Cougars snap skid, beat Hounds

By JEFF OLIVER

MVI Sports

Two struggling baseball teams met at chilly Vets Field Thursday and when the game was over, only one struggling team went home a winner.

Charleroi jumped out to a 9-0 lead and handed visiting Monessen a 12-3 loss in a non-section game.

Charleroi (2-5) came into the game riding a five-game losing streak while Monessen (1-5) had been outscored 56-8 in its first four losses.

Joe Campbell went into the sixth inning, giving up three runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and three walks to pick up the win for the Cougars.

“I didn’t want him to go that far in the sixth,” said Charleroi coach Luke Mollis. “He was pretty efficient today, especially early on. He’s done a pretty good job so far this season.””

The Cougars scored at least one run in each of the first four innings to give Campbell a lot of run support.

Leading 1-0 in the second inning, the Cougars scored twice against Monessen starter Jack Sacco, doing all their damage after two outs.

Zach Usher reached on an error and scored on a bloop double by Colton Polander. Campbell then reached on an error with Campbell scoring to make it 3-0.

Charleroi scored four runs in the third inning as the hosts sent 10 batters to plate and collected four hits. Ethan Hadsell doubled in a run before Usher singled home a pair to make it 6-0. Campbell added an RBI single to right to make it 7-0.

In the fourth inning, Charleroi went up 9-0 with two runs, despite getting just one hit. Two walks and an error also aided in the rally.

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