KULPMONT - Austin Fry worked a complete game Wednesday afternoon. He struck out nine, only walked one.
Zach Tocyloski went the full seven innings as well. He fanned 10 and didn't issue a free pass.
It's a baseball cliche as old as the game itself, but it's a doggone shame one of them had to lose.
It was Fry who picked up the victory. The Shamokin Area offense hung four big runs on the board in the fifth to provide some separation, then the Indians hung
on for a 5-4 victory, their second over Mount Carmel Area in as many meetings this season.
Tocyloski, despite his stellar performance, was the hard-luck loser.
The victory was a big one for the Indians. At 8-6 with six games left, they remain in the thick of the chase for a District 4 playoff berth. Two more victories over those final six games will get the job done.
Fry, with his performance on the mound along with two triples and an RBI at the plate, was a big part of Wednesday's victory.
"Austin (Fry) didn't have his best stuff today, but he battled," Shamokin coach Billy Clark said of his pitcher. "It says a lot about him that he can pitch without his best stuff and still win games."
For the first four innings, it was a 1-1 deadlock. The Red Tornadoes scored a single run in the first when leadoff hitter Michael Pupo reached on an error and eventually scored when Danny Lesko singled up the middle.
Shamokin's first run came in the top of the second when Julian Deitrick doubled and scored from second on Josiah Miller's infield single.
Fry and Tocyloski were the show for the next two innings, with only one base runner allowed between the two teams.
The breakout for Shamokin Area came in the top of the fifth when Nate Malett and Deitrick led off the inning with consecutive bunt singles.
Miller followed with an RBI single to score Malett, then Deitrick scored on the back end of a double steal. Miller scored when Theo Deptula reached on an error. Fry's second triple of the game capped the inning and drove home Deptula.
"We made some mistakes today that are the kind a lot of people don't see, and we'll need to clean that up," Clark said. "But we did a lot of good things too. We bunched some hits together and got some big hits when we needed them."
From that point on, the Indians' offense was fairly quiet.
Mount Carmel, however, kept battling.
Four singles in the bottom of the fifth led to a pair of Red Tornadoes runs, drawing them back to 5-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kyle Karycki led off with a triple, scoring when Jake Jones followed with a single.
But the Red Tornadoes ran into trouble when Jones was doubled off first on Gary Breginsir's line drive out to shortstop, then the inning ended when Tocyloski popped out to the infield.
With his lead at 5-4, Fry worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
"It's a loss, and you never like a loss, but we're a young team and we're coming along," Mount Carmel coach Ray Bettleyon said. "We're playing better baseball, but it seems like its always one or two innings that gets us.
"Tocy (Tocyloski) wanted the ball today. He deserved to pitch and he pitched very well."
Game Summary
SHAMOKIN (AB-R-H-BI) - Rodarmel 4-0-1-0, Deptula 3-1-0-0, Fry 3-0-2-1, Young 3-0-0-0, Gurba 3-0-0-0, Malett 3-1-2-0, Ju. Deitrick 3-2-2-0, Jo. Deitrick 0-0-0-0, Miller 3-1-2-1, Kashner 3-0-0-0. Totals 28-5-9-2.
MOUNT CARMEL (AB-R-H-BI) - Pupo 3-1-1-0, Bettleyon 2-0-0-0, Lesko 4-0-1-2, Stellar 3-0-2-0, Wasilewski 3-0-1-0, Karycki 3-1-1-0, Jones 3-0-2-1, Thompson 0-0-0-0, Breginsir 3-1-1-0, Tocyloski 3-0-1-0, Bergan 0-1-0-0. Totals 27-4-10-3.
Extra-base hits: 2B - Ju. Deitrick. 3B - Fry 2, Karycki.
IP H R ER BB K
Shamokin
Fry (W) 7 10 4 3 1 9
Mount Carmel
Tocyloski 7 9 5 4 0 10