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Fourth time’s a charm

LEWISTOWN – Good to the last out.

The future of Mifflin County baseball is alive and well after Saturday’s Mifflin County Farm League championship game at Kish Park.

It was first place against second when the undefeated 7Mtn. Sod when up against Joe’s OIP.

Offenses took center stage as Joe’s OIP came up the winner of a 10-8 nail biter.

“I thought we were going to win this game, I really did. We lost three times during the regular season to 7 Mtn. Sod which was a superb team,” Joe’s OIP coach Will Kearns said. “I tried to get guys ready for today because it was the grand finale. They came out and showed they were ready to play. They all did their part from my outfielders to my catcher, my pitchers. They all did their part. Today they came and they played. 7 Mtn. Sod is a great team. They are awesome team, they are. We knew if we were going to win we would have to play our best game, and we did.”

In the top of the sixth, Joe’s found itself trailing 7-6 with only three outs to score two runs to go ahead in the contest.

Not only did the OIP score two but doubled that, plating four to take a 10-7 advantage into 7Mtn.’s part of the inning.

Megan Baumgardner got the inning going when she made the best of a bad situation, reaching on an error.

Leadoff hitter Mason Baumgardner lifted a double, putting runners in scoring position at second and third.

Parker Kearns kept the momentum going as he loaded the bases with an infield single.

Jayden King knotted the game at seven, posting an RBI single and giving new life to Joe’s.

Witrh one out, Peyton Yeager put his team back in front posting an RBI single of his own, making it 8-7.

Nick Kirk put the OIP at the 4-run inning limit bringing in King and Kearns, upping their lead to 10-7.

Seven Mtns. gave it one last valiant effort in its final at bats but came up just short.

With one out, Caden Bell singled to get the inning going.

Izzy Gonzalez packed quite a punch in her turn at the plate as she blasted a shot to the outfield, ending in an RBI-triple.

In the process, the OIP lead dwindled to just a 2-run advantage.

The score heald and Joe’s OIP held on for the victory nod.

“I was really proud of them,” said coach Tim Clark when asked about his undefeated regular season. “Every kid on my team improved from the beginning of the year. From the first one to the last one all the kids improved. They worked hard and played hard. I couldn’t be prouder. I told them afterward its hard to beat a team four times in a season.”

Joe’s OIP scored three in the top of the second, taking a 3-0 lead.

Highlighting the inning was Megan Baumgardner’s two-run single. Scoring for Joe’s in the inning were Yeager, Peyton Kearns and Kirk.

In the bottom of the second, 7Mtn. got on the board on an RBI single by Gabe Yoder. Yoder brought home teammate Bell, making it 3-1.

The visitors added another run in the third, taking a 4-1 lead.

After tying the game in the bottom of the fourth, 7 Mtn. briefly took the lead at 7-6 going into the final inning.

Both teams started slowly as their respective defenses were able to shut each other down in the first inning and a half of play.

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