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By KYLE LOVERN

Sports Editor

NAUGATUCK – The Tug Valley baseball team will hit the road for its sectional tournament.

The Panthers will take on the Tolsia Rebels in the opener on Friday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. The single elimination tourney will be held at George Brumfield Park in Wayne.

The winner of that contest will then take on perennial Class AA power Wayne at approximately 7:30 p.m.

The Pioneers will have the home field advantage. Wayne was ranked No. 7 in the state in Class AA and has a 15-8 record as of May 3.

Tug Valley has had ups and downs this season as head coach Jeff Varney and his staff try to build the program at the school. Varney hopes his team will peak at the right time.

The Panthers only have four regular season wins, but two of those were against Tolsia, their first round opponent.

Tug Valley is lead in hitting by junior first baseman Jordon Mounts who is batting .484. Not far behind Mounts is senior pitcher-outfielder Chuckie White who is hitting at a .414 clip. Infielder David Runyon is batting .370 and senior Gabe Varney, a pitcher-infielder comes in a .293.

White leads the team in RBIs with 16, while Mounts has 15. Tyler Lucas and Zack Baize both have 11 RBIs, while Varney has knocked in 10 runs.

Assistant coach Seth Ooten said the staff had not decided who will pitch the first game of the sectional tournament.