Baseball Game Preview: Central York Panthers vs. Mechanicsburg Wildcats

The Central York Panthers will face off against the Mechanicsburg Wildcats at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Central York will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.

Last Wednesday, Central York got the win against South Western by a conclusive 16-1. The matchup marked the Panthers' most dominant victory of the season so far.

Wyatt Mahler made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Central York is 2-1 when Mahler allows one or fewer earned runs, but 1-3 otherwise. Mahler was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

Kam Holtzapple

Runs

03/21/25 vs William Penn	3
04/02/25 @ South Western	2
03/24/25 vs Hempfield	2
03/25/25 @ Lampeter-Strasburg	1
03/18/25 @ Cumberland Valley	1

In other batting news, Central York got a massive performance out of Kam Holtzapple, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Holtzapple has become a key player for the Panthers: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-3 otherwise. Jacob Laughman was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Mechanicsburg came up short against Cumberland Valley on Tuesday, falling 11-1. The game marked the Wildcats' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Mechanicsburg also got a good showing from Gino Coleman, who tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Coleman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

Mechanicsburg has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. As for Central York, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.