WINGATE — The Central Scarlet Dragons’ up-and-down 2026 high school baseball season ended in much the same fashion as it had unfolded since it began back in late March.

Central broke out to a 5-0 lead in its District 6 Class 3A first-round playoff game with Bald Eagle Area Monday, found itself trailing, 7-5 late in the game, but battled back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the score, 7-7, before the second-seeded Eagles punched across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to register an 8-7 win on Bald Eagle Area High School’s Doc Etters Memorial Baseball Field.

The outcome closed seventh-seeded Central’s season with an 11-10 record. Second-seeded Bald Eagle Area (15-5) advances to the quarterfinal round on Friday, hosting sixth-seeded Tyrone. Tyrone advanced with a 1-0 eight-inning road victory over third-seeded Huntingdon on Monday.

Both head coaches in Monday’s game pointed out Bald Eagle Area’s tenacity.

“You’ve got to stay after it,” Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said. “They came up with some timely hits, and we didn’t. We hit a lot of at-’em balls today. We had our chances. Our pitchers threw well enough to win, but it didn’t happen for us today.”

Bald Eagle Area coach Ryan McNamara saluted his team’s never-say-die attitude.

“Our kids showed a lot of fight and determination to stay in this game after getting behind 5-0,” McNamara said. “At that point, it would have been easy for them to have given up, but the experience on our roster this year has put us in a good position to stay in games.”

With the score tied, 7-7 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Bald Eagle Area scratched across the winning run against Central reliever Coltin Harbaugh. Teagun Runkle drew a leadoff walk, moved to second base on Takota Ripka’s opposite-field single, and both runners advanced a base on an errant pickoff attempt. After Riley Bucha was intentionally walked to load the bases, Kaden Clark punched a single into center field to score Runkle with the winning run.

“Playing on our home field today, plus getting Runkle on base with his speed to start the inning, were keys for us,” McNamara said.

Runkle also played a vital role in the top of the seventh inning as a relief pitcher, striking out two batters with the potential go-ahead run at third base for Central.

Bald Eagle Area got a yeoman’s pitching effort from senior right-hander Kaleb Irion, who worked 6 • innings, and threw 104 pitches before exiting with the game tied, 7-7.

“Kaleb has been a workhorse for us all year, and he was a bulldog again today,” McNamara said.

Central did reach Irion for five runs in the third inning, a rally that was highlighted by Wyatt Dilling’s three-run homer to left-center and a two-run single by Adam Loucks.

Luke Hosband, who drove in four runs in the game for BEA, hit a two-run single in the bottom of the third inning to pull BEA to within 5-2, and the host Eagles pushed across four runs — only one of which was earned — against Central starting pitcher Mason Sparks in the fourth inning to take a 6-5 lead. A Central throwing error extended the inning and paved the way for Hosband’s two-run double.

Another Central throwing error in the fifth inning allowed BEA to score another run and take a 7-5 lead, but the Scarlet Dragons showed gumption in tying the game, 7-7, with two sixth-inning runs, as John Beltz delivered an RBI triple.

“It has been a tough season in which we lost a lot of close games, like today,” Hoenstine said. “We had a good bunch of 10 seniors on this roster — some of them who will be playing baseball at the next level. Saying goodbye to the senior players after their last game is always a very tough thing to do.”

CENTRAL (7): McNichol lf-rf 220, Sparks p-1b 211, Robison cr 000, Dilling ss 413, Moushlian rf 000, Porreca dh 400, Clapper c 401, Decker cr 010, Muthler 1b-lf 411, Loucks cf 302, Dickson 3b 300, Beltz 2b 311. Totals – 29-7-9.

BALD EAGLE AREA (8): White rf-cf 211, Hosband ss 402, Irion p 401, Parsons cr 000, Runkle cf-p 221, Ripka 3b 312, Bucha 1b 210, Clark lf 301, Stimer c 110, Johnson 2b 321. Totals – 24-8-9.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Central 005 002 0–7 9 3

Bald Eagle Area 002 410 1–8 9 3

E–Dilling, Beltz, Harbaugh, Hosband, Bucha, Stimer. 2B–Dilling, Hosband. 3B–Beltz. HR–Dilling. RBI–Dilling 3, Loucks 2, Beltz, Hosband 4, Clark. SAC–White, Clark. SB–Robison, Muthler, Loucks, Johnson, Dunkle. CS–Parsons (Harbaugh to Sparks to Dilling to Beltz). LOB–Bald Eagle Area 8, Central 5. DP–Bald Eagle Area turned two double plays on defense.

PITCHING

Central: Sparks 4 1/3IP, 4H, 7R, 3ER, 5BB, 8SO, 107 pitches; Harbaugh (L) 1 2/3+IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 2SO.

Bald Eagle Area: Irion 6 1/3IP, 9H, 7R, 6ER, 3BB, 3SO; Runkle (W) 2/3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2SO.

Records: Central (11-10); Bald Eagle Area (15-5).

Umpires: Scott Druckenmiller (plate); Tim Plank (1b); Dave Yetter (2b); Brett Herbert (3b).

Time of game: 2:12.