Milton majors lose state opener to Blue Mountain in close game 5-4
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton shortstop Jordan Brown takes a flip from second baseman Max Shnyder for a double play against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton's Cullen Reese flips a bat and runs out of the box after recording a hit against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton pitcher Weston Sumner starts on the mound prior to a rain delay against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Community members donned hoodies as they marched along East Third St. as part of a Peace Walk in response to an incident on July 8, 2026 when a Black teen was questioned by police based on his attire. The 18-year-old Williamsport resident was initially approached by a detective for the county District Attorney's office for wearing a jacket in hot weather and recorded the encounter with his phone and posted it on social media, attracting national attention. The 18-year-old was eventually cited and fined for jaywalking. The arresting officer and Lycoming County District Attorney’s office have been criticized for their actions and comments following the incident.
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton shortstop Jordan Brown takes a flip from second baseman Max Shnyder for a double play against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton's Cullen Reese flips a bat and runs out of the box after recording a hit against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
ALEX KIELAR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Milton pitcher Weston Sumner starts on the mound prior to a rain delay against Blue Mountain at the state tournament on Monday in Pittston. Milton lost, 5-4, to fall into the elimination bracket.
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Community members donned hoodies as they marched along East Third St. as part of a Peace Walk in response to an incident on July 8, 2026 when a Black teen was questioned by police based on his attire. The 18-year-old Williamsport resident was initially approached by a detective for the county District Attorney's office for wearing a jacket in hot weather and recorded the encounter with his phone and posted it on social media, attracting national attention. The 18-year-old was eventually cited and fined for jaywalking. The arresting officer and Lycoming County District Attorney’s office have been criticized for their actions and comments following the incident.
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PITTSTON - Just like their Section 3 run, Milton now faces the task of stacking wins to stay in the hunt for a state title. Their opener at Township Little League showed that same fight, but a last‑inning rally fell short in a 5-4 loss to Blue Mountain.
Dark clouds rolled in shortly after first pitch, forcing players off the field when lightning struck and heavy rain followed. Nearly two hours later, the game resumed with a Blue Mountain runner on and one out in the top of the second.
Coming out of the delay, Milton looked rusty. Blue Mountain strung together several hits and pushed four runs across, putting pressure on starter Weston Sumner.
"I feel like we just came back out sluggish," Milton manager Garrett Shnyder said. "It's hard for a kid to pitch and then come back and restart an hour later -- it's tough for anyone. I don't think Weston handled it terribly, didn't get ahead of counts early and then we kind of had to give them what they wanted. They got on some fastball and knocked a few singles; it worked out for them."
Milton chipped away quickly. They cut the deficit in half with a run in each of the second and third innings -- an RBI grounder by Zeke White and a steal of home by Peyton Swineford.
The comeback fully ignited in the fourth. With two outs, Sumner lined a single to left, followed by an infield hit from Max Shnyder. White then battled through a two‑strike count and dropped a two‑RBI double into left, tying the game at 4-all.
But the momentum didn't last. A leadoff walk in the fifth came back to hurt Milton, as a two‑out double by Owen Borger put Blue Mountain back in front, 5-4.
Milton threatened again in the sixth when Cullen Reese worked an eight‑pitch walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. But the next three batters -- Brody Rhodes, Jordan Brown and Cohen Knarr -- struck out to end the rally.
"Cullen works his way on and has a great at‑bat, leads us off with a guy on first, nobody out. And then we just kind of didn't have anybody that wanted to step up into the spotlight and be the man," Shnyder said. "As a coach, that's a hard pill to swallow because I think everybody on the team, in that moment, should want to step up to the plate and get it done."
"We did fight to end it there; it was a close game," he added. "We could have closed the doors at 4‑0, but we came back and tied it up and gave ourselves a chance there in the sixth to win and it just didn't go our way."
Milton now drops into the loser's bracket and will face Section 4 champion Hollidaysburg on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Hollidaysburg lost to East Side, 2-1, in its opener. To reach the championship, Milton will need to string together four straight wins in the loser's bracket, then win two more to claim the state crown.
"Today, I just felt like our bats were slow through the zone. I feel like we could have done more and put together better quality at‑bats and we didn't," Shnyder said. "They had a lot of things go their way. We could have had one or two things go our way and they just didn't."
For Milton to bounce back, Shnyder said it comes down to getting back to basics and capitalizing on every chance.
"Seize all your opportunities. Seize all your swings," he said. "I try to preach that, and I just felt like we were a little sluggish with our sticks today, as I feel we could have done more and hit the ball harder."
Blue Mountain 5, Milton 4
Blue Mountain 40 010 -- 5 5 1
Milton 011 200 -- 4 7 2
Anthony Grimminger, Joe Minnick (4) Chase Goodman (6) and Enzo Ritter. Weston Sumner, Cohen Knarr (6) and Cullen Reese. W: Grimminger. L: Sumner.
Top Blue Mountain hitters: Jayse Callahan 1-2, run; Joe Minnick 1-2, run, RBI; Owen Borger 2-2, 2 RBIs, run; Ike Snyder 1-2, 2 RBIs. Top Milton hitters: Cullen Reese 1-2, BB; Cohen Knarr 1-3, run; Weston Sumner 2-2, run; Max Shnyder 1-2, run; Zeke White 1-2, 3 RBIs; Reece Armstrong 1-2.