PHILIPSBURG - Things did not start how Mifflin County coach Jack McCurdy would have liked Friday against Philipsburg-Osceola.
However, thanks to a solid pitching performance from Mikayla Britt, the Huskies picked up a win in their inaugural game, 2-1, over the Mounties.
The Husky hurler gave up one run on two hits in the first. But after that, Britt, along with Rachel Zimmerman, shut down Philipsburg completely.
"After the first inning I wasn't sure how it was going to go," McCurdy said. "After that, she really shut them down. Rachel came in and did a great job finishing it."
The Huskies got a 3-for-3 performance from Tara Kibe, who also drove in a run. While the Huskies did pound out eight hits, it was the errorless game McCurdy's defense played that made the difference.
"For the first game of the season it's outstanding," McCurdy said. "What more could you expect? They put the ball in play a lot and everyone did their job."
Mifflin County hosts Huntingdon Monday.
Mount Union 5,
Williamsburg 4
MOUNT UNION - Klayton Heffner got the Mount Union Trojans off to a good start with a 5-4 win against Williamsburg in Inter-County Conference baseball action.
Heffner struck out the first seven batters of the game and finished with eight hits and nine strikeouts over his 5 2/3 innings of work.
"It was a close game and they played well," Mount Union coach Nick Imperioli said. "Fortunately we were able to pull it out in the end. It's a good sign that we kept fighting back."
Mount Union found itself down twice in the game and prevailed each time. Trevon Walker belted the game-winning hit in the sixth inning to lift the Trojans.
"We were behind twice and came from behind twice," Imperioli said. "There are a lot of guys still learning the game at this level."
Mount Union travels to West Branch Tuesday.
Mount Union 9,
Williamsburg 0
MOUNT UNION - The Mount Union Trojans got off to a hot start to open the 2012 season against Williamsburg in Inter-County Conference softball action.
Aly Smith led the Trojans in the circle to a 9-0 win over the Blue Pirates. The hurler tossed seven innings of 2-hit ball, while striking out six en route to the win.
"Aly really hit her spots and made them earn everything," Mount Union coach Matt Fiscus said. "Our defense played real well behind her and we were hitting some balls real hard today."
At the plate, the Trojans were led by Megan Shugarts with a 3-hit performance. Taylor Miles, Chapin Guiliante and and Smith each collected a pair of hits. Miles drove in a pair of runs as well.
"Williamsburg is much improved and they are nobody to mess with," Fiscus said. "This is a straight warning to the other teams. They can hit and they can pitch."
The Trojans' defense did not have an error in the win.
Mount Union (1-0) hosts Altoona Monday.
