Muncy graduated a strong senior group after winning a second consecutive Mid-Penn championship last year. Two projected valuable pitchers cannot throw this season and multiple offensive starters have missed at least one game each.

And yet Muncy is 5-1, and riding a five-game winning streak. As in years past, the next man up keeps delivering and a resilient team continues finding ways to win. The Indians drove home that point last week, winning thrilling comeback games against St. John Neumann and Canton in their final at-bat. Muncy went 3-0 during the week, also downing Bucktail. It then beat Neumann in nine innings and rallied past Canton on Noah Confer’s walk-off two-run single, winning both games in the final at-bat.

“You’re in a one-run game all game, you tied it up, the dugout stays up the entire game and in the ninth inning they pass it to the next guy,” Muncy coach Shawn Finn said after the 10-4, comeback win at Neumann last Wednesday. “The guys battled. They could have folded and they didn’t and that was big.”

Many of these players have been on successful football, wrestling and basketball teams the last few years as well. Those teams also have overcome injuries and adversity. These are some tough players who don’t necessarily be in tense situations, but who also often thrive in them.

Muncy erased two one-run deficits against Neumann, tying the game with one out in the seventh inning before scoring six two-out runs in the ninth to seal it. The Canton game was an emotional roller coaster and what looked like a sure victory nearly became a shocking loss.

Muncy built a 10-1 lead entering the sixth but Canton (6-2) scored eight runs that inning and two more in the seventh to go up 11-10. Instead of caving and thinking about what was lost, Muncy focused on what could be done and rallied with Confer’s two-run, one-out single capping this wildly entertaining game.

“The whole team is working hard. The defense is looking good and we got the bats swinging,” sophomore pitcher/infielder Tanner Baker said following the Bucktail win. “The whole team is coming together as we get some games in.”

“We’re coming together and that feels awesome,” Delany said. “We can only go up from here.”

Muncy validated those words the next two games. The way it did so provides a major boost. Baker provided two stellar starts on the mound, Stiles Eyer and Kadyn Berry shined there against Neumann and Delany struck out two in 1 1/3 relief innings to earn the win against Canton.

Muncy is hitting well throughout the lineup with Delany going 8 for 11 over his last four games and Baker driving in seven runs last week. Berry reached base four times against Canton, Landyn Wommer is surging in his first year of high school baseball and every starter reached base last Saturday.

It was a successful week, but Muncy quickly must turn the page. The Indians face a Major League like schedule this week, playing the next three days, starting today against Lewisburg, and again Friday.

The challenges keep piling up but Muncy hopes to keep knocking them down. The Indians started 0-2 last year before repeating as league champions and reaching the District 4 Class AA semifinals. They have been here before and continue embracing scenarios which might make other teams buckle.

“It was more of the same last year,” Delany said. “We were slow coming into the season but around game No. 3 or 4, we started picking up steam and it was smoothing sailing from there. It feels like more of the same this year could be happening.”

SILVER LININGS: Although Neumann was not happy about the result against Muncy, it was the second straight day in which it played one of the Mid-Penn’s perennial title contenders tough. Last Tuesday, Neumann gave undefeated Montgomery (7-0) all it could handle in a 4-2 loss. The week concluded with a rough loss against Milton, but that’s a Class AAAA team and this stretch could help the Knights (1-3) make big strides as the season progresses.

The Knights feature a nice blend of experience and youth with three freshmen starting. Aidan Vogt, Chase Wright and Angelo Birch all have pitched well and Gino Birch hit a two-out, two-run single which put Neumann up 3-2 entering the seventh against Muncy. Strides are being made and in a wide-open District 4 Class A field, Neumann could be as dangerous as anyone come late May.

“The kids are playing for each other,” Neumann coach Rick Armstead said. “As long as we get our kids to understand that they need to own their mistakes and get better from it, this ship will steer in the right direction before people know it.”

EXTRA BASES: Jersey Shore (5-3) already has matched last year’s win total and stayed within a game of first-place Selinsgrove, which it plays today, in the HAC-I, defeating Shamokin, 5-1. Jerrin Loomis improved to 4-0 and struck out an area-high 15 batters in 6 1/3 dominant innings. Landon Welshans went 2 for 3 with an RBI, Gage Martzall drove in two runs and Brady DePasqua scored twice … Loyalsock went 2-1 last week, winning on the road at Warrior Run and Bloomsburg and dropping a 3-1, eight-inning heartbreaker against Mount Carmel. Ethan Nagy struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings against Mount Carmel and has 32 strikeouts through 16 2/3 innings. Dante Cruz has fought back from injury and drove in five runs against Mount Carmel and Bloomsburg and Kaden Rodarmel tripled, while Tyler Gee doubled in the 12-1 victory against Bloomsburg … Before running into Muncy, Canton edged North Penn-Mansfield, 7-6 last Friday. Holden Ward tied Loomis for the area wins lead and Zack Colton earned a three-inning save. Freshman Bailey Gardner totaled six RBIs against North Penn-Mansfield and Muncy and Michael Beers was 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs at Muncy … Monty Fisher homered in consecutive games against Williamsport and St. John Neumann, driving in four runs against Neumann Saturday. Logan Shrawder also homered that day and Kaiden Haines hit a walk-off grand slam … Warrior Run rallied from two runs down in the fifth inning and defeated Southern Columbia, 5-3 in eight innings. Cohen Zechman had a big day, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and four RBIs. Stone Allison, Landon Polcyn and Griffen Harrington all also collected two hits. Harrington and James Keifer combined on a four-hitter as the Defenders improved to 4-2.

