ACCIDENT — Clinging to a two-run lead in the seventh inning, Mountain Ridge didn’t want to see Easton Rhoten in the batter’s box one final time.
The Northern center fielder was 3 for 3 with a three-run homer and a pair of doubles, and, with two outs, the Huskies’ hot bat represented the winning run in the on-deck circle.
Mountain Ridge closer Parker Ferraro made sure he stayed there, inducing a routine fly ball to record the final out and push the fifth-ranked Miners to a 5-3 win over No. 2 Northern in the bitter Garrett County cold on Monday evening.
The Mountain Ridge victory was made possible because it kept Northern off the scoreboard early, and it tacked on two key runs late thanks to an Aeden Custer two-bagger during a three-run sixth inning.
Right-handed starter Evan Cook pitched to contact and let his defense play, and it rewarded him with a win.
A pivotal double play, which came with the bases loaded with one out in the first inning, and another in the third made sure the Miners never trailed.
“We got out of that jam in the first inning with a double play that Parker was able to turn (at third base),” Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. “That was key because that could’ve turned sour real fast.
“After that point, they didn’t have many scoring opportunities until they hit that three-run homer.”
Rhoten’s three-run bomb ended a streak of five straight innings where Northern was able to get a runner in scoring position but couldn’t convert.
While Cook wasn’t overpowering, he was effective, surrendering three runs on nine hits in five innings of work, striking out one and walking three.
“I thought we left too many zeroes on the board early,” Northern head coach Phil Carr said. “(Cook’s) not throwing high velocity, I thought we should’ve swung the bats a little better and had a couple runs on the board before we had the three-run inning.
“If we would’ve done that we would’ve had the lead. Give him credit, he did a good job of keeping us off-balance and getting us to hit it in the right spot.”
After escaping a jam in the first inning on the mound, Cook accounted for the first Mountain Ridge run, touching home plate on a wild pitch with two outs in the second frame.
The inning should’ve been over one batter earlier, but a dropped third strike got away, prolonging the frame long enough for Cook to take advantage.
Neither team impacted the scoreboard again until each side put up three runs in the sixth inning.
Ferraro made it 2-0 with an RBI single to left field, and Custer struck a two-out, two-RBI two-bagger into the left-center gap to double the Mountain Ridge advantage.
Those insurance runs proved vital, as Rhoten left the yard in the ensuing half-inning to plate himself, Ethan Sebold and Kellen Hinebaugh to trail 4-3.
“We picked up those two extra runs, which ended up being very beneficial because that was the difference in the ball game,” Snyder said of Custer’s knock.
Liam Stewart cracked a double one batter after Rhoten’s long ball to chase Cook, bringing in Ferraro for the six-out save.
Northern bunted Stewart to third, but the right-hander fanned back-to-back hitters to strand the tying run 90 feet away.
Mountain Ridge tacked on a fifth run thanks to a two-out error at third base on a Ferraro grounder to make it 5-3 Miners, and, with the exception of a two-out Hinebaugh double, Ferraro silenced the Northern bats in the seventh.
In two innings of work, Ferraro allowed just one hit, walked none and struck out four to register the save.
“When Parker’s stuff is on, Parker can juice it up,” Snyder said. “He came in, and we saw it right away that he was going to have his good stuff. … He was hitting spots.”
Northern out-hit Mountain Ridge, 9-5. The Miners stole four bases, led by Uma Pua’auli with two.
Luke Ross took the loss for the Huskies, allowing four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched, striking out five and walking three. Cole Folk gave up one unearned run in 1 1/3 frames of relief.
Northern (10-3, 2-3 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) will look to bounce back when it hosts Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania, on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Mountain Ridge (5-4, 4-1 WestMAC) heads to No. 1 Allegany (10-1, 3-0 WestMAC) on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. with first place in the conference on the line.
“Allegany is Allegany, they’re the team to beat in the area,” Snyder said. “Until somebody can knock them off, we’ll continue to say that. If we get pitching, get the right sticks, we’ll see what we can do with them.”