Juniata claims Tri-Valley League crown

From staff reports
    HALIFAX — No strikeouts at the plate. No walks issued. Solid defense. ,


    The Juniata baseball team played biggest in its biggest game of the season.


    A three-run second inning supported Zack Mills’ sensational effort on the mound, and Juniata won the Tri-Valley League baseball championship with a 3-2 victory over Halifax Tuesday.


    “I’ve got a great group of seniors and some younger kids who’ve got a lot of desire,” Juniata coach Bruce Wilson said. “It was great watching the delight after the last out. They played so well tonight, and it was a joy to see them that happy.”


    Mills struck out seven batters while allowing no free passes during his day. The only two baserunners allowed came when Mills let the leadoff batter reach base twice in seven innings.


    “He’s been the pillar of strength for us on the mound all year long,” Wilson said. “Coming into the year, we expected big things out of Zack, and he gave us everything and more we could have expected from him.”


    The Indians (13-4, 13-3 TVL) gave him the support he needed, too.


    Nathan Pray singled to lead off the second, and one batter later, Mills doubled to score the game’s first run. Caleb Shertzer then reached first on a single, and after an error that allowed the runners to move to second and third, Jimmy Krinjeck hit a sacrifice fly to plate Mills.


    Tyler Kirk capped the frame by hitting an RBI single to score Shertzer.


    “We didn’t have too many deep counts,” Wilson said. “We knew he was throwing strikes, and I told the kids to do everything they possibly could to have things come out the way they wanted.”


    Chris Bickel took the loss for Halifax, but Wilson credited the Wildcat hurler for an impressive performance on a big stage.


    “To his credit, he didn’t walk a batter, either,” Wilson said. “It was a regular season game, but it was also a championship game, and both teams knew it. It was a great baseball game.”


    Juniata will now travel to face Benton at 4:30 p.m. today, and play Littlestown next week in the first round of districts.


    “I knew they had that kind of talent, but the way they displayed it, I’m just so pleased and proud of them.”





Upper Dauphin 7, Greenwood 2


    MILLERSTOWN — A four-run Upper Dauphin seventh inning broke open the game and gave it a 7-2 Tri-Valley League baseball win Tuesday over Greenwood.


    Heading into the final inning, the score was just 3-2, thanks to the pitching finale for senior Trey Ritzman.


    “He’s a senior,” Greenwood coach Mark McCoy said. “So, we wanted to let him finish it out. Maybe I should have taken him out but they just hit him.”


    The Wildcats had the lead trimmed to one after getting on the board in the bottom of the sixth.


    Ritzman singled and then Cody Fawver walked. On a passed ball, both runners moved up and then Ritzman scampered home on a wild pitch. When Upper Dauphin’s catcher tossed the ball to the pitcher, it went over his head and then Fawver crossed the plate to cut the lead to one.


    But it was as close as the Wildcats would get as they fell to 5-14 (3-12).


    Greenwood hosts Halifax at 4:30 p.m. today.





Mount Union vs. Juniata Valley, canceled (Inter-County Conference Championship)


    EVERETT — Mount Union and Juniata Valley will share the Inter-County Conference baseball championship after the decision was made to cancel the title tilt.


    The contest was originally scheduled to take place Saturday, but rain washed out the game. Plans were in the works to play the game Tuesday, but logistics kept the contest from ever happening.


    Mount Union will take on Central Cambria at 4 p.m. Thursday in Mount Union in the first round of the District 6 Class AA tournament.





Softball


Lewistown 14, East Juniata 3 (6 innings)


    LEWISTOWN — Senior Roni Gearhart fanned 10 batters in her final high school start and Lewistown scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn a 14-3 victory over East Juniata Tuesday.


    “It was nice to end the season on a winning note,” Lewistown coach Kim Eckley said. “Everyone played well and contributed again.”


    It was the last game of the season for Lewistown, and the final high school game for Gearhart and Paige Sward, the two seniors on the Panthers (8-12).


    “It looks very promising for next year,” Eckley said. “We’ll miss our two seniors, Roni and Paige.”


    Taty Chubb took the pitching loss for the Tigers (6-10), but she went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a run to pace her team.


    “Lewistown hit the ball well against us,” East Juniata coach Bill Treaster said. “The score didn’t really indicate how Taty pitched. We didn’t play good defense. That’s been the downfall for us all year.”


    East Juniata will travel to Midd-West for a make-up game at 4:30 p.m. today. Lewistown will not compete in districts.





Mount Union 13, Williamsburg 0 (5 innings)


    WILLIAMSBURG — Kassandra Atherton and Laiken Rosensteel each had career days as Mount Union blasted Williamsburg 13-0 Tuesday.


    Rosensteel pitched five innings of scoreless ball with three strikeouts, while Atherton went 3-for-3 from the plate with two doubles and a career-high six RBIs.


    “Laiken really came in and did well pitching tonight,” Trojans coach Matt Fiscus said. “She got her chance and she really stepped up and proved herself. Kassandra had a career night with six RBIs. She’s hitting tremendously right now.”


    Leading 10-0, Mount Union (12-5) scored three times in the fifth and held Williamsburg scoreless to end the game in five innings.


    “Several freshmen got their chances tonight and stepped up,” Fiscus said. “I was really happy with how they did. The defense really came together behind Laiken, and hopefully that will bode well for the playoffs.”


    The Trojans will host Bellwood-Antis at 4 p.m. today.





Upper Dauphin 10, Greenwood 0 (5 innings)


    ELIZABETHVILLE — The Upper Dauphin and Greenwood softball squads couldn’t have had much different seasons.


    Greenwood’s young team ended a season-long uphill battle by watching Upper Dauphin celebrate an undefeated league season with a 10-0, five-inning win Tuesday.


    “(Upper Dauphin) is solid from 1-9 for sure,” Greenwood coach Krista Pontius said. “They have amazing pitchers.”


    Those pitchers kept Greenwood from scoring and only allowed the Wildcats to collect two hits. Among the two was a leadoff double to begin the game by senior Kaylee Keener.


    “We had a lot of leadership from our seniors, especially Kaylee Keener,” Pontius said. “She’s a solid as anyone is as shortstop. She hit over .400 and you can’t complain about that.”


    The Wildcats end their season with a 6-13 record.





Juniata 6, Halifax 1


    MIFFLINTOWN — In its last home game of the year, the Juniata softball team went out in style.


    Kami Leach held Halifax to one run on two hits and


the Indians earned a


6-1 Tri-Valley-League


triumph Tuesday.


    The win is Juniata’s 16th of the season, which is a school record.


    “Tonight, we took advantage of a couple of mistakes that (Halifax) made,” Juniata coach Brian Strawser said. “They made a couple errors, and we were fortunate enough to get a big hit to score those runners that were on base.”


    Tricia Zimmerman went 3-for-4 to pace Juniata (16-2) at the plate, while Courtney Miller was 2-for-3.


    “The big thing for us is the 16 wins,” Strawser said. “It was nice to see the team do that at home on our last home game.”


    The Indians will hit the road to face Hollidaysburg at 4 p.m. today.