Lady Wildcats edge Shamokin to go to 3-0
By Tom Elling
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – It was deja vu for Coach Fred Caldwell’s squad as twice in three games they had to go extra innings to secure a win. Ironically, it was the same batter that hit the game-winner with a home run. Last Saturday, Madison Hardy smashed a three-run dinger to drop Shikellamy in 8 innings. This time at home on Tuesday it was a solo blast in the bottom of the 8th to keep the Lady ‘Cats undefeated. Wearing the collar her first three trips, the Wildcat sophomore first-sacker drilled a 3-1 pitch over the right center fence to give Addie McKeague her second win in just a few days.
Hardy was not the only star. McKeague gave up seven hits (all singles) while holding the visitors to just a single run. She notched 13 strike-outs and hit one batter. The only run she allowed was in the top of the 6th after Central Mountain took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Shamokin’s Kate Glosek knocked in Kennedy Petrovich who had led off the inning with a single. McKeague buckled down and got the next batter with a huge strikeout.
The score remained tied until Hardy’s walk-off blast with two out in the bottom of the eighth.
Central Mountain had just three other hits off the hard-throwing Shamokin right-hander Annie Hornberger. Caitlyn Watson had a big two-out run-producing single for the game’s first run. Kelsey Burrows led off that inning by getting to first on a rare Shamokin error. She ended up on third after two groundouts. On a 3-1 pitch, Watson drilled a shot past first. The other two hits were Allison Lininger’s one-out single in the first and Kaitlyn Bowman’s double in the seventh.
Key defensive plays were made by Watson and leftfielder Sophie Mitchell. Watson’s was a back-to-the-infield grab of a looper by Autumn Kehler. Mitchell’s a diving catch of a liner off the bat of Petrovich.
Central Mountain (3-0) will be back in action at the CM athletic complex hosting Jersey Shore (2-0) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Shamokin dropped to 0-3 with its Tuesday loss.
