Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS East Juniata's Eliza Hammel reaches out to try and bring in a hard-hit ball to second base.

COCOLAMUS — The East Juniata softball team struggled to score Wednesday as they lost 9-1 to Halifax in six innings during their first home game of 2026.

The Tigers struck out 13 times with only four hits. “Our struggle is hitting the ball right now,” East Juniata coach Wes Diehl said. “We are a young team, and it shows at the bat. We have to work on some batting stuff at practice, we have to work on connecting with the ball.”

Madison Snyder started in the circle for the Tigers, throwing two scoreless innings to begin the game. She finished with five earned runs on 10 hits allowed. Four errors also loomed large for a team that needed to keep Halifax’s run total low.

“I was happy with what Maddie was doing,” Diehl said. “She has been consistent on the mound all three games to start the season. Very happy with her pitching. We had one or two throwing errors, but for the most part our defense is doing pretty well. We could have covered a couple bases better. But we go over that stuff in practice, we will improve on it.”

Diehl believes in his battery right now with Snyder and catcher Landyn Kramer. “The only reason she is catching is because our original catcher has a concussion,” Diehl said. “Those two specifically are doing a good job.”

Halifax scored two in the third, four in the fifth and three in the sixth. Cramer singled home Snyder in the sixth for the Tigers only run.

East Juniata will move on and play at Juniata at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10. They are still in the process of scheduling makeups from previous postponements earlier in the season.