In recent seasons, Hollidaysburg and Central Mountain have engaged in somesuspenseful, barnburner District 6 Class 5A baseball championship games that were decided by walkoff hits.
But Tuesday’s title game between the two teams at Peoples Natural Gas Field didn’t follow suit.
Senior right-hander Aidan Major pitched a one-hit shutout, and Hollidaysburg mistakes provided top-seeded Central Mountain with a bevy of scoring opportunities, as the Wildcats won their third straight District 6 Class 5A championship via a 10-0, five-inning mercy-rule verdict.
Major reached the high 80s on the radar gun while striking out seven batters, walking three and allowing only Zach Miller’s fourth-inning single to right-center field.
“We knew that we would be in for a tough battle, and he set the tone in the game,” Hollidaysburg coach Jon Szynal said of Major, who threw 75 pitches. “When you have a pitcher who throws as well as he does, it puts a lot of pressure on you to play a perfect game.