Lady Wildcats Win D-6 Title! (Video Added)
UNIVERSITY PARK—Other than one late infield miscue, the Central Mountain softball team played great team ball in all facets of the game and the effort earned the Lady Wildcats their second District 6 Quad-A crown in three years.
The 4-1 Wednesday win over nemesis Mifflin County at Penn State’s Beard Field earned Central Mountain a first-round berth in the PIAA tournament, the game to be played Monday at the same venue, the time to be announced and the opponent the third place finisher from District 3.
The top seeded Lady Wildcats, now 17-3, scored four runs in their first at bat and that proved to be enough off Lady Huskies ace Shelby Lyter.
Jess Strouse worked a one-out walk, stole second and scored on Mariah Major’s two-out single. Bree Hilty was hit by a pitch and Major and Hilty advanced on a wild pitch, both scoring on a single from Jordan Kaler. Winning pitcher Rachael Shady followed with an RBI single and the home team had a 4-0 lead they carried into the top of the seventh.
But Mifflin County, defending district champs, did not go quietly. They used pop fly singles from their seventh and ninth batters to get two on with one out. Central Mountain then misplayed a bunt into an MC run. But Shady bore down, got a struck out for the second out and faced the potential tying run in Mara Rhodes with runners on second and third.
Rhodes drove the ball to deep center field but Lady Wildcat centerfielder Moriah Lindsay had her played perfectly, went back to her right and snared the hard hit ball for the final out and Central Mountain revenge for a seventh inning loss to Mifflin County a year ago.
Shady was solid throughout. She worked out of a two on-one out first inning and held Mifflin County to two hits from innings two through six. She finished with a 6-hitter, striking out three and walking one.
Central Mountain had seven hits, led by Major’s 3-single performance, along with two from Kaler. Other ‘Cat hits came from Bree Hilty and Shady.
| May 28, 2014 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| MIFFLIN COUNTY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| CENTRAL MOUNTAIN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 1 |
