Josie Kibe leads Mifflin County softball over State College for the District 6 Class 6A title

After having numerous games canceled throughout the season due to COVID-19 outbreaks, Mifflin County has won the District 6 Class 6A softball championship, defeating State College 8-2 on Wednesday at Saint Francis University.

Josie Kibe led the way for Mifflin County with a 3-for-3 day, homering twice and singling in the seventh inning. She also had a walk on the day.

It’s a moment that she didn’t see coming.

“Every time I walk up to bat, I just think, ‘Let’s just get a base hit,’” Kibe said. “I’m like, ‘Come on, let’s just get on base.’ Any way that I can get on base. I had two strikes on me both times — oh my God. I just hit the ball and I hit it out. I was shocked. I did not think that it was happening.”

As for Mifflin County coach Craig Weston, it’s his first District 6 title as the team’s leader. Mifflin County has now won its third consecutive District 6 championship, even with a year off last year.

“That senior group with what they went through last year and losing their season and they’re leaders,” Weston said. “They don’t have to be starters, but we come to practice and they set the tone for practice and I couldn’t ask for any more from them.”

Mifflin County took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Kibe sent a ball deep over the center field fence for a home run.

Caitlyn Kick drew a walk off of State College pitcher Zia Bodnar in the third inning to begin a rally. Leadoff hitter Madison Myers reached base on an error and advanced to second base with Kick moving to third. Alyssa Souders was hit by a pitch and Kibe drove all of the runners in with grand slam over the left-center field fence for a 5-0 lead.

State College’s Oliva Herncane was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Tori Kroboth after doubling in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Little Lions trailing 5-1.

The game went into a 41-minute rain delay in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Ava Bierly later drove in Herncane in the bottom of the sixth inning on a single to right field to cut Mifflin County’s lead to 5-2.

Souders scored in the seventh inning off of a fielding error and Payton McClure drove in two more runs with a double to give Mifflin County an 8-2 lead.

State College coach Shawn Herncane will return the majority of his players after this season. With his young group showing a great deal of effort in their attempt to climb back out of a 5-0 deficit, he’s looking forward to what the future might hold.

“We had a couple of freshmen that played big roles for us, we have a junior pitcher and a junior three hitter,” Shawn Herncane said. “I feel really good about what we have going on. We have a junior in center field and in left field (too). I feel really good about what the future looks like. We’re going to miss a couple of the seniors.

“Those four girls (Olivia Herncane, Molly LaMotte, Logan Soltis and Carsyn Spencer) gave our program a lot. With our future, we’re going to be good. We have a lot of kids coming out from the eighth grade who are talented, too.”