Lady ‘Cats Smoke Shamokin 10-1

AdminMay 9, 2016Last Updated: May 25, 2016

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Josie Dershem

Josie Dershem

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – The Central Mountain softball team has featured a solid blend of seniors and underclassmen in its 15-2 start to the current season. And today’s tidy 10-1 win over Shamokin (6-9) saw two veterans in the spotlight.

Senior right-hander Emily Strouse moved to 6-0 on the year, putting up a solid, route-going 4-hitter over the Lady Indians who had brought a team batting average of .333 into the game. Strouse faltered only once, walking three of the first four batters she faced, Shamokin scoring its only run in the top of the first for a short-lived 1-0 lead.

“It was good to get out of that first inning only giving up one run,” said CM head coach, Dave Peters, “Emily finally settled in and found her rhythm, moving the ball around and was more effective as the game moved on.”

Fellow senior Madison Brown was equally stellar, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, an RBI and a walk. It was Brown who tied the game in the bottom of the first, doubling in sophomore Josie Dershem who opened the inning with a single and stole second. Before the inning ended the Lady Wildcats had three runs and controlled the rest of the game. Brown’s 3-hit game made her 28 for 56 on the year, giving her a team-leading batting average of .500.

Strouse helped herself at the plate with a 2-hit day, an RBI and a run scored; senior Loren Marasco had two singles and two runs batted in. Sophomore Skylar Smith contributed a double and single and two runs scored. Sarah Reeder rounded out CM’s 11 hit attack with an RBI single.

The game enabled coach Dave Peters to work in a number of reserves, as has been the case in multiple contests this year.

“We have every confidence in our bench,” explained Peters, “Here at the end of the season when the pressure is on, we need to see what our subs are capable of.”

Fortunately, the foul weather of last week has moved two games into the final week of the regular season that changes the landscape a bit. The postponement of the games with Mifflinburg and Jersey Shore will fill an otherwise 10 day gap before district play.

The Lady Wildcats will control their destiny for the rest of the regular season. Going into play today CM, Jersey Shore and Mifflinburg all had one loss apiece in the Heartland Conference. After a trip to Shikellamy this Thursday, Central Mountain will finish up the regular season next Monday at Mifflinburg and next Tuesday, May 17, home with Jersey Shore. Wins in both would give coach Peters’ team the league crown.

“The rain last week was actually to our benefit,” Peters shared, “We weren’t scheduled to play any games next week. We would have ad to sit almost a whole week with no games. Now we’ve got two really good opponents in Mifflinburg and Jersey Shore and you want to be playing the best at the of the season, so Mother Nature actually did us a favor.”

The middle of next week is the cutoff date for qualifying games for the upcoming District 6 AAAA tourney. District semifinals are set for Wednesday, May 25 at the fields of the higher seeded semifinalists. While no district rankings have been posted, Central Mountain’s regular season mark should earn the team a home semifinal game.