Despite a serious rash of injuries which threatened to derail its season before it even started, Hughesville kept grinding and is once again playoff-bound. The Spartans pulled some serious double duty to secure that seventh straight District 4 Class AAA playoff berth Monday.

Hughesville swept two games at Central Columbia, blanking Berwick, 6-0 before downing the hosts in eight innings, 10-6 to earn their 18th playoff spot in 19 seasons. Jed Abernatha slammed a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning of the second game and Blake Babb struck out five in 2 2/3 innings of relief as Hughesville (10-9) nailed down its 10th win. Gage Webb threw a masterful three-hit shutout against Berwick, striking out nine.

Abernatha and Landen Puderbach had two hits in that game and Webb threw 64 of his 96 pitches for strikes. Hughesville rallied from a 4-2 sixth inning deficit against Central and Silas Abernatha doubled, while scoring three times. Kyler Solomon drove in two runs and Hughesville won for the eighth time in 12 games.

Warrior Run captured a share of its second straight HAC-III championship, defeating Bloomsburg, 8-1. The Defenders (15-4, 8-2) rallied from an early one-game deficit in the league standings and share the crown with Mifflinburg. James Keifer and Tyler Ulrich combined on a three-hit gem with Keifer becoming the area’s first seven-game winner. The senior struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings before Ulrich threw 1 2/3 hitless innings and struck out four. Cohen Zechman had a big day at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs. Logan Stevenson, Jackson Bowers and Collin Brandt all had two hits with Brandt smoking an RBI double. The Defenders scored in each of the first three innings, building a 7-1 advantage.

It took 11 innings and six total pitchers, but Wellsboro won a 6-5 contest at home against Athens, scoring two runs to win in the bottom of the 11th inning. Marek Mascho led the Green Hornets with a 2 for 5 performance at the plate, hitting a home run with two RBIs and scoring twice.

Seniors Mazden Lupton and Hunter Enders made their final high school baseball games memorable ones Monday, forming a two-man wrecking crew and helping the Bulldogs defeat Milton, 14-12. Lupton finished a double shy of the cycle, going 4 for 4 with a home run, triple, four RBIs and three runs.

Enders smashed three doubles, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs. Carter Rhinehart added two hits, a double and two RBIs for the Bulldogs (7-12). Mason Winter struck out seven in four innings of relief an also drove in two runs as did Nate Moore, while Nolen Pauling scored twice.

• Brenna Beck collected three hits and Kinsley Cannode belted her area-high seventh home run, but Holy Redeemer scored four third inning runs and defeated Williamsport, 5-3. Cannode also played a spectacular defensive game in center field, chasing down multiple balls for brilliant catches which saved both hits and runs. Emma Vollman added a double, walk, run and steal for Williamsport 14-3.

Warrior Run defeated Muncy in a five-inning rout, 16-2, at Muncy. The Defenders scored 10 runs through the first two innings and never let the Indians rally.

Alivia Gresh went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored for Warrior Run while Carlota Morente and MacKenzie Heyler both hit doubles. Muncy was led by Hailey Adams and Sadie Odell, both of whom had doubles.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Hughesville 6, Berwick 0

Berwick 000 000 0–0 3 2

Hughesville 410 100 x–6 7 0

Evensen, Lisnock (5) and Yosh. Gage Webb and Kyler Solomon. W–Webb (4-2). L–Evensen.

Top Hughesville hitters: Jed Abernatha 2-3, 3B, 2 runs; Landen Puderbach 2-3, run; Solomon 1-2, 2B; Webb 1-4, run; Dylan McConnell 1-3, 2 RBIs; Wynter Foglemen 2 RBIs.

Hughesville 10,

Central Columbia 6

(8 INNINGS)

Hughesville 020 003 14–10 5 3

Central 022 001 10–6 9 5

Nate Bieber, Blake Babb (6) and Kyler Solomon. Beagle, Lutz (5), Hoffman (7) and Hoffman. W–Babb. L–Hoffman.

