Montgomery bats come alive as Cougars top Pingry 11-10 on walk-off infield hit at TD Bank Park

One thing about baseball: the bats could be alive one day and completely dormant the next.

The Montgomery bats had mostly been dormant this season, with the Cougars hitting just .182 coming into Saturday afternoon’s Skyland Conference crossover game at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

But Saturday, everything clicked, even if it took them a while to get going.

Montgomery rallied three times against the Big Blue. Down 4-0 after the first half inning, the Cougars got a run back in the bottom, then four more in the third to take their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Pingry got three back in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead, and added one more in the sixth, but Montgomery tied it at eight with three in the sixth.

Then, after the Big Blue got two in the top of the seventh, Monty walked it off with three in the bottom of the inning, to pull to within a game of .500 at 3-4. Pingry dropped to 2-3.

In the decisive eighth, Montgomery had to feel good about its chances with the top of the order coming up, after the bottom half of the order had forced an 8-8 tie in the sixth.

With one out, Mason Neufield hit a double into the gap in left, and Henry Maddox – who had four hits in the game: two singles, a double and a triple – drove him in with a single to cut the deficit to 10-9.

Liam McDonald singled to move him to third, and Kenta Komatsu walked to lead the bases. Patrick Fogarty – who started the game on the mound and by now was playing shortstop, drove in the tying tun with a fly ball to right field, scoring Maddox.

Then Puleio worked the count to 3-2, and with the runners off with the pitch, knuckled a ball halfway down the third-base line. Pingry’s Sam deLaurier charged it as McDonnell slid safely into home, and somehow he got a throw off to first. But Puleio – a catcher – legged it out, beating the throw, setting off a wild celebration along the first base side.

It was the most runs Montgomery had scored since a 13-1 season-opening win over Warren Hills. They had scored just six runs in the five games that followed, going 1-4, including a 4-0 shutout at the hands of North Hunterdon. And they knocked out 12 hits in the game as well.

All this despite the fact Monty left nine runners on base through the first six innings, not counting those left on with the walk-off win.

The win went to Mason Neufeld in relief, the fourth pitcher used by head coach Pete Meuller. Neufeld threw one inning and gave up two runs to improve to 2-1 on the year. Michael Cardona – Pingry’s sixth pitcher of the day – took the loss, pitching the seventh; he’s now 2-1.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with Montgomery’s Evan Puleio, Henry Maddox and head coach Pete Mueller: