{"id":14990,"date":"2015-05-28T04:18:32","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T04:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=14990"},"modified":"2015-05-28T04:22:42","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T04:22:42","slug":"benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Benninger’s big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Conor Foley<\/strong>
\n Times-Shamrock Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WGSI_Montrose_trophy\"<\/a>Montrose and Hanover Area players line up along the baselines for the National Anthem. One of the athletes stands out.<\/p>\n

Players and coaches remove their hats, place them over their hearts and look out toward the flag. But one, the Meteor wearing No. 20 and standing fourth in line from home plate, salutes the colors.<\/p>\n

Montrose pitcher Matt Benninger is enlisted in the Marine Corps. He reports to boot camp<\/p>\n

Oct. 12.
\n\u201cNow that I\u2019m enlisted and everything like that, I kind of have the privilege to be able to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something really special. It makes me extremely proud of what I\u2019m about to become, and all the new experiences I\u2019m going to be able to experience. It\u2019s just going to be something awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

He managed to stand out during Monday\u2019s game, too.<\/p>\n

Benninger tossed a complete-game shutout and drove in the only run of the Memorial Day night, helping Montrose beat Hanover Area, 1-0, in the District 2 Class AA championship at PNC Field.<\/p>\n

It is Montrose\u2019s first District 2 title in baseball. The Meteors will face the District 4 champion in the first round of the PIAA tournament, which begins June 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole day, it\u2019s not just baseball,\u201d Benninger said. \u201cIt\u2019s something a lot bigger than that. I\u2019m just glad to be able to play the game I love on such an important day to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benninger\u2019s first impact on the game actually came on the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Hunter Traver singled to left and then stole second base, using a nifty slide to avoid the tag. Benninger lined an opposite-field single to left, and Traver raced home. It was the first run Hanover Area pitching allowed in the district tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we\u2019d have to come out strong to win this game, for sure,\u201d Traver said. \u201cIf we didn\u2019t come out strong, this wouldn\u2019t be our win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out, that would be all the run support Benninger needed.<\/p>\n

He struck out two in the first inning, started a 1-3-6 double play in the second, and pitched a three-up, three down third inning, thanks in part to Mike Vanness\u2019 defense in center field.<\/p>\n

With one out, Kyle Kowalski smashed a ball to left-center that appeared destined for the gap, or at least the ground and a base hit. But Vanness got a good jump, made a full-extension dive, and hauled in the drive. The next batter, John Morgan, lifted a fly ball deep to the right-center gap. Vanness covered plenty of ground and made the catch for the final out of the inning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pitcher\u2019s working his butt off, and you just got to (make the play),\u201d Vanness said. \u201cThe dive was the tougher play, but I mean, it had to be made.\u201d
\nBenninger struck out two more in the fourth, the second ending the inning and stranding two Hanover Area runners. He would coast the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Using a knee-buckling breaking ball and an up-in-the-zone fastball that looked too enticing for Hanover Area hitters to pass up, Benninger retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced, and the final seven in a row \u2014 four of them on strikeouts.<\/p>\n

He finished with nine strikeouts against three walks, and allowed only three hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s stronger as the game goes on,\u201d said Montrose coach Josh Winn, who is in his first year of coaching the varsity team. \u201cHe\u2019s always been that type of kid. He\u2019s one of the loosest players I\u2019ve ever coached. He doesn\u2019t get tight. He was long-boarding before we got on the bus to come here, and smiling and grinning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanover Area starter Kevin Rimmer also went the distance, allowing just the one run on six hits, striking out five and walking five.
\nBut Benninger outdueled him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is probably the most special game I could have ever possibly have been a part of,\u201d Benninger said. \u201cI\u2019m just absolutely out of words. It\u2019s just amazing. We\u2019ve worked so hard, and just to actually be here and actually do what we just did, it\u2019s \u2014 I don\u2019t even have any words to speak about it.\u201d
\nBenninger said he\u2019s the first in his family to enlist in the military. His battery-mate, Ethan Stankiewicz, plans to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point.<\/p>\n

So, the meaning of playing on Memorial Day wasn\u2019t lost on any of Meteors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were talking on the way here about the respect we needed to show this day,\u201d Winn said. \u201cBecause this is bigger than baseball. This is an important game, and I love this game. I love being here \u2014 what a fun atmosphere. But honestly, what they\u2019re about to do in their lives, and what these other seniors are about to do, it\u2019s far bigger than what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Conor Foley Times-Shamrock Writer Montrose and Hanover Area players line up along the baselines for the National Anthem. One of the athletes stands out….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBenninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Benninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Conor Foley Times-Shamrock Writer Montrose and Hanover Area players line up along the baselines for the National Anthem. One of the athletes stands out....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-28T04:18:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-28T04:22:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/\",\"name\":\"Benninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-28T04:18:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-05-28T04:22:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Benninger’s big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/\",\"name\":\"PS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5\",\"name\":\"tpennysaver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tpennysaver\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Benninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Benninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS","og_description":"By Conor Foley Times-Shamrock Writer Montrose and Hanover Area players line up along the baselines for the National Anthem. One of the athletes stands out....","og_url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/","og_site_name":"PS","article_published_time":"2015-05-28T04:18:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-05-28T04:22:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"tpennysaver","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tpennysaver","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/","name":"Benninger's big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship - PS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg","datePublished":"2015-05-28T04:18:32+00:00","dateModified":"2015-05-28T04:22:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WGSI_Montrose_trophy-300x199.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2015\/05\/28\/benningers-big-night-lifts-montrose-to-class-aa-championship\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Benninger’s big night lifts Montrose to Class AA championship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/","name":"PS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/75c26bc8e32869a516360463d23964c5","name":"tpennysaver","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d6045c51d67078fca07dea2f9a98096ff872042fa26efc301b1a93de9e6020ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tpennysaver"},"url":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/author\/tpennysaver\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14990\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}