Wildcat Baseball Wins Shortened Season Opener
By Joe Walker
MILL HALL- It was a cold afternoon for baseball, but it was the end of the game that left everyone a little frozen, as the game was called in the middle of the sixth inning because of darkness. Thus by rule, the game reverted back to the last full inning, which the Central Mountain Wildcats led 5-2 after five innings, allowing them to get a season opening win.
The visiting DuBois Beavers tied the game at 5-5 by scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning, after the top half was done, the umpires stopped play for darkness and thus it reverted back to the last full inning which was the fifth and the Wildcats leading 5-2. After talking to the coaches, the umpires walked off the field and left everyone frozen and puzzled for a moment.
The Wildcats broke a scoreless game with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Malaky Moyd and Brady Lavelle both singled and then Moyd later scored on a two out single by Kevin Grenninger for a 1-0 lead.
DuBois then plated two runs in the top half of the fifth, as Wildcat starter Gavin Bower walked the first two batters and was replaced by Gage Laughner. The Beavers got a RBI single from Hunter Allman and then an RBI Sac Fly from Trey Wingard to give the Beavers a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning Tom Sprague led off with a single, followed by a walk to Elek Fravel and a bunt single from Connor Foltz to load the bases. Malaky Moyd drew a walk to force in Sprague and then a Sac Fly from Nate Wian scored Fravel and a double by sophomore catcher Watt Probst scored Foltz and Moyd to give the Wildcats a 5-2 lead after five innings. That set the scene for the wild sixth inning.
“I’m not sure how to feel, I am glad we got a win, but that is not the way I want to win games. I wish they would have warned us that the fifth inning might be the last inning before it started or let us finish the bottom of the sixth and give us a chance to win it outright. But, they were looking out for the safety of the kids and of course that is most important.” commented a mixed emotioned Wildcat head coach Mike Kramer after the win.
“I was pleased with the team, we got some timely pitching, defense and hitting in some cold conditions. Gavin Bower did a good job of getting some outs when he needed them and the defense provided some plays when we needed it. Gage Laughner did a good job of coming in and getting those two outs to limit their scoring. Then in the fifth inning we got some timely hitting, especially Watt’s (Probst) big hit that proved to be the difference in the game” added Kramer.
Laughner got the mound win in relief, as he officially faced three batters in the top of the fifth, allowed one single, one sac fly and a strikeout to end the top half of the fifth. Gavin Bower went the first 4⅓ innings, as he allowed two runs on three hits, while issuing three walks and recorded four strikeouts.
Six different Wildcats accounted for the team’s hits, as Grenninger, Sprague, Foltz, Moyd and Lavelle all had singles, while Probst added his double in the win. Tyler Chamberlain, Hunter Allman, Lucas Delaney and Talon Hodge all had singles for the Beavers.
The Wildcats will be back in action at 4:30 pm on Monday afternoon, when they will host the Panthers of Milton in a Heartland Conference game. On Wednesday they will travel to Selinsgrove for another Heartland Conference game at 4:30 pm.
Inning 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 = R – H – E
DuBois 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 2 = 2 – 4 – 2
CMHS 0 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 4 = 5 – 6 – 1
