Mifflinburg stuns Wildcats, 11-7
MILL HALL, PA – Central Mountain baseball fans didn’t see this one coming: an unheralded Mifflinburg baseball team came to Mill Hall Community Park and took advantage of multiple opportunities (including 10 walks) and went home with an 11-7 win.
Afterwards, Wildcat coach Mike Kramer acknowledged his team’s “energy level was not there at the outset.” Mifflinburg built an 11-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh and only four late runs from Central Mountain made the final score closer.
Coach Kramer lauded Mifflinburg, calling its team members “scrappy, well-coached, a good group of young kids.” The visitors outhit Central Mountain eight to five, and coupled with 10 free passes and two hit batters, were able to generate their 11 runs. The Wildcats also had two runners nailed on the bases.
Meanwhile the Central Mountain bats were quiet for much of the game. They used a Peyton Johnson double and an Aidan Major infield single to generate a run in the first inning. The ‘Cats received two gift runs in the fifth when they turned a walk and three Mifflinburg errors into three runs to get within 6-3 after five. But Mifflinburg all but put the game away with five runs in the top of the seventh, utilizing one hit, four walks, a hit batter and an error.
Central Mountain would make it interesting at the end. Gabe Johnson had a pinch-hit double to start the inning; Tanner Swinehart walked and Kaden Falls double both in. Peyton Johnson roped a double, his second of the game, scoring Falls and he would later score to make it 11-7. But the Wildcats’ next three batters were retired, ending the game at 11-7, Mifflinburg.
Falls, the first of three CM pitchers, took the loss. Alan Stamm, the first of two Mifflinburg hurlers, picked up the win.
Mifflinburg advanced to 1-1 on the year, the Wildcats dropping to 1-2. Next up is a trip to Selinsgrove on Friday. Coach Kramer said the team has to bounce back and “play a 7-inning game,” calling for more focus.
M 0 0 3 0 3 0 5 = 11-8-5
CM 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 = 7-5-1
