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MILL HALL--Nate Helms is an exciting young player. He did not play the last few games because he lacked talent, but because senior catcher Cy Probst also is very good.
Helms never sulked about the situation. He just kept working and improving. That earned him a starting spot at third base against Jersey Shore on Monday afternoon.
And Helms owned his opportunity.
Helms made his first high school hit a memorable one, rocketing a two-out, three-run double. Helms clutch hit gave Central Mountain a four-run lead and ignited an eye-opening nine-run first inning and helped power the Wildcats to a 14-1, five-inning win at Mill Hall Community Park.
"He's a player. I'm very excited for Nate because he works extremely hard and he's behind Cy and when his opportunity came, he delivered a big hit," Central Mountain coach Mike Kramer said. "That was huge getting those three runs."
Central Mountain (4-3) won its third straight game as Aidan Major and Cru Stover combined on a two-hitter. Major walloped a second-inning grand slam and the Wildcats scored 11 two-out runs with seven players collecting hits. The Wildcats sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning and forced Jersey Shore to throw 74 pitches.
Still, the Bulldogs (3-3) were an out from exiting the inning down just 2-1. Helms then changed the game's complexion with one swing. Facing a 3-1 count, he went the opposite way, driving the ball deep into the right-center field gap. Just like that, Central Mountain had a 5-1 lead and an energized team kept producing as seven straight batters reached base, building an eight-run advantage.
"I think it gave us more energy to keep on putting runs on the board. I'm happy. It felt really good," Helms said. "The top of the first we made a couple mistakes, but we shook it off and we put the hammer down and scored a lot of runs."
"Nate's been finding barrels all year, he just hadn't found grass yet and for him to get that hit with two outs with the bases loaded was huge not only for him, but for the team," Major said. "It really broke the game open and got us some momentum that we built off of."
Peyton Johnson (1 for 1, three runs) offered a look into what made Central Mountain so successful two batters into that first inning. Johnson fell behind 0-2 before fouling off four pitches, working a full count and ripping a single. The Wildcats were selective, drew four first-inning walks and jumped on the pitches they liked.
It was the latest step forward for a team which started 1-3 but has come alive over the last week and scored 22 runs in its past two games. Blade Myers followed Helms' double with an RBI single and Central Mountain hit well throughout the lineup and off the bench with Kelvin Probst and Ashton Probst adding fourth-inning singles. The Wildcats also saw 130 pitches in four innings and hit 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
"Coach was saying we had a slow start but now we're getting going. We're ready," Helms said. "We have 17 players and I feel like everybody can hit the ball. We don't have a weak spot, in my opinion."
"It gets to be contagious when one guy is up there and puts a good at-bat together and it's like opening a can of hits and quality at-bats," Kramer said. "You answer back with nine runs in the bottom half you tend to get complacent, and I was glad we didn't get complacent. They stayed at it."
Major showed that in emphatic fashion with two outs in the second inning. The West Virginia-bound pitcher struck out five in two hitless innings and has surrendered just one hit, striking out 15 in his last 8 1/3 innings.
Still, Major showed he can be just as lethal with his bat. Facing a 2-0 count, Major guessed right, barreled up and launched a 375-foot grand slam, hitting a car parked deep in that left-center field gap. Any remaining Jersey Shore comeback hopes left the field along with the ball on Major's blast.
"I was up in the count 2-0 and I got a fastball middle in which is the spot I was looking for and I hit it well," Major said. "I didn't miss it. I got a good fastball to hit and hit every stitch of it."
Jersey Shore had the unenviable task of playing surging Central Mountain after having not practiced since last Wednesday. The Bulldogs took a brief 1-0 lead during that 50-minute first inning when they capitalized on two errors. Cayden Hess and Owen Anderson executed a double steal with Anderson swiping home. It was the Bulldogs who first had a shot at building a big lead after they loaded the bases with two outs. Major, however, came up big and put his 3-2 pitch right on the outside corner, striking out the side and providing his team a valuable early boost.
Connor Griffin slammed a fourth-inning ground-rule double and Karter Peacock hit a fifth-inning single, but Jersey Shore was unable to mount any more serious threats.
Stover was a major reason why and shined in his three scoreless innings. The sophomore changed speeds and locations, kept Jersey Shore off-balance and struck out six. He has thrown six scoreless innings this season, scattering three hits and fanning 11. Together, he and Major held Jersey Shore without a hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Jersey Shore 100 00--1 2 2
Central Mountain 940 1x--14 7 2
Brandon Laubach, Gage Martzall (1), Owen Anderson (1) and Zach Hinds. Aidan Major, Cru Stover (3) and Cy Probst, Nate Helms (2). W--Stover, (1-0). L--Laubach, (1-2).
Top Jersey Shore hitters: Connor Griffin 1-2, 2B; Karter Peacock 1-3; Anderson run, SB. Top Central Mountain hitters: Major 1-2, HR, 4 RBIs, 2 runs; Peyton Johnson 1-1, 3 runs, SB; Cy Probst 1-1, BB, run; Kelvin Probst 1-1; Nate Helms 1-3, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Blade Myers 1-1, RBI, 2 runs, 2 SB; Ashton Probst 1-2, RBI.
Records: Central Mountain (4-3), Jersey Shore (3-3).