Lady Wildcats Battle Back Against Mifflinburg

AdminApril 5, 2016Last Updated: April 6, 2016

2 minutes read

Kimmee Coder

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP — The Central Mountain softball team continued its hot start, winning game number four in a row by a 3-2 score over Mifflinburg on Tuesday, but it was far from easy.

It was a match-up of two undefeated teams, the home now 4-0, Mifflinburg dropping to 2-1. Both teams played great defense and it took a late Lady Wildcat rally to pull out the win; to do so they used the multiple talents of senior Emily Strouse to secure the victory.

In the top of the sixth inning and Mifflinburg up 2-1, the visitors tried to score an insurance run on a single to center. Strouse knocked down the hit, fired the ball to first baseman Loren Marasco who relayed a strike to catcher Kimmie Coder who put the tag on Mifflinburg’s Morgan Kyler.

In the bottom of the sixth and down 2-1, Central Mountain got leadoff singles from Autumn Young and Sarah Reeder. Coder sacrificed them into scoring position and Young scored on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Caitlyn Brush. Strouse followed with a sacrifice fly, giving CM a 3-2 lead.

“To see this team battle to the very end, two games in a row is a very big plus for us early in the season, head coach Dave Peters said of his squad’s late game comeback. We had confidence the whole time and we talked about when we look back to last year and it was a 3-2 win from a 3-run homer.”

“We know Mifflinburg is a quality program, that’s a big conference win of us,” said Peters, ” I just like the effort and enthusiasm these young ladies bring to the game.”

In the top of the seventh Strouse came on in relief of starter Josie Dershem with one on and one out; she induced two pop-outs to end the game and earn the save.

Dershem (2-0), after a rough first inning in which she surrendered three hits and Mifflinburg’s only two runs, settled down and finished with six and one-third innings work, giving up six hits, striking out one, walking four and picking up the win.

“It was a good job on Josey’s part to keep her head and let the and let her team work behind her defensively,” coach Peters commented on the rough start early in the game, “This one of those games where you know you are going to face a quality opponent and you have to keep your head into it,” added Peters.

Central Mountain had scored its first run in the fourth inning, using a Madison Brown single, an infield error and a bases-loaded walk to Coder. Mifflinburg pitcher Hanna Boop held the Lady Wildcats to four hits, the singles from Young, Reeder and Brown, plus another from Loren Marasco.

The Lady Wildcats are on the road for the rest of the week, at Shamokin (2-1) on Thursday and at Altoona (1-0) on Friday.