Lady Wildcat softball starts with Saturday two-win roadtrip

SUNBURY/MILTON, PA – Having already had three games postponed by bad weather, the Central Mountain softball team finally got its 2022 season underway in an unusual manner on Saturday, a two-game down river road trip. Coach Fred Caldwell’s team returned home with two wins: the first stop at 11 a.m.at Sunbury for a hard-earned 4-1, eight inning victory over Shikelllamy, then a short bus trip to Milton for a 16-1, three inning romp over Milton.

The victories mean Central Mountain will be 2-0 for its home field opener next Tuesday against Shamokin.

The win over Shikellamy (1-1) was not easy. The pitchers dual was scoreless through the first four innings, the Lady Braves pushing across a run in the bottom of the fifth for a 1-0 lead. The Lady ‘Cats evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth. Gracie Saar led off the inning with a single and came around and scored on an RBI double from Caitlyn Watson.

The game remained knotted at one each through regulation, then Central Mountain put up a 3-spot in the top of the eighth and it call came with two outs. Watson delivered a double and scored on a double from Allison Lininger for a 2-1 lead. Madison Hardy followed with a 2-run homerun and CM led 4-1 heading to the bottom of the inning.

Winning pitcher Addie McKeague then threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth to preserve the win. The sophomore McKeague went all eight innings, giving up six hits and one run, striking out 14 and walking one.  Watson finished with two hits, Hardy, Saar, Lininger, Sophie Mitchell and Hana Styers with one each.

A short while later at Milton (the game originally scheduled for Thursday) the Lady Wildcats got hits from up and down the line-up, including a  3-for-3 afternoon from Watson and a 2-for-3 day from Kelsey Burrows. The junior Lininger went the distance in the circle, three innings of 1-hit ball, striking out five and walking two.

CM  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 = 4

Shik 0  0  0  1  0  0  0 =1

CM 4  9  3 = 16

M   0  0  1  =  1