MUNCY–Kase Snyder changed the game when he smashed a third-inning, game-tying, two-run triple Saturday.

Four innings later, Snyder saved the game.

After scoring the go-ahead run on Corbyn Gardner’s RBI grounder following his triple, Snyder took the mound with two on and one out in the seventh. There, he capped a big week and helped Muncy reach a big goal, retiring consecutive batters as the Indians defeated Canton, 5-2 while clinching a District 4 Class AA playoff berth.

Snyder, one of two senior starters, earned both a win and save this week and, Saturday, added two memorable moments to his high school scrapbook.

“I didn’t really have any nerves. It was exciting,” Snyder said. “It felt good to come in and throw strikes. I was just trying to get the job done and close.”

He did so quite well, producing a strikeout and inducing a game-ending groundout. Gardner earned the win in relief, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings, while Kynton Fish stuck out six in three innings of a quality start.

Jameson Barlow and Vinny Finochiaro belted clutch two-out RBI singles and Muncy (9-5) won for the fifth time in six games. Muncy also produced its third comeback win this season. That seemed appropriate because the Indians missed the playoffs a year ago but have overcome injuries and youth to join a tough Class AA field this time.

“We have two senior starters, so to come back and get there is a good step,” Muncy coach Shawn Finn said. “We have four games left, so it’s not a monkey off our backs or anything, but it was a goal coming in and we’re starting to play better all-around baseball. We just have to shore up some things, and we’ll be a pretty competitive team.”

Snyder has helped Muncy stay competitive despite injuries limiting top two pitchers, Graden Dohl and Barlow, this season. He has been especially strong recently, going 2-0 with a save in his last three appearances. During that stretch, the right-hander has scattered five hits and struck out 14 in 10 1/3 innings.

After bottling up Sugar Valley and throwing five innings of one-hit baseball last Monday, Snyder brought both calm and confidence when he replaced Gardner in a tight moment. He pumped a 3-2 fastball by for the inning’s second out before forcing weak contact on a 2-1 pitch and fielding a slow roller before throwing to Dohl for the final out.

“Kase has been battling all year for us,” Finn said. “It was a tough situation to come in, but he’s been doing a great job for us on the mound all year.”

“I trusted my defense. We were up three runs, so I figured if we could make some plays and get some outs, we’d get a big win,” Snyder said. “I threw well against Sugar Valley. That gives me confidence to go out there and throw some strikes. Everything is coming together, going well. I’m just having a lot of confidence out there.”

That translated to the plate at a perfect time.

Canton scored two runs in the top of the third following two errors and an Owen Moore RBI walk. Bailey Gardner singled off the left field fence and Reed Taylor followed with a single to load the bases with no outs, but Fish did a good job limiting the damage and collected two straight strikeouts to leave the bases loaded with one out.

Maddix Snyder opened the bottom of the third with a single and Brody Goss worked a terrific at-bat, fouling off two, two-strike pitches and drawing an eight-pitch walk. That set the stage for Snyder who believed he would be bunting before turning the lineup over.

Finn thought the same thing. But when Snyder lasered a first pitch foul ball foul, Finn changed his mind. He placed his confidence in Snyder, and the senior repaid him in a big way. Snyder went the opposite way with a 1-1 pitch and torpedoed it down the right-field line, scoring both runners and tying the game. Gardner then hit a grounder to the right side, allowing Snyder to easily score the go-ahead run and make it, 3-2.

“That was a big momentum swing. It felt good to get out there and drive the ball,” Snyder said. “Coach told me that if I had one strike on me, then he was going to have me bunt and move guys over. He had some confidence in me to go out there and hit the ball, so I thank him for that. I trusted myself and just felt good today.”

“He took a good swing on the first one and I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to give him a shot,'” Finn said. “He hits a line drive to right field to score two runs, so it was a big at-bat for him, and it ignited us.”

Gardner helped keep the momentum going, earning his fourth win since the starter did not reach four innings. The sophomore has come up huge on the mound all season and allowed just a bunt single and infield single. He struck out three and combined with Fish to induce 30 swings and misses in 6 1/3 innings.

Freshmen Daniel Inman and Trapper Burr both threw well for Canton and scattered five hits. The game’s big difference, though, was when each team produced those hits. Muncy pounced on scoring opportunities and went 3 for 6 with runners in scoring position, while Canton finished 1 for 10.

Barlow delivered the second big Muncy hit, scoring Goss from second with two outs in the fifth, driving a liner into left field. It was a near repeat an inning later when Finochiaro ripped a two-out RBI single and brought home pinch-runner Wes Somits from second, making it, 5-2.

“Two-out hits and runs are killers in high school baseball. They sort of put daggers in the other teams at times,” Finn said. “We hadn’t been getting those big two-out hits and today we struggled at the plate, but timely hitting there was key to get those two extra runs.”

Finochiaro’s defense was as critical to Muncy winning as his key hit was. Fish was a Mid-Penn all-star catcher as a freshman and has built on that success this season, but Finochiaro moved from second base to behind the plate with Fish starting on the mound Saturday. There, he saved two runs, one in the first inning and another in the seventh.

Canton had runners on the corners with two outs in the first when Finochiaro blocked a ball in the dirt which deflected off his chest protector and to his right. He hustled after the ball, threw to Fish at the plate and Fish then chased the lead runner back to third before getting an inning-ending strikeout.

A near identical sequence occurred in the seventh inning. Again, Finochiaro threw his body in front of a pitch which bounced low. Instead of it going to the backstop, it bounced a few feet to his right, and Finochiaro chased it down before the runner could come home. Without those plays, Canton has two more runs and the game could have looked a lot different.

“Vinny is our starting second baseman and he did a heck of a job today. That was his best game behind the dish for us,” Finn said. “Some balls got away, but he hustled and saved them from getting in. I was proud of him and his all-around game.”

Canton 002 000 0–2 6 0

Muncy 003 011 x–5 5 2

Daniel Inman, Trapper Burr (4) and Bailey Gardner. Kynton Fish, Corbyn Gardner (4), Kase Snyder (7) and Vinny Finochiaro. W–Gardner. L–Inman.

Top Canton hitters: Gardner 2-3, BB, R; Reed Taylor 2-4; Inman 1-4, RBI; Carson Castle 1-3. Top Muncy hitters: Kase Snyder 1-2, 3B, 2 RBIs, R; Jameson Barlow 1-2, BB, RBI; Maddix Snyder 1-2; Finochiaro 1-3, RBI; Fish 1-3.

Records: Muncy 9-5. Canton 5-11.