Baseball scores early, holds on for 4-2 win
By TOM FOX — tfox@lockhaven.comArticle Photos
The players called the week of practice leading into Wednesday’s game some of the best this season.
Signs of the Wildcat team that started off the season 10-2 appeared back as Anthony Houser threw a three-hitter, the defense made several outstanding plays and Central Mountain was able to plate early runs in a 4-2 win over DuBois in Central Penn League play.
The Beavers had a chance in the seventh with one run in the dugout, another at third and the tying tally at the plate. But Houser bore back and recorded his seventh strikeout of the game, preserving the two-run victory.
“I can’t say enough about Anthony,” CM head coach Mike Kramer said. “I’m proud of everything he’s done this year. He worked hard, and he got stronger as the game went on. It’s a great way for him, Brett and James to leave Mill Hall on their Senior Day.
It was Senior Day at the Mill Hall Community Park where the team honored three of its players —Brett Heggenstaller, Houser and James Gallagher. Each contributed in the game with Houser tossing the three-hitter and going 2-for-3 at the plate with a RBI. Heggenstaller began the game with a single, and started a 5-4-3 double play in the field, and Gallagher’s one-out double in the second led to a two-run single by Curt Harpster, plating CM’s first two runs.
“They lifted our program to another level,” Kramer said of his seniors. “When we started practice at the beginning of the year, they had passion for the game, and they worked to get us to this level. They’ve helped to put our program in the right direction.”
Although it wasn’t nearly as symbolic as the time where Allen Iverson went on his rant about going to practice, that dreaded “p” word is just what the doctor order for the slumping Mill Hall boys.
Heading into the game, CM had lost four of its last five and its last three at the Mill Hall Community Park.
Really, it appeared like a different team Wednesday; the confident squad from April back in full force.
There wasn’t a bad at-bat by anyone on the team, putting good aluminum on every pitch. Central Mountain (12-6) pounded out eight hits, and if the park had a fence, it would have been nine because Colten Stover almost put a ball into the community swimming pool in center field, only to watch the fielder jog about 75 feet back from his starting spot to make the grab.
“We needed to step it up in practice,” Houser said. “We had to get our BCBP mindset back. We just had fun at practice, and we just kept working hard. It felt good to be out there on Senior Day. I just wanted to give it all I got since this was the last time I would play on this field as a CM Wildcat.”
Houser was a problem for DuBois (11-9) all day.
He didn’t allow a hit until a two-out single to center by Matt Zimmerman in the fourth. One Beaver run scored on a groundout by Zimmerman two innings later, and other crossed home on a ball that scooted in the dirt.
Zimmerman, Andy Malmgren and Billy Mumma recorded the only DuBois hits, although the team did leave seven stranded on base.
“We couldn’t find that timely hit, and that was a tribute to Houser because when he got in a little trouble, he got tougher on the mound,” DuBois head coach Todd Stiner said. “That definitely plagued us. They had a couple of mistakes that we needed to take advantage on, and we didn’t.
“Houser overpowered us early. He struggled to get his off-speed pitches over, but he threw hard enough early that we weren’t hitting the ball squarely. If his off-speed stuff would have been off later in the game, I thought we could have been in business. He was blowing it by us, and when it appeared that we were catching up to it, his change-up was working well. He threw a great game. I would say that Houser is one of the best pitchers we’ve seen all year.”
CM struck first in the second inning when an error on ball hit by Houser got the pitcher on base, and he advanced to third on a double by Gallagher. Following a strikeout, Harpster ripped a 1-0 pitch from Richie Pruzinsky back up the middle, scoring two.
The Wildcats added two more in the fifth. Ryan Watkins started it off with a single to center, and Matt McGhee was struck by a pitch, putting two on for Cody Dolan. He grounded out to short, but was able to score Watkins. McGhee later crossed the dish on a RBI single to left by Houser as CM built a 4-0 lead.
“We had three very good practices with kids working on becoming a better baseball player,” Kramer said. “It says a lot about how they work, and how they prepare for a game. The first two runs were important. Jumping up early on DuBois was big because I knew that once we got the momentum, there was chance they would melt a little bit.”
Pruzinsky threw well for Stiner, allowing two runs on five hits. He was pulled in the fourth after he ran out of allotted innings for the week.
Houser finished with seven K’s and five walks as he improved his record to 4-2.
CM is back in action this afternoon, playing a make-up contest with Bellefonte. Then, the Wildcats have 12 days off until the District VI Class AAAA championship game on May 28 against the winner of Hollidaysburg and State College.
Central Penn League
CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 4, DuBOIS 2
D 000 001 1 —2 3 3
CM 020 020 x —4 8 3
D: Pruzinsky, Peterson (5) and Gregorio. CM: Houser and McGhee. WP —Houser. LP —Pruzinsky. 2B: D, Malmgren. CM, Gallagher. MH: CM, Houser 2. Records: CM 12-6, D 11-9.
