JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A stellar performance from Johnstown starting pitcher JD Greeley sparked the Mill Rats to their first shutout victory of the season, claiming an 8-0 victory over the Champion City Kings in Prospect League action, Monday.
Greeley allowed just three hits over seven scoreless innings while walking three and striking out three on 85 pitches. Tre Benjamin tossed the final two innings in relief, giving up just one hit. Benjamin walked three and struck out two.
All four of Champion City’s hits were singles.
Johnstown, however, tallied six extra-base hits, including two doubles, two triples and two home runs out of their 11 hits. Pete Capobianco and Joe Alcorn each recorded round-trippers, with Alcorn’s being a two-run inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the eighth. Capobianco launched a solo home run over the screen in left field in the sixth.
Alcorn and Damian Yenzi each drove in three runs for the Mill Rats. Lukas Torres and Mack Higuchi both tallied two hits. Seven different Johnstown players had both a hit and a run scored.
The Mill Rats grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Yenzi and a run-scoring groundout from Alcorn, before extending its advantage to 4-0 in the sixth on Capobianco’s homer and a Higuchi RBI triple.
Johnstown closed out its scoring with a four-run bottom of the eighth. Alcorn’s homer and a two-run double by Yenzi provided the tallies.
The Mill Rats (15-21, 3-2) host Champion City in their next contest on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
