Mascho Homers; Late Spartarn Rally Hands Wellsboro Third Straight Loss

By: Ed Weaver  /  March 23, 2025

Junior Marek Mascho sent a shot to deep left field to tie the game up at 2-all in the bottom of the 5th, but Hughesville rallied with 15 unanswered runs in the final two innings to beat Wellsboro 17-2 on Saturday.

Prior to the 5th inning the Hornets trailed 2-1 before Mascho's solo home run. The Spartans took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, however the Hornets got half of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Senior Gabe Sprouse led off the inning with a base hit, but was then picked off during freshman Griffin Morral's at bat. Morral was hit by a pitch to replace Sprouse on the base path, and would eventually score following a Mascho double and sac fly from sophomore Coen Tennis.

Mascho's homer in th3 5th came with one out. Once the Spartans got back up to bat, the flood gates opened on the Wellsboro defense as Hughesville scored 7 runs in the 6th and then 8 in the 7th. The Spartans finished with 12 hits on the day.

"The final score isn't ideal, but it was a good baseball game for five innings today," head coach Kyle Smith said. "I thought Gabe did a nice job on the mound, limiting the Hughesville offense and we played solid defense for five innings. Marek's home run in the bottom of the fifth provided a much needed spark and tied the game, but Hughesville responded at the plate in the top of the sixth inning and we couldn't provide much resistance after that. We are still searching for a complete game effort with more tough games ahead."

Wellsboro had 5 hits in the game, led by Mascho's 2-for-3 performance. Sprouse finished 2-for-4 and fellow senior Alec Magli was 1-for-2.

Sprouse threw 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 1 hit with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Mascho threw 1 & 2/3 innings, surrendering 7 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits. Morral pitched 1 inning and allowed 1 hit. Junior Jacob Heckman allowed 1 run and walked one, freshman Jake Starkweather allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 2 hits with a walk, and junior Dylan Copp allowed 2 runs (both earned) on 1 hit with 3 walks in 1/3 inning.

The loss drops the Hornets to 0-3 (0-2 NTL Large School Division). The Hornets return to action on Tuesday when they host Athens.