There wasn’t much to be excited about for Mountain Lions after that point.

Even after a 20-minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, Mifflin County pitcher Chase Hartung shut down the Mountain Lions when he needed it the most as he lifted the Huskies to a 6-1 win at Mount Aloysius College.

“All the credit to (Hartung),” Altoona coach Tom Smith said. “He’s their No. 1. We were looking pretty good in the first inning, but he got guys out. A lot of credit to him.”

It was an especially frustrating year for the Mountain Lions, which did not find a lot of offense for most of the season. That continued on Wednesday, even though they had runners on base as they left 10 on for the game. Altoona left the bases loaded twice.

“To get a leadoff homer and the next two guys get base hits to start the game, things were looking pretty good,” Smith said.

“But even after the first inning we had guys on base every inning. We didn’t get the clutch hit. They hit the ball pretty well. They got the clutch hits when they needed them. That was the difference.”

After Kraft and McAllister’s base hits in the top of the first, Mifflin County completed an 8-5 double play as Husky center fielder Evan Strohecker fired a strike to third base to get Kraft. A ground ball ended the inning with no further damage.

“We ran ourselves out of a potential big inning,” Smith said.

“Sometimes you need plays like that in big games like this to get you over the top,” Mifflin County coach Ray Hopple said. “That certainly was important for us to keep it from an avalanche-type first inning.”

McAllister, the Altoona starting pitcher, allowed two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first while also dealing with a rain delay.

Karl Shirey’s RBI single tied the game at 1 before the game was stopped. After the rain delay, Chase Leister ripped another run-scoring single to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead.

“We stung the ball pretty well, even before they took us off the field,” Hopple said. “I was pleased to see us continue it even after the rain stopped.”

Altoona left the bases loaded in the top of the second as Hartung struck out the side.

Mifflin County added three more runs in the second off four hits, and again it was Shirey and Leister with RBI singles to give Mifflin County a 5-1 lead.

Connor Waite came on for McAllister in the third inning, and although he allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the third, Waite settled the Mifflin County bats. He allowed just one hit in his four innings of relief.

Hartung retired seven of his last eight batters, with the only exception a one-out walk to McAllister in the top of the seventh.

Hartung walked four and struck out seven and gave up seven hits in his complete game.

“I think he was at 81 pitches after six innings, and I said to him, ‘Do you want to take us home?’ He said, ‘Absolutely,'” Hopple said. “That’s what seniors do. He’s been doing that for us all season. You lean on your seniors and your leaders, and he’s certainly one of those.”

Mifflin County will play District 10 champion McDowell in a subregional game next week.

Altoona finished the season at 10-12 and will graduate six from the team.

“We thought we could score more runs, but we didn’t,” Smith said. “That part is frustrating, but it’s not for a lack of effort. The kids battled. (Waite) kept us in the game. We just couldn’t generate that clutch hit.”

ALTOONA (1): Stroup lf 311, Kraft c 402, McAllister p-ss 301, Waite 1b-p 301, McConnell rf 401, Pike 3b 201, Glasgow ss 000, Staines 1b 200, Webster cf 300, Palladini 2b 300. Totals — 27-1-7.

MIFFLIN COUNTY (6): Strohecker cf 322, Weaver 2b 200, Smith 1b 320, Shirey ss 403, Leister lf 302, Lepley c 300, Beamer ph 100, Gerwick dh 300, Hartung p 000, Kauffman pr 000, Ruble 3b 321, Christine rf 100. Totals — 26-6-8.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Altoona 100 000 0–1 7 2

Mifflin County 231 000 X–6 8 1

E–Glasgow, Pike; Lepley. 2B–Shirey. HR–Stroup. RBI–Stroup; Shirey 2, Leister 2. WP–Hartung. LP–McAllister. SO–McAllister 2, Waite 3; Hartung 7. BB–Waite 4; Hartung 4.

Records: Altoona (10-12); Mifflin County (14-6).