Top Hughesville hitters: Jed Abernatha 1-4, 3B, 2 RBIs; Landen Puderbach 1-2, 3 BB, run; Wynter Foglemen 1-3, 2 BB, run; Si Abernatha 1-1, 2B, 3 BB, 3 runs; Solomon 1-4, 2 RBIs. Top Central hitters: Hardie 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, run; Lutz 2-4, 2 RBIs, run.

Records: Hughesville (10-9).

Warrior Run 8,

Bloomsburg 1

Bloomsburg 001 000 0–0 3 0

Warrior Run 133 001 x–8 12 1

Bettinger, Haydt (3), Hunsinger (4), Klingerman (5) and Traugh. James Keifer, Tyler Ulrich (6) and Jackson Bowers. W–Keifer (7-1). L–Bettinger.

Top Warrior Run hitters: Cohen Zechman 4-4, 3B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Logan Stevenson 2-3, RBI; Bowers 2-3, run; Collin Brandt 2-4, 2B, RBI; Ulrich 1-4, run; Colton Ritenour 1-2, 2 runs.

Records: Warrior Run (15-4, 8-2 HAC-III).

Wellsboro 6, Athens 5

(11 INNINGS)

Athens 000 202 000 01 — 5 5 0

Wellsboro 000 003 100 02 — 6 5 6

N. Grazul, K. Wheeler (6), B. Cooke (11) and C. Davidson. M. Mascho, S. Pietrzyk (6), G. Baltzley (11) and C. Tennis. W: Baltzley. L: Cooke.

Top Athens hitters: B. Flynn 2-4, 2B, 2 BBs, run. Top Wellsboro hitters: Marek Mascho 2-5, HR, 2 RBIs, BB, 2 runs; G. Baltzley 1-4, RBI, BB, run; C. Owlett 1-4; C. Tennis 1-4, BB, run.

Jersey Shore 14, Milton 12

Milton 020 310 6–12 8 2

Jersey Shore 202 802 x–14 12 6

Hudson King, Cooper Crawford (4), Jackson Wertz (5) and Gabe Engel. Tucker Hanna, Mazden Lupton (4), Mason Winter (4) and Hunter Enders. W–Winter. L–King.

Top Milton hitters: Engel 2-3, run; Louis Williams 2-3, 2B, 3 RBIs; Brody Locke 2-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs. Top Jersey Shore hitters: Mazden Lupton 4-4, HR, 3B, 4 RBIs, 3 runs; Enders 3-4, 3 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Carter Rhinehart 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, run; Winter 1-3, 2 RBIs; Nolen Pauling 1-2, 2 runs; Nate Moore 1-3, 2 RBIs.

Records: Jersey Shore (7-12).

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

Holy Redeemer 5,

Williamsport 3

Williamsport 001 010 1–3 8 3

Redeemer 004 010 x–5 7 0

Ashlyn Robinson and Payton Pennycoff. Ava Thomas and Katie Genovese. W–Thomas. L–Robinson.

Top Williamsport hitters: Brenna Beck 3-4; Kinsley Cannode 1-4, HR, 2 RBIs, run; Pennycoff 1-2, BB; Robinson 1-3; Emma Vollman 1-3, 2B, BB, run, SB; Brielle Thornton 1-3, run. Top Redeemer hitters: Hailey Pius 2-3; Zoe Pecuch 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBIs; Genovese 1-2, 2B, RBI; Thomas 1-2, RBI.

Records: Williamsport (14-3).

Warrior Run 16, Muncy 2

(5 INNINGS)

Warrior Run 373 30 — 16 6 0

Muncy 100 10 — 2 3 1

M. Heyler, C. Waltman (3), L. Belz (4) and S. Dion. H. Adams, A. Buss (5) and S. Odell. W: Heyler. L: Adams.

Top Warrior Run hitters: A. Gresh 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, BB, 3 runs; C. Morente 1-2, 2B, RBI, run; M. Heyler 1-2, 2B, RBI, BB, run. Top Muncy hitters: S. Odell 1-1, 2B; H. Adams 1-1, 2B.