‘Cats use 12 Hits to Outpace Huskies, 6-2

AdminMay 7, 2018Last Updated: May 7, 2018

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LEWISTOWN – Central Mountain picked up a key win over District 6 rival, Mifflin County, using 12 hits to defeat the Huskies 6-2.

The Wildcats got on the board early in the top of the first inning when Zach Eck led off with a single followed by a double from Asher Corl. Then with one out on the board, starting pitcher Aaron Swartz helped his own cause by plating Eck before the Mifflin County stooped any further threats.

The scoreboard remained silent until the top of the fourth inning when Trevor Hanna smacked a one-out double to get things rolling again.Then Troy Gardner followed up with a base bit to score Hanna, giving CM a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies would narrow the gap in the bottom of the fourth inning by scoring a run of their own when the Mifflin County bats started catching up to Swartz. The Huskies put together back-to-back walks, a fielder’s choice and a single to make the score 2-1 still in favor of Central Mountain.

Mifflin County worked another walk, but the Wildcats picked up the second out of the inning when they picked off a Husky runner between third and home. Then another Husky batter earned a walk to load the bases once more resulting in coach Mike Kramer making a pitching change to bring in sophomore, Zane Probst.

The change on the mound for CM paid off as the next Mifflin County batter grounded out to first, ending the inning with the ‘Cats holding on to a slim 2-1 margin.

Eager to extend their lead, Central Mountain wasted little time in responding in kind when Zach Eck opened up the top of the fifth inning with a double to center field.

Then with one out on the board and facing a 3-1 count, Mahlik Houtz cleared the left field fence for a 2-run homer to put the ‘Cats up 4-1. Then it was back-to-back singles from Probst and Evan Prough along with a sac fly from Hanna to score Brady Eck who was the courtesy runner for Probst, extending the Wildcat lead to 5-1.

The Huskies would use a walk, a double and a sac fly to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to close the margin to 5-2 in favor of CM.

Central Mountain would tack on an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a single from Houtz, a walk from Probst and a base hit from Tanner Lavelle.

Swartz worked 3.2 innings on the mound allowing 2 hits, 5 walks, striking out 3 batters. Probst worked the final 3.1 innings giving up 1 hit, 2 walks while also collecting 3 strikeouts.

Central Mountain will next see action when they will host another District 6 opponent, Altoona Area at Mill Hall Community Park on Wednesday, May 9, 2018.