Central Mountain Softball Stunned by Mifflin County
By Tom Elling
MILL HALL- The Central Mountain bats were quieted most of the game by Lady Husky hurler Piper Specht. Even at that, the homestanding team held a 3-1 lead going into the 5th inning. CM starter Adalynn McKeague held the visitors to one unearned run on just two hits, while recording seven strikeouts and walking none. It appeared that a 5th inning insurance run would be enough to propel the ‘Cats to their third straight victory as they held a 3-1 lead and McKeague was going strong.
Then the come-from-behind ladies from Lewistown were ignited by Specht’s second hit of the day – a liner to short right field. They loaded the bases on two bunts that seemingly found the achilles heel of the Clinton County squad.. The bases were loaded with no out. First sacker Dakota Hershberger, who had whiffed her two previous plate appearances, got a fastball up and drilled it over the centerfield fence for a grandslam and a two-run lead. Coach Fred Caldwell called on freshman reliever Camryn Weaver. After walking Jaylee Bodtorf, Weaver fielded a sacrifice bunt for the first out. After recording a strikeout, the lefty unhitched a wild pitch, moving another possible insurance run just 60 feet away. The next batter hit a hard grounder to first with Madison Hardy making a fine defensive play to shut the door.
Central Mountain had two more innings to get the badly-needed two runs to tie the game. It was not to be. Specht forced a lot of ground ball outs and her strong infield made every play. In all, she forced 12 groundouts. Despite giving up four walks and no strike-outs, the right-hander for the Mounties managed to get out of trouble every inning but the last two when she set the ‘Cats down 1-2-3, 1-2-3 to secure the win.
McKeague pitched a good enough game to win, but the ‘small ball’ followed by the clutch blast by Hershberger did her in. It was the team’s first loss and also the initial blemish on her record.
CM’s Madison Hardy had a good game at the plate going 2 for 2, including a high liner over the fence in RF. Harley Kunes added two singles. Cora Myers and Ava Doyle also have a hit apiece.
Coach Fred Caldwell was upbeat after the loss noting that MC is a good team with a solid defense. “They made all the plays and the balls we did hit hard were right at them.”
“We definitely need to work on bunt defense and getting a little more selective at the plate. We did well at that the first few innings, but then we got a bit overanxious. I told the girls we should learn from this and get better. I also emphasized it was a non-league loss and we have the talent to bounce back tomorrow night when we take on Selinsgrove.”
