Mountain Lions Take Out Wildcats, 3-1 

MILL HALL – Altoona was lugging an 0-3 mark when the Mountain Lions came to Mill Hall Community Park on Tuesday. But they left with a 3-1 win over the home team Central Mountain Wildcats, riding a masterful 4-hitter from Andrew Gressler.

The stylish right-hander kept the ball down, mixed his pitches and kept the Wildcats off balance all game long. Of the four hits he surrendered only one, a first inning double from Talon Falls, left the infield.

Wildcat starter Alex Garbrick pitched well enough to win, going five innings, giving up five hits and three runs, two of them earned; he struck out 7 and walked 3. Ethan Watkins finished up with two shutout innings in relief.

Altoona plated a run in the top of the first, using an RBI single after an infield error. The visitors added another in the top of the third for a 2-0 lead. Central Mountain would get its only run in the bottom of the third, started with a single from Asher Corl; two Altoona errors helped get that run in.

The Mountain Lions would add an insurance run in the fourth for a 3-1 lead and Gressler only got stronger as the game went on. He gave up two infield singles over the final four innings and induced multiple ground ball outs down the stretch.

Central Mountain’s four hits came from Falls’ double and singles from Corl, Garbrick and Brandon Miller.

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 1-1. They open Heartland Conference play Friday at 4 p.m. at Midd-West High School.