Mt. Pleasant was resolute, not shaken, when Yough chopped a nine-run lead to three with a sixth-inning rally.
The Lady Vikings didn’t tremble, either, when they made five errors.
A potential run-ruled finish might have turned into a game, but the visitors didn’t relent.
Mt. Pleasant answered the late comeback bid, shook off the miscues and stretched its winning streak to four — ending Yough’s streak at six — with a 12-6 softball victory Monday on chilly Cougar Mountain.
“For some reason, the sixth inning can change games,” Mt. Pleasant coach Paul Reho said. “If we handle our business, in the sixth, it’s not a problem. But I feel good about how we responded in the seventh.”
Mt. Pleasant (4-1, 3-0), which had 10 hits, tacked on four runs in the seventh to cap the victory and remain unbeaten in Section 1-3A play.
Yough moved to 7-3, 2-1.
“I was nervous. It was really pumping in the sixth inning,” said Mt. Pleasant junior pitcher Dani Trainer, who earned the complete-game win and helped her cause with three hits, including a solo home run, and two RBIs. “I was confident that we would be all right and get the win.”
Freshman Emma Miller went 2 for 2 with two RBIs, sophomore Jenna Whipkey drove in two runs and freshman Chloe Borelli blasted a two-run homer for Mt. Pleasant.
Freshman Sadie Poole added two hits, including a triple, and scored three runs.
Yough made two errors in the loss, both of which led to runs.
“You can’t drop the ball in center field on a can of corn, and you can’t throw two balls right down the middle,” Yough coach Art “Dutch” Harvey said. “There is a lot of blame to go around for this loss. We did some things we don’t normally do.”
Mt. Pleasant took a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring single from Poole in the first and went ahead 4-0 in the fourth when Borelli and Trainer hit back-to-back homers, both to deep center.
Borelli also walked three times.
That chased Yough sophomore pitcher Jaidyn Vay, who later returned to the circle.
It was 5-0 in the fifth when junior Talia Reho’s sacrifice bunt led to an errant throw and a run.
The Vikings kept scoring in the sixth, sending four runs across to take a 9-0 advantage.
A hit batter, a walk and a single set the table early, and a bases-loaded walk by a second Yough reliever, freshman Payton Wright, pushed home a run, and a wild pitch allowed another. A groundout scored the ninth run.
Yough took advantage of fielding miscues and a reversed call to get back into the game in the sixth, when a total of 10 runs scored.
Two Vikings errors and a single by junior Kylee Fisher led to the Cougars’ first run. Fisher later pitched 11⁄3 innings of relief.
After back-to-back errors, Vay reached on a bunt single to load the bases, and junior Kenzie Smartnick knocked in a run to make it 9-3.
After what looked to be an inning-ending double play was overturned because the fielder didn’t touch second base, senior Kylee Odelli delivered a two-run single to close the gap to 9-6.
Odelli finished 3 for 4.
“We gave them a lot of life with our mistakes,” Paul Reho said. “We we make those outs, the runs don’t score. We were able to get out of it. It’s nice to see that.”
In the seventh, two hit batters and an error loaded the bases for Mt. Pleasant. Trainer, Whipkey and freshman Emma Miller knocked in runs to make it 12-6 for a late cushion.
The Cougars, who struck out only once, went 1-2-3 in the home half of the seventh to end it.
“Dani pitched great and had the home run,” Reho said. “So far, she has done a great job keeping runs down. Our freshmen have been playing well, too.”
Mt. Pleasant has not lost to a WPIAL team. The loss was Yough’s first to a team from District 7.
“We have to clean it up,” Harvey said. “It’s about the little details. That is what gets you success.”