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Lyter, Rhodes, Hunter named first-team Mid-Penn all-stars

LEWISTOWN – Every time Shelby Lyter stood in the circle for the Mifflin County softball team this season, she gave the Huskies a great chance to win.

Among those performances were a 10-strikeout perfect game on May 5 at Carlisle and a 16-strikeout masterpiece, a 5-2 win at Red Land on April 14.

For that type of work, Lyter was one of three Huskies named as first-team Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division all-stars.

“She’s been a key part of our program for three years,” Mifflin County coach Jack McCurdy said. “Shelby was the obvious pick. She’s the driving force of our team.”

The Huskies’ pitcher finished the regular season with a Commonwealth Division-leading 12 wins and the finished fourth in the entire Mid-Penn in wins.

She also was the owner of a stellar 0.85 ERA and struck out 141 batters on the season, a clip at 9.2 per seven innings.

“She’s right at the top of every category,” McCurdy said. “Every time she pitches, she limits teams. She definitely deserved first-team Mid-Penn.”

Lyter, along with third baseman Kale Hunter and centerfielder Mara Rhodes were named to the team.

Hunter consistently was a force in the Huskies line-up, batting a team-best .397 while hitting third or fourth this season and knocking a team-high 15 Mifflin County runs.

“Kale has definitely been instrumental in our team this year driving in runs from the four-spot,” McCurdy said.

Hunter also has been great in the field for Mifflin County, contributing to an overall great defensive season.

Like Hunter, Rhodes has been a force offensively for Mifflin County.

She has hit in the two- or three-hole most of the season and has set the table for Hunter and the rest of the Huskies.

Rhodes hit .377 and finished seventh in the division in hits (26) and second in doubles (9).

“Mara’s an outstanding outfielder,” McCurdy said. “She had some outstanding performances for us. I think the coaches saw she was one of our best players.”

Mifflin County also had two honorable mention selections, catcher and lead-off hitter Allessa Morrison and outfielder Tara Kibe.

Morrison has served often as the catalyst for the offense, getting on base to start off innings.

The finest example of that was in an April 9 game against Carlisle, when she led off the game with a triple, starting a first-inning, five-run barrage.

The very next inning, the Huskies catcher did it again, singling to start the inning and steal second base en route to two more second-inning runs during the 13-3 win.

The catcher hit .344, was third in the conference in runs (25), tied for fourth in home runs (3) and triples (3).

“Allessa has produced a lot of runs for us this year,” McCurdy said. “Allessa is a very talented player and just a good all-around player.”

Morrison also played a critical role behind the plate in holding opposing runners at bay.

“She’s done a really good job catching for us,” McCurdy said. “She’s also very tough to steal on because she has a good arm.”

Her seven extra-base hits were second on the team to Rhodes.

McCurdy saw Kibe’s selection more as her contributions to the Huskies outstanding defense.

“Tara’s an outstanding outfielder,” McCurdy said. “I know (the ball) is going to be caught if it goes to her.”

Mifflin County was rewarded for finishing the regular season 15-5 overall and 13-3 in the Mid-Penn conference, a tie with Cumberland Valley for first-place in the Commonwealth.

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