Dr. Masse’s top 5 rankings:

1. Hughesville (5-0): Hughesville grabbed sole possession of first in the HAC-III with wins on consecutive days at Mount Carmel and Bloomsburg. The 8-6 win at Mount Carmel was especially impressive with Hughesville being the only team to defeat the Tornadoes in six games this year. Freshmen Graden Dohl threw 1 2/3 hitless innings that day for his first high school save after earning wins in his first two starts. Aiden Barlett shined in his first varsity pitching start a day later, throwing 5 1/3 strong innings and combining with Nate Bieber on a four-hitter in a 4-1 win at Bloomsburg. The defending District 4 Class AAA champions host rival Loyalsock today and the last three games in that series have been decided by two runs or fewer. Hughesville received a boost against Mount Carmel with Logan Kiess returning to the lineup and going 2 for 3 with two walks and two RBIs.

2. Central Mountain (4-1): Pitching has long been King at Central Mountain and Gavin Bower and Ashton Bennett built on the tradition Wednesday against Shikellamy, combining on a no-hitter. Bower through six innings and struck out four before Bennett closed it out. Two days earlier, the Wildcats rallied from a two-run sixth inning deficit, defeating rival Jersey Shore, 5-2 and tying it for second in the HAC-I. Brady Myers and Frank Austin combined for 12 strikeouts and Malaky Moyd went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Elek and Gardy Fravel both had two hits and combined for five RBIs in the Shikellamy win.

3. South Williamsport (5-1): Waverly snapped South’s five-game winning streak in the wind and rain Saturday but the Mounties must quickly turn the page as they face a test at Warrior Run this afternoon. South opened its week with an 8-2 win against fellow District 4 Class AA title contender Troy. Kaden Shay, Kaiser Kistner and Torin Haug all had two hits that day and Haug, a sophomore, doubled against Waverly, too. Tadd Lusk had a big game Saturday, smashing a triple and double, while driving in two runs and scoring two. South faces a demanding schedule this week and heads to the Central Columbia Tournament Saturday to face defending District 4 Class AAAA champion Mifflinburg. It will face either the host Blue Jays or defending Class AA champion Wyalusing in the second game.

4. Montoursville (3-1): Like most District 4 teams, Montoursville will have games coming at it fast and furious the next few weeks. The Warriors are scheduled to play four times this week, starting today against Berwick and concluding Saturday at Waverly. Midd-West handed Montoursville its first defeat last Wednesday, but catcher Jonah Heddings produced two hits for a fourth consecutive game. Heddings hit a walk-off single in last Monday’s 3-2 win against Lewisburg and Royce Bowes and Michael Reeder combined on a one-hitter. Montoursville rallied late in that game and Bowes reached base three times. Owen George was 2 for 2 with an RBI at Midd-West.

5. Montgomery (7-0): Neumann and Northwest pushed Montgomery hard last week, but the Red Raiders stood tall and rallied from a two-run deficit to beat Northwest 4-2 and remain undefeated. Parker Bennett, Briar Persing and Parker Persing have provided Montgomery strong pitching all season and the Raiders have not allowed more than two runs in a game. Freshman Trace Furman continues delivering key hits and drove in two runs against Northwest. Connor Puderbach is having a good season and was 2 for 3 that day. The Raiders are tied for first with Muncy in the Mid-Penn and have played well in close games, also winning a hard-fought game at Warrior Run earlier this season.

Players of the Week

Parker Bennett, Montgomery and Deryk Kulp, Loyalsock: It’s hard to pitch much better than Bennett did last week. The sophomore threw a four-inning no-hitter against Bucktail before allowing just one hit in four scoreless innings against Northwest. Bennett struck out 14 batters in those games and also hit a two-run triple against Neumann. He is 2-0 with a save and 19 strikeouts in 10 innings this year. Like Bennett, Kulp was at the top of his pitching game last week, going 2-0 and excelling at Warrior Run and Bloomsburg. Kulp struck out a career-high nine batters in a 3-1 win at Warrior Run and allowed just one earned run in 8 2/3 innings last week, while fanning 15. Kulp also was feeling it offensively against Bloomsburg, going 2 for 2 with a double RBI and run.

Game of the Week

North Penn-Mansfield at Montgomery: Loyalsock-Hughesville (today) and Williamsport-Central Mountain (Thursday) have been Games of the Week in the past but were postponed so we will switch it up this week. Today’s game should be an intriguing one with the Tigers and Raiders a combined 13-2. North Penn-Mansfield (6-2) has scored at least five runs in all eight games and lead-off hitter Alex Davis has 10 extra-base hits. Montgomery edged North Penn-Mansfield, 5-4 in a thriller last year.

Chris Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.