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Madison Hardy propels Wildcats to softball win

By EVAN WHEATON 4 min read

MILL HALL -- For the third time in three games, Central Mountain's softball team found itself in extra innings with a 1-1 tie. And once again, the Wildcats found their answer in the eighth frame.

With two outs and a 3-0 count, Madison Hardy was in an unfamiliar position with leverage against Shamokin pitcher Annie Hornberger.

"Once I was 3-0 I said, 'It's right down the middle, I'm gonna swing,' which I ended up letting it go," Hardy said.

Strike.

Now a 3-1, Hardy went back to it. This time, an audible crack and cheers met Hornberger's ball as Hardy sent it over the center wall for a 2-1 walk off at Central Mountain Tuesday.

Hardy's homer was the third of the Wildcats' season, all oppos.

"We're a really good team," Hardy said. "I mean, we probably could've done that all game but I feel our timing was just a bit off. There was a lot of pressure going into it."

The walk-off home run came in a game dominated by stellar pitching and fielding. Hornberger constantly laid pressure on Central Mountain with 11 strikeouts, with at least one per inning up until the seventh frame.

The Wildcats (3-0) suffered three total hitless innings and Hornberger struck out the side in the sixth.

"You have to tip your hat, she did a great job," Wildcats coach Fred Caldwell said on Hornberger. "We had hoped through the first time seeing her, our hitting would get a little better, and it didn't happen until that last inning. Again, that's a credit to the girls, they didn't give up and kept fighting."

Adalynn McKeague pitched all eight innings for Central Mountain and struck out 13 of the Indians (0-3).

Scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Kelsey Burrows hit a single and stole second base. She then advanced to third on a fielder's choice to first. Caitlyn Watson then hit a line drive to right field to plate Burrows and give the Wildcats the lead.

"I knew we were going to be fine," Hardy said. "(McKeague) is a great pitcher and I knew she would get us out of it. We have a great defense, too."

Shamokin immediately responded in the following top-inning. Kate Glosek earned an RBI to tie it up, and with runners on first and second with two outs, McKeague struck out her last batter of the frame to limit the damage.

Central Mountain ran into trouble in the top of the seventh inning. A base hit from Lindsay Glosek gave the Indians runners on first and second with one out. McKeague worked the Wildcats out of the inning before things got out of hand.

After two ground outs, Katelyn Bowman hit a double, but it wasn't enough to prevent an extra inning. Still, the Wildcats were showing signs of improved batting, not getting struck out and making contact against a pitcher who had been dealing from the circle all game.

"Our team is actually pretty young, a relatively young team. But they've played together for a number of years, and I think they have a lot of confidence in each other and trust in each other," Caldwell said. "They don't get down and some of the players just made that comment, when somebody struggles the rest of us pick them up."

Central Mountain aspires to reach the District 6 Class 5A championship, having done so last year. The Wildcats have the makings of doing so again.

Not because of an unblemished record early in the year, but because Central Mountain has been battle-tested early and often so far.

"That's exactly what we told them," Caldwell said. "It's good to be in those games early in the season and learn how to compete, don't fold when they score."

Shamokin 000 001 00 -- 1 7 1

CM 000 010 01 -- 1 4 2

Adalyn McKeague and Kaitlyn Bowman. Annie Hornberger and Gabby Parks. W: McKeague. L: Hornberger.

Top Central Mountain hitters: Caitlyn Watson, 1 hit, RBI; Allison Lininger, 1 hit; Madison Hardy, 1 hit, home run; Kaitlyn Bowman, 1 hit. Top Shamokin hitters: Kennedy Petrovich, 1 hit; Autumn Kehler 2-4; Kate Glosek, 1 hit; Brooke Sebasovich, 1 hit; Nina Wick, 1 hit.

Starting at /week.