Blue Devils sting Juniata Valley
Travis Luensmann clears his mind on a walk around the mound in the sixth inning against Juniata Valley.
May 8, 2018
Bellwood-Antis defeated the Juniata Valley Hornets twice in a double-header Monday afternoon at home. The Blue Devils beat the Hornets (12-5, 10-4 ICC), 5-0 in game one, and 8-3 in the back end.
The victories upped the Devils’ record to 14-3 overall and 11-2 in the ICC.
The first game between the two teams was a very evenly matched affair, even though the scoreline might show otherwise. B-A struck early in the game, with Travis Luensmann and Troy Walker batting home five runs in the top of the second inning; however that would be the only runs scored in the game. Despite this lack of offense, the contest was an interesting one to watch, as Juniata Valley attempted to close the gap late in the game.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hornets came close to achieving that goal. With the bases loaded Juniata Valley nearly broke through, but Luensmann, the starting pitcher, was determined to keep their score at zero. After a discussion with B-A coach Steve Conlon, the sophomore struck out the next Hornet batter, before he was replaced by pitcher and fellow sophomore Mark Stewart. Stewart finished the job for the Blue Devils and struck out the next two hitters.
The second game provided a little more offense for both sides, although B-A still took the win. Troy Walker continued his hitting prowess by driving in three runs. Jack Showalter had two hits and an RBI, Luensmann scored twice and doubled, and Trentin Whaley and Nick Plank added an RBI apiece for the Blue Devils.
B-A jumped to a 4-0 lead after two innings, and put the game away by hanging four on the Hornets in the fourth to extend to an 8-2 lead.
