AUBURNDALE, Fla.-The Juniata baseball team made a late push but couldn't quite come back as they fell, 4-3, to Central (Iowa) Saturday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park #4.
The Dutch managed to score a run in the second, fifth and sixth innings as Drew Harshbarger (Mount Union, Pa. / Mount Union) went 6.0 innings while allowing four hits and struck out eight.
In the bottom half of the seventh, Ryan McClain (Hughesville, Pa. / Hughesville) reached on error by the shortstop and two batters later Matt Innella (Commack, N.Y. / Commack) was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch advanced both runners before Joshua Gery (Pottstown, Pa. / Pottstown Senior High School) grounder to short allowed McClain to score. The Dutch pushed their lead back to three with a solo-homer, which proved crucial.
Hunter Price (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon Area) singled to center and Isaac Maclay (Belleville, Pa. / Mifflin County High School) smashed a double to left to make it 4-2. Jake Swank (Portage, Pa. / Portage) followed with a double to right to score Maclay, but JC couldn't get the tying run.
The Eagles will return to Huntingdon to host Penn State Altoona, Wednesday at 1:00.