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Moving on: Montgomery plays excellent game and reaches district final; state tournament

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Ava Hartman pitched so well, and Montgomery hit so well that a key early play may have been overlooked Tuesday at Elm Park.

But Addison Greger’s first big playoff play as a Red Raider helped set up all that up. The junior catcher picked a runner off second base in the top of the first and Hartman dominated from there while the offense raked and Montgomery bulldozed through a wall which had blocked it the past three seasons.

Hartman threw a three-hit shutout; Brooke Dietrich and Arianna Snyder both went 3 for 3 with three runs and Montgomery thumped Cowanesque Valley, 14-0 in the District 4 Class A semifinals. The Raiders (15-6) reached both their first district championship and state tournament since 2022 and will play Bucktail for the crown Thursday, back at Elm Park.

"It’s kind of just like a thing to keep us going and get into the game," Greger, who played for 6A state finalist Nazareth a year ago before her family moved to Montgomery. "I normally throw down a lot just to try to get people on their toes."

Greger threw CV (10-11) off its toes and lit a fire through the Montgomery roster which CV could not extinguish. The Indians had runners on first and second when Greger threw a rocket to Dietrich who made the tag for a crucial second out.

Hartman induced a groundout to third baseman Ramona Kroll two pitches later; Montgomery scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning and the train just started collecting more power.

"That’s a huge momentum builder. We practice that play all the time. We tried it a few times and didn’t get anybody and today we did," Montgomery coach Chris Glenn said after leading Montgomery to its fourth playoff berth in his eight seasons. "That’s huge. That just lit them right up. Not that they weren’t ready already, but that really set the tone right there. From that point on, we put the foot on the gas and never let up."

Montgomery generated 11 hits in four at-bats, scoring multiple runs each inning. Greger doubled twice, Zoe Furman (2 for 3) slammed a two-run triple, and every batter did something productive which helped Montgomery built on the momentum it generated with a regular season-ending 13-0 win against Canton.

The Raiders led 6-0 after two innings before scoring five times in the third and landing a knockout blow against a team which played several of the strong NTL large school teams tough throughout the year. It was an especially satisfying feeling for a team which had lost three straight semifinal games before breaking out in a gigantic way.

"It’s definitely exciting to know we made it past the first round," Hartman said. "We’re ready. Everyone on the team is ready"

Montgomery proved it early and often and Hartman shut out a dangerous offense for a second straight game. The senior took hard-luck semifinal losses the last two years despite throwing well and would not be denied this time.

Hartman mowed through CV on 51 pitches, letting just two hits leave the infield. The runner Greger picked off was one of only two who reached second base and none made it to third. Hartman struck out four and threw 30 of her final 38 pitches for strikes, creating quite a senior moment.

"Ava pitched a really good game. She got ahead of hitters and was aggressive without walking batters and was getting weak contact and that’s the name of the game," Glenn said. "She did exactly what we asked her to do."

"It definitely feels good to come out on top this time," Hartman said. "I felt very level-headed instead of nervous. I know I have a good team behind me."

She also has a strong offense around her. Every player produced a hit, drove in a run or dropped a sacrifice bunt, all helping the cause. Furman led off the first inning with a single, Jenna Houseknecht bunted her to third while reaching on an error and Greger hit an RBI flyball which was dropped. Madisyn Miller and Kroll then added sacrifice flies.

That was just the start as Montgomery really heated up the next two innings, pounding out eight hits and scoring eight runs. Furman smashed a two-run triple after Dietrich and Snyder led off the second with singles and Amelia Shrimp bunted them up. Greger doubled in both the second and third innings and Dietrich and Snyder singled again in the third as Montgomery really broke things open.

"We’re continuous. As soon as one gets going, we all get going," Greger said. "We pick each other up. We have a good team and we’re close."

The past two seasons, Montgomery played well but ran into opponents who made a series of great plays which changed the game. This time, it was the Raiders who produced the web gems, Furman doing it one batter into the game when she sprinted into shallow center field and made a face-first diving catch.

Houseknecht made another big play at shortstop three innings later and denied CV the opportunity to try and cut into a 6-0 deficit. Following an Emma Carl lead-off single, Houseknecht reached high and snared a liner before making a perfect throw to Miller at first and completing the double play.

"Friday was the same way; they executed well. They’re playing real good ball," Glenn said. "It’s probably one of the best performances of the season on both sides of the ball. You can’t ask for anything more than a complete performance like that."

Montgomery and Bucktail will be meeting in the playoffs for a fourth straight season. The Raiders won a thrilling 1-0 district semifinal in 2022 en route to winning the state championship before Bucktail won the last two semifinals. The teams split two exciting regular-season games, so while Montgomery is excited to be moving onto states, it knows its mission is not complete.

"I’m really excited," Hartman said. "As a senior, I can’t wait to see what our team does because we’ve been playing really well."

CV 000 00--0 3 5

Montgomery 335 3x--14 11 1

Lilah LaBarron, Emma Carl (3) and Zeraya Wilson. Ava Hartman and Addison Greger. W--Hartman. L--LeBarron.

Top CV hitters: Zeraya Wilson 1-2; Carl 1-2; Katie Huzey 1-1. Top Montgomery hitters: Brooke Dietrich 3-3, 3R; Arianna Snyder 3-3, 2 RBIs, 3R; Zoe Furman 2-3, 3B, BB, 2 RBIs, 3R; Greger 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBIs, R; Ramona Kroll 1-2, RBI, R.

Records: Montgomery 15-6. Cowanesque Valley 10-11.

Starting at /week.