Wildcats Edge Huskies, 4-3

MILL HALL – For the second game in a row the Central Mountain baseball team clawed its way to a late win, the most recent Monday’s 4-3 nail-biter over Mifflin County.

Aaron Swartz, who gutted out a 7-inning complete game win on the mound, drove in the decisive run with a bases-loaded groundball with one out in the bottom of the seventh in a 3-3 game. The home plate umpire ruled the shortstop’s throw to the plate was bobbled by the catcher, allowing the game-ending run to score from third.

The Wildcats used back-to-back walks to Trevor Hanna and Asher Corl to put runners on first and second. A Mahlik Houtz line drive single just beyond the shortstop’s reach loaded the bases and set up the game-winning ground ball RBI from Swartz.

Coach Mike Kramer said his junior pitcher Swartz did an “outstanding job against a solid team.” He said he was throwing first-pitch strikes on the way to a complete game 7-hitter. Swartz was helped by his middle infield, Evan Prough and Hanna collaborating on two groundball double-plays to first to end the sixth and seventh innings.

The Wildcats plated three runs in the bottom of the first on an Austyn Carson single, a sacrifice from Hanna, an RBI single from Corl, a walk to Houtz and a clutch two-RBI single to right from Troy Gardner. Mifflin County, in its first game of the year, chipped back with one in the second inning and two more in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.

Coach Kramer said the winning run in the bottom of the seventh was “not pretty but a win is a win” and said his team was able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Wildcat hits were spread around, singles from Carson, Corl, Gardner, Rocco Stark, Zach Eck and Houtz.

The win moved CM to 2-0 and followed a 6-5 eight-inning win over DuBois last Friday. That contest ended with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth and saw the Wildcats forced to rally from an early 5-0 deficit to pull out the win.

The Wildcats are next in action at District Six Class 5A nemesis Hollidaysburg on Wednesday.