Central Mountain Claims District Crown, Avenging Loss to DuBois

UNIVERSITY PARK — What a difference a few weeks can make. April 29 the Central Mountain softball team struggled in the first round game of the Lady Wildcats’ own Thunder on the Mountain tournament. Falling behind early, the home team fell 6-1 to DuBois.

But on Wednesday the roles were reversed, the Lady Wildcats (13-7) striking early and shutting down the Lady Beavers (10-11) by the same 6-1 score in the District 6/9 championship game at Penn State’s Beard Field. The victory earned CM a berth in a PIAA play-in game Wednesday, May 31, set for the Penn State – Behrend Campus in Erie, the opponent Meadville from District 10.

Central Mountain jumped on DuBois starter Molly Nosker early, all with two outs in the bottom of the first. Winning pitcher Cait Brush doubled over the head of the DuBois centerfielder. Skylar Smith singled to left, driving in Brush. Morgan Wetzel got on board on an infield error and both scored on a double to center from Autumn Dershem. Jenni Skow followed with an RBI double to left for a four-run first inning.

DuBois would score its lone run in the top of the second, loading the bases on two singles and a walk but scoring just once on a fielder’s choice ground out. Other than two DuBois singles with two outs in the top of the third, Brush was near untouchable for the duration. Over the final four innings she allowed only two base runners, one of a fifth inning walk, the other on a final inning infield error.

Central Mountain answered back in the bottom of the second; Josie Dershem plated Cassidy Brush with a double off the leftfield fence. Brush had walked to start the inning. They added an insurance tally in the bottom of the sixth when Wetzel bombed a mammoth homerun over the left field fence, putting the score at 6-1, what proved to be the final.

Brush stretched her seasonal record to 11-5 with her 11th complete game, her final line: seven innings, four hits, one run, four strikeouts and two walks. Other than the final inning error the Wildcat defense was superlative, including right fielder Maegan Miller who recorded three putouts battling a strong crosswind.

Central Mountain had been held to four hits and one run in the teams’ April meeting. Wednesday they ended with six runs on six hits, five for extra bases, including the doubles from Cait Brush, Autumn Dershem, Skow and Josie Dershem. Smith had the lone single and Wetzel had the homerun, her first in high school ball.

The Wednesday, May 31 play-in opponent Meadville has a record of 2-9, according to MaxPreps. The winner of that game advances to the first round of the PIAA playoffs, the winner taking on the third place team from the WPIAL (District 7), that game on Monday, June 5. The district crown for Central Mountain was its fourth, the others coming in 2001, 2012 and 2014. The Lady ‘Cats finished second in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2013.