The Hazen Union baseball team punched its ticket to the Division IV state semifinals with a 9-5 upset win at second-seeded Leland & Gray on Saturday. The Wildcats, seeded seventh, won their quarterfinal road game behind a complete-game effort from senior Grayson McNaughten, who struck out 11 and added three hits including an RBI double.
Hazen took a 5-2 lead into the fifth inning, but Leland & Gray tied it at 5-5. The Wildcats responded with three runs in the top of the sixth, and senior Justin Montgomery hit a solo home run in the seventh to seal the win. Jon Sicard went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Owen Skorstad, Chayse Newell, Avery Loomis, Maddox Robinson, and Kiah Cloutier each contributed a hit.
Head coach Shaun Allen said, “It was a great game. The boys played the best game I have seen so far from them this season!”
Earlier in the week, Hazen rolled past No. 10 Arlington 15-1 in the first round. McNaughten struck out nine over five innings for the win, and the offense scored 11 runs in the first three innings.
The Wildcats were scheduled to face No. 3 Mt. St. Joseph Academy in Rutland on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship at Centennial Field in Burlington. McNaughten is unavailable due to pitch-count limits, but Allen expressed confidence in the pitching staff. “All we can do is give it everything we have in the tank,” he said.
Originally reported by Hardwick Gazette.
Photo: Chris Chow via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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