Central Mountain senior Madison Wian (left) and Taylor Doyle (right) slap hands during last week’s District 6/9 Sub Regional game against DuBois.TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette
If Central Mountain’s District 6-9 Class 5A subregional win over DuBois at Heindl Field Tuesday afternoon wasn’t enough of a thriller, Monday’s game should satisfy some needs. The Wildcats (14-5) make a third consecutive trip back to the state tournament, this time hosting a first-round matchup with Penn-Trafford (15-6) at 4:30 p.m.
Central Mountain has won four of its last five games dating back to its final Heartland Conference matchup against Danville on May 7. Central Mountain’s win over DuBois was gutsy.
The Wildcats won in a four-hour thriller that was created by Mother Nature forcing a 75-minute rain delay as all batters in the lineup tallied at least one hit.
The Wildcats will need all of that this afternoon, and possibly more. Central Mountain hasn’t gotten out of the first round of the state tournament since 2022 when it defeated North Hills, 1-0, before falling to Class 5A runner-up Armstrong. Central Mountain’s journey has prepared them for this moment as the Wildcats look for four more wins to capture a state title. Strength of schedule, wins and losses, ups-and-downs–the Wildcats have embraced it all.
Its loss on the road at South Williamsport was essentially a good loss for the team to get its bearings together to make this playoff push possible, also given the fact that South Williamsport won the District 4 Class AA title and is also in the state tournament.
Central Mountain has had a bit more of an uncharacteristic year than most would have expected. The Wildcats returned 10 players from last year’s team that are all producing solid numbers this season. The odd statistic is that not as many players are tallying double-figure hits and runs but the total number is higher.
The Wildcats had 12 players with at least 10 or more hits last season, which totaled at 190 hits through 20 games (9.5 per game), to this year’s 198 total hits through 19 games. Seven of Central Mountain’s 19 games had at least 15 or more hits, a big difference that shows the Wildcats’ ability to hit the ball well when its bats get hot. Central Mountain most recently tallied 21 hits against a solid DuBois team when the Wildcats hit three home runs.
That will be critical against a Penn-Trafford team that shows well in a good conference with teams such as Shaler Area, Armstrong and Greater Latrobe. Shaler is a team that Central Mountain lost to in the opening round of the tournament last year as Armstrong and Greater Latrobe face off on Monday afternoon as well and the winner will get Central Mountain in the quarterfinals if the Wildcats are victorious.
Senior Madison Hardy currently leads the team in batting average at .483, senior Harley Kunes .474 and Ava Doyle .450. Hardy and Kunes are second and third, respectively, on the team in home runs while junior Cora Myers leads the team in that category with nine on the year.
Hardy also has 28 hits this season (team-high) and 16 runs scored (third on team) while Kunes 18 runs (team-high) and 27 hits (second behind Hardy).
Myers leads the team in RBIs (25) and has proven she can step up with clutch hitting in one- or two-out scenarios with the runner(s) in scoring position. That will be critical for a team who has walked at least three times in 10 contests this year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Katelyn Bowman, Madisyn Wian and Madison Hardy. She may not have the statistics to show forth but Bowman has come on strong at the end of the regular season and into the postseason. She slammed two home runs on DuBois’s Heindl Field last Tuesday and brought in five of Central Mountain’s 13 runs and was part of the timely hitting.
What makes her dangerous is how hard she hits the ball. As a junior she leads the Wildcats with nine doubles.
As a catcher behind the plate she works well with starting pitcher Adalynn McKeague and relief Camdyn Weaver in stopping a lot of passed balls or making plays to throw runners out at various bases. If she can play like she did Tuesday, she may spark some of her teammates again and give Penn-Trafford some problems.
Hardy had three hits last time out and was a key to Central Mountain building its early lead and then once the Wildcats surrendered it she was part of mounting the comeback. A senior who is a leader, Hardy eyes pitches well but she can also gamble on some pitches and hit some balls out of the park.
Like Hardy, Wian was also a big part of the subregional win last week in DuBois. She was the third player to tally three hits and is another player that gets going in a hurry once she can feed off of her teammates. A Lycoming College commit, Wian provides stability in the batting order.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Taylor Doyle. Doyle has had quite the season so far and has served as an underrated star coming from basketball in the winter. She was 2 for 5 in the outing against DuBois and has the ability to lay down bunts and use her speed and athleticism to get not only to first base but to steal second and third as well.
She has three doubles this year and her ability to get to first base may be a game or momentum changer depending on the circ*mstances and timing of the game.
KEY TO WIN
Timely hitting. Central Mountain has already shown it can stay in games all year long with strong pitching from senior Adalynn McKeague, who is back and fired up more than ever in her final season. And with freshman relief pitcher Camdyn Weaver, who owns a 3.32 ERA in 13 appearances, the Wildcats expect to be in a pitcher’s battle with opponents at this time of the season.
Against DuBois, Central Mountain got off to a fast start and jumped ahead by five runs in what appeared to be a quick game until DuBois clawed back following a rain delay. It put pressure on Central Mountain being down four runs but the Wildcats quickly regrouped and showed how veteran-led and mature of a group they are by tying the game and regaining the lead late to secure the win.
Monday’s game against Penn-Trafford won’t be as high scoring as Tuesday’s subregional in DuBois, so the Wildcats must be ready to hit with the game knotted at 0-0, down a few runs or even if they are up a few runs with a willing and capable Penn-Trafford team coming to their field.
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