When Montoursville has Logan Kirby on the mound, it’s all about getting ahead for the Warriors. As long as Kirby can get ahead in the count, and his teammates can get him an early lead at the plate, Montoursville is going to be mighty tough to beat. 

That was the case on Wednesday as Montoursville defeated previously unbeaten Mifflinburg, 4-1, at the first baseball game played at the Lumber Yards in Williamsport.

“You know what you’re going to get from Logan. He’s going to be around the zone and strike guys out at times, but he’s also going to rely on his defense. We want to play solid defense behind him, especially with pitch counts. We don’t want him trying to strike everybody out. If he can get ahead of hitters early and induce ground balls and fly balls, that really helps,” Montoursville head coach Jeremy Eck said. “Logan did a fantastic job. He’s our ace, everybody knows that, and we throw him in big games. Today was a big game against Mifflinburg, and he came out and did his job.”

The East Stroudsburg-bound senior was his normal efficient self on Wednesday allowing just three hits and walking none while striking out nine on just 86 pitches in 5 2/3 innings in less-than-ideal temperatures. Once Kirby got ahead of counts, he used his plus off-speed pitches, a changeup and a curveball, to put hitters away. 

“I think it’s key to throw all your pitches for strikes, even with the weather. Nobody really likes the conditions, but everyone has to play through it. Just pounding the zone and throwing everything for strikes is very important,” Kirby said. “The most important thing is to get ahead. Getting ahead makes you more unpredictable, and hitters don’t know what’s coming. It lets you set things up, throw some setup pitches, and play with the different things, maybe throw one out of the zone and see if they chase.” 

Montoursville got early run support that helped Kirby settle in. After a scoreless first, Montoursville scored three in the bottom of the second. Zack Neill was singled home by Carson Menne after he walked to lead off the inning. And with two outs and runners on second and third, Elijah Eck singled through the right side on a 1-2 pitch out of the nine-spot in the batting order for two more crucial runs.

“”With base runners on, we have to come out and do a job. With getting a couple runswe know Logan’s going to shut down most teams. He’s a really good pitcher, and that helps us on offense and defense. We know Logan’s going to go out there and do his thing,” Elijah Eck said. “I was just trying to get it to (the right side) and get the runners in.”

The Warrior defense was shaky at times, too much for Jeremy Eck’s liking, though he did point out that the team has not yet been on their home field to practice or play. But when runners got on, the Warriors made the plays. A 6-3 double-play in the fifth got Montoursville back into the dugout with a runner on first and one out. And in the sixth inning, after Kirby had been relieved by Zack Neill — who threw 1/ 1/3 scoreless innings — Menne made a nice play out in right field with sun in his eyes to preserve a 4-1 lead.

“I told everybody that Menne was kind of our MVP defensively today. He was fighting that sun all day long, made two great plays, and then we had a double-play ball late in the game that was definitely a difference maker,” Jeremy Eck said. 

Montoursville 4, Mifflinburg 1

Mifflinburg 001 000 0 — 1 3 0

Montoursville 030 100 x — 4 7 3

Mason Schneck, Cole Reibsome (4) and Jayden Boyer. Logan Kirby, Zack Neill (6) and Noah Kirby. W: Kirby. L: Schneck.
Top Mifflinburg hitters: Jayden Boyer 1-3, run. Top Montoursville hitters: Kane MOore 2-3, RBI; Carson Menne 2-3, RBI, 2 runs; Elijah Eck 1-2, 2 RBIs, BB.