Wildcats Clip Braves 3-0

MILL HALL – Central Mountain picked up their third win of the season by edging Shikellamy 3-0 as both teams battled steady pitching, heavy winds and overcast skies.

The game began as a classic pitching duel with both teams denying their opponent scoring opportunities. Then in the bottom of the third inning as the CM batting order was making their second round of the game, the Wildcat bats came to life and plated three runs that would hold up for the victory.

Evan Progh led off the inning with a base hit, then, with one out on the board, Rocco Stark stroked a deep fly ball to left field that fell safely, scoring Prough. Stark used his speed to stretch out the sure double into a triple, beating the Brave’s throwing attempt. Austin Carson followed with a fly ball to center field that scored Stark. Then Trevor Hanna worked a walk to reach first and advance Carson to second. Asher Cool then pounded out a hit to left field to plate Carson and send Hanna to second base for the 3-0 lead.

The Wildcats could have made the score even more one-sided as they left 10 runners on base through the course of the game. On each attempt to score additional runs, Shikellamy’s defense would stiffen and stop the threat.

Though the offense had stalled on occasion, the Wildcat pitching and defense certainly prevailed over the Braves. Aaron Swartz threw the first 6 innings yielding only one base hit as he kept the Shik offense off balance. Swartz struck out 7 batters, walking 3. Zane Probst came in to close out the game for the final 3 outs, throwing out the lead off batter on a bunt attempt, then striking out the next two batters to slam the door on Shikellamy.

Carson was 3-4 in the batters box with 2 singles and a double. Corl had a pair of base hits while Mahlik Houtz had a base hit and a triple from Rocco Stark rounded out the hitting for Central Mountain.

The Wildcats move to 3-0 overall, 1-0 in the PHAC on the season. The ‘Cats will next see action on Monday, April 9, 2018 when they travel to Selinsgrove.