Kamren Martin-Exeter

In six career starts, Kamren Martin has thrown two no-hitters. The Exeter junior continued to impress with another quality outing against Twin Valley on Wednesday in Reiffton. The 6’3 righty allowed one earned run on six hits over 6.1 innings as the Eagles held off the Raiders 3-2. “I definitely could’ve located my off-speed [pitches] a little better. They couldn’t hit the fastball and that’s what took me all the way,” explained Martin. He struck out seven and walked four to improve to (3-0) with a 0.98 ERA. Martin has 22 strikeouts over 21.1 innings, while giving up just a dozen hits. Twin Valley put together three singles in the first inning, but only managed one run. Luke Wagner, a senior catcher who’s committed to Alvernia, delivered a RBI single through the left side with two outs. Brandon Weller helped Martin by throwing out two runners attempting to steal second base in the first two innings. The promising sophomore catcher is hitting .321 with a team-high five doubles and ten RBI. Exeter put two runs on the board in the 3rd. Aiden Rhoades, the No. 9 hitter, led off with a double to center. Jake Hafer followed with a triple to deep right field. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Chase Youse to make it 2-1. Hafer is off to a red hot start to the year. He has a .469 batting average with three doubles and three triples. Hafer went 2-for-3 on Wednesday. The 6’2 southpaw is (2-0, 0.88) on the mound. “He’s definitely a dog on this team,” said Martin. The (8-2) Eagles added an important run in the 5th. Rhoades scored on a double steal to give them a 3-1 advantage. The (4-3) Raiders made things interesting late. Logan Crunkleton ripped a RBI double to left-center with nobody out in the top of the 6th. Wagner then hit a ball down the third base line that could’ve been trouble for Exeter. However, Brenton Feathers dove to his right, knocked down the ball, and then threw out Crunkleton who was trying to get back to second base. “That’s definitely a game changer. If he doesn’t get that, they could score a lot more runs,” emphasized Martin. Luke Raines grounded into a double play to end the inning. Martin walked two in the top of the 7th and was taken out after throwing 97 pitches, 61 for strikes. Junior Liam Porter earned the save with back-to-back strikeouts of Brody Majeski and Stevenson commit Ben Vaughan. “It’s huge to have a closer that can come in and finish your work for you,” replied Martin. Kooper Zdimal went the distance for Twin Valley. He limited the Eagles to two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. Zdimal (3-1, 1.17) is headed to Kutztown University where his brother Kannon is a sophomore pitcher. The Eagles’ extended their winning streak to four. Gavin Miller hurled a gem in a 10-2 victory over Muhlenberg on Tuesday. “We definitely have a really solid rotation this year,” stated Martin. Miller (3-0, 1.58) is committed to Division II Shepherd. The senior has piled up 27 strikeouts with only two walks in 17.2 innings. Exeter only had two seniors in its starting lineup last year when the Eagles finished (11-9, 4-8). They’re now second in the District 3-5A power rankings behind Palmyra. “I hope to go all the way. We definitely have the talent,” said Martin.