MONTGOMERY–A shoulder injury may have helped Zoe Furman become an elite center fielder.

Store it in the strange but true files. Before requiring surgery during her sophomore season, Furman primarily caught as a Montgomery freshman and played shortstop growing up. Unable to catch anymore, Furman moved to center field a year ago. And it’s not a stretch to say she plays it as well as any Red Raider ever has.

Bucktail likely will concur.

Furman put on a defensive show, saving multiple runs with two spectacular running catches near the fence, while throwing another runner out at second. Oh yeah, she also went 3 for 4 with a triple, double and two-run, go-ahead triple as Montgomery defeated rival Bucktail, 10-7 Tuesday. Ava Hartman scattered seven hits, Madisyn Miller, Chloe Gordner and Ramona Kroll all collected two hits and Montgomery (11-4, 4-1) scored eight fourth inning runs, avenging a previous defeat against the Bucks (10-3, 4-1) while pulling even for first in the Mid-Penn’s West Division.

“I always like to keep a mindset that if a ball is hit to me I’m going to catch it. I’m going to give it all and if it’s a good hit, it’s a good hit,” Furman said. “I always try and cover as much ground as I can.”

It felt like she covered an ocean’s worth against Bucktail.

Twice Kelsie Wagner launched towering drives, one to the right-center field fence, the next to the left-center field fence. Both times, Furman liked like Usain Bolt in cleats, sprinting toward it, diving and making the sensational catch. Sandwiching those fifth and seventh inning gems, Furman nearly made a diving catch on a liner hit into shallow center field but did the next best thing and threw out the lead runner who had held up waiting to see if it would drop.

Montgomery generated 12 hits and those eight fourth innings runs turned a one-run deficit into a 10-3 lead. Still, despite the offensive fireworks, it was Furman’s defense which stole the show and might have made the ultimate difference.

“I like to say I read a lot of balls right off the bats,” Furman said. “I think that’s why I get a really good jump on everything. I just try and track it through the sky from there.”

“Zoe tracks a ball like nobody else. I’d say she’s probably the best center fielder I’ve ever had in my entire coaching career,” said Montgomery coach Chris Glenn who has coached at Hughesville, Jersey Shore and Montgomery for 16 years. “I’ve had some good ones, but she covers so much ground.”

Following the shoulder injury which erased Furman’s sophomore season, Montgomery dabbled with playing the 136-pound wrestling state champion at first base. As soon as the coaches watched her run around the outfield, however, their minds quickly changed and Furman became a lockdown center fielder.

“Can you imagine if that kid played outfield her whole life? You’d probably only need one outfielder,” Glenn joked. “Zoe is game on from the first pitch to the last pitch. She doesn’t give in. She’s a strong leader, too. She’s just a phenomenal athlete.”

What Glenn especially likes is having two other terrific outfielders flank Furman; Amelia Shrimp in right and Arianna Snyder in left. Both also have made several running catches and Snyder made a throw which would make a Major Leaguer blush when she drilled a runner trying to score with a laser from deep left field a week ago at South Williamsport.

The value of those three defenders shined through against Bucktail. The Bucks feature a potent offense, but Hartman, who struck out seven, was not afraid to pitch to contact, knowing that if the ball was hit in the air, Furman, Shrimp and Snyder had her covered.

“It’s one of the strongest outfields I’ve ever had,” Glenn said. “The outfielders make the difference and I’m blessed to have three awesome outfielders. I really like it because the ball goes up, it pretty much always is caught. We’ve had some big plays from the outfield. It makes a difference.”

So does the hitting Montgomery displayed in the fourth inning.

Bucktail scored two runs in the top of the first but Montgomery countered with two in the bottom half, highlighted by Furman’s lead-off single and Miller’s RBI single. Makenna Stone scored one of her four runs with excellent baserunning in the fourth, going from first to third on a Lola English bunt and scoring on an errant throw as Bucktail went up, 3-2.

It stayed that way until Montgomery erupted in the fifth with seven of the first eight batters that inning producing hits and Kroll doing so twice. In fact, Kroll sparked the rally with her lead-off single before Brooke Deitrich followed with another single.

Two batters later, the stage was set for Furman who continued showing she is as dangerous at the plate as in the field. The senior scanned the field, noticed an outfield adjustment and pounced. Furman smashed a two-run single up the middle, giving her 20 hits, 21 RBIs and, following a Jenna Houseknecht RBI double a batter later, 30 runs.

She plays center field like Willie Mays and also has the same blend of pop and speed. It showed on that hit which looked like a routine single. Instead, Furman never broke stride and slid into third with a triple and Montgomery never trailed again.

“It being 3-2, I was looking to wear the outfielders were. They had all shifted toward left field, so I had a nice gap in right center. It was a perfect ball and I took it right there,” Furman said. “Most of my hits I always round first, making sure and reading the ball. If I know I can get to second, I’m absolutely going, and I’m relying on Coach Chris on third base to tell me whether I’ve got third or not.”

The bottom of the order had lit the fuse and the top and middle continued fanning the flames before passing it back. Addison Greger slammed an RBI triple, Miller an RBI double toward the center field fence and Gordner an RBI single. Following a Hartman walk, Kroll finished what she started, lacing an RBI single which made it, 10-3.

Seven Raiders produced hits Tuesday and eight reached base, while also scoring. That balance helped them snap a two-game losing streak against Bucktail.

“It’s been that way throughout the year. There have been times we’ve been at the bottom of the lineup and they ignite and get it going, then we keep pouring it on,” Glenn said. “I’m happy with all of them. There isn’t anybody who goes up to the plate that I don’t think can get a hit. That’s a nice luxury and I’m grateful to be heavy in depth that way.”

One of the best District 4 Class A rivalries the last decade has been defined by excitement and Bucktail created some more when it rallied in the seventh inning, scoring three times and having the go-ahead runner on the on-deck circle. Following a hit batter and walk, Eva Sockman scorched a two-run double. If not for Furman’s final highlight catch, she would have scored on Wagner’s deep drive a batter later, but did so when Rebekah Conway (2 for 4) ripped a two-out RBI single.

Hartman, however, showcased the toughness which helped her end numerous threats during the game, battling back from a 3-0 count and clinching victory with a swinging strikeout. Kelsie Wagner shined in relief for Bucktail, striking out six in 2 2/3 scoreless innings and her sister Kendall was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs.

“I have nothing but respect for the coaching staff over there. They always have a good team and I love playing this game because it brings out the best in both teams and it did tonight,” Glenn said. “There was good hitting, good pitching and good defense. It’s always a battle and I love having that game on the schedule.”

Bucktail 201 010 3–7 7 3

Montgomery 200 800 x–10 12 2

Carrie Ditty, Kelsie Wagner (5) and Eva Sockman. Ava Hartman and Addison Greger. W–Hartman. L–Ditty.

Top Bucktail hitters: Kendall Wagner 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, R; Rebekah Conway 2-4, RBI; Makenna Stone 1-1, BB, 4R; Sockman 1-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, R; Haleigh Dent 1-3, 2B. Top Montgomery hitters: Zoe Furman 3-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2R, SB; Madisyn Miller 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, R; Chloe Gordner 2-3, RBI, R; Ramona Kroll 2-4, RBI, R; Greger 1-2, 3B, RBI, R; Jenna Houseknecht 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2R; Brooke Deitrich 1-3, BB, R.

Records: Montgomery 11-4, 4-1 Mid-Penn West. Bucktail 10-3, 4-1.