TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain baseball players meet at the mound during a baseball game against State College at Medlar Field earlier this season. The Wildcats beat Dubois 3-1 at home on Tuesday to improve to 9-2.

From Tuesday’s telling win over Dubois, Central Mountain’s response to adversity was among the aspects that stuck out to head coach Mike Kramer. The Wildcats were facing perhaps their toughest opponent of the regular season – a storied program repping a 12-1 record. And Dubois ensured they’d have a tough time winning late.

After five seamless innings where CM built a 3-0 lead, chaos erupted in the sixth. Blake Walker’s shut-down pitching briefly waned. An error occurred, a few fieldable – albeit hard-hit – balls fell to the field, and miscommunications took place that put Dubois in position to strike.

Just like that, the Beavers had narrowed the gap to two, with the tying run on base and lead-taking run up to bat.

However, with the help of a runner’s interference call, the Wildcats got out of the jam with the damage still at one run. And though Dubois had briefly obtained the momentum, with a few solid batters on deck, Central Mountain ensured it wouldn’t capitalize in the seventh.

Aiden Jones made a sound play at first, fielding a well-placed grounder before tagging first with room to spare. The Beavers would notch a one-out single, but Walker and his field never allowed the tying run to get on base again, with Watt Probst forcing out the next batter at first with little room to spare and Austin Frank sealing the deal with a pop out at third.

It was an effort Kramer was proud of, a pressurized situation he feels the team can use to its benefit down the stretch.

“Pressure is a privilege,” said Kramer when discussing that late effort. “They stay composed in tight situations. The adversity is not going to get to them because we try to put them in those situations in practice. They’ve faced it throughout their baseball careers.”

It also serves as another cog demonstrating this program’s ability to reload. Despite losing seven impactful seniors from last year’s District 6 championship squad, Central Mountain remains one of the top teams in the Heartland-I, District 6 and PIAA Class 5A.

Storied returners have certainly played a role there, with returning standouts like Walker, Probst and Frank leading the way and key reserves from last year’s squad – like Darius Shade and Felix Oquendo – improving into considerable starters. But the biggest key to the team maintaining that level of success is its first-time starters stepping up when it counts.

Jones – a senior first baseman – was crucial in Tuesday’s win, posting two hits, contributing to two runs that served as Central Mountain’s cushion late and playing solid defense from start to finish.

His fifth-inning RBI single was particularly vital, giving the Wildcats extra breathing room when things got dicey late. And earlier in the season, he posted a shutout effort from the mound in a 6-0 win over rival Jersey Shore.

In a bounce-back win over Selinsgrove last Friday, Josh Ludlow took the mound with a bases-loaded, no-outs scenario. Despite no mound appearances as a junior, the senior proceeded to strike out two to help Central Mountain get out of the jam, going on to pitch two more scoreless innings as the Wildcats ran away with it in five.

Austin Andrus contributed two runs in a tight, 6-5 win over State College earlier this season. Luke Nonemaker, Dane Hanna and Yayfran Sanchez contributed seven combined RBIs in a run-rule victory over Punxsutawney. The list goes on.

“It’s definitely been some of the guys stepping up,” said Walker when asked about the team’s keys to success. “There’s been a bunch of moving around, but everything’s worked out so far.”

“New guys, new faces have stepped in and established their roles,” emphasized Kramer. “Everybody in this group is vital to the success of this team, and that is what’s going to help us continue taking strides forward. It takes every single person in this dugout for us to be successful.”

It took just two games for Central Mountain to prove itself with a tight road win over Williamsport and six for it to rack up five considerable wins. Despite having just 11 games together, the field operates with a strong sense of chemistry, and the offense is finding its groove heading into May.

“We’re getting better as a team, a little more connection,” said Jones following Tuesday’s win. “We’re starting to put the ball in play more often, starting to add those back-to-back hits together.”

Since its opening, 11-5 loss to Pittston back in March, defense has been the name of the game for the Wildcats, as they’ve given up just over two runs per games through their last ten affairs. But recent run totals of 17, 13 and 12 would indicate a more established balance, one which could certainly aid it as it prepares to make a deep run in postseason.