornets shutout Milton, earn spot in Districts
By: Ed Weaver | NTL Sports | May 15, 2016
The Wellsboro Varsity Baseball team qualified for District IV playoffs with a 5-0 shutout over Milton on Saturday, May 14.
The win for Wellsboro completes a week-long sweep, and takes the Hornets from a game under .500 and on the bubble of post-season play to 10-7 and a post-season birth, their fifth under head coach Philip Prough.
The Hornets got things rolling in the second inning on runs by freshman Cam Tennis, sophomore Johnny Rowland, and senior James Mundy to take a 3-0 lead, which they would hold until the seventh inning. Wellsboro added two more runs in that inning from sophomore Dalton Prough and senior Dawson Prough to make it 5-0 Wellsboro.
Dawson Prough went 2-for-4 with a double at the plate to lead the Hornets. Dawson currently sits at 30 hits (14 doubles) for the season, and 120 for his career. Senior Nick Tremper hit 2-for-4 with 2 RBI's while Dalton Prough, Tennis, sophomore Parker Mann and Rowland each added hits.
Rowland pitched a complete game for his second win of the year in his fifth start. Rowland needed only 74 pitches to secure Wellsboro's 10th and District qualifying win. He scattered 2 hits on the day with a walk and strikeout.
"The story of the game is Johnny's pitching and our defense," Prough said. "He attacked the strike zone and was not afraid to pitch to contact. Our defense has been playing well. Having that confidence to rely on your teammates allows us to go after batters. Johnny did a great job of that today. I'm happy for him. It was his best career performance to date."
The win improves the Hornets to 10-7 on the year. The team will be back in action on Tuesday, May 17 at home against Northeast Bradford.
Ed Weaver is the owner of Circle W Sports in Wellsboro, PA, is the Sports Director for The Home Page Network and the creator of WellsboroAthletics.com and WellsboroFootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
