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No one is safe in Colonial Div. softball


It's officially halfway through the softball season, and there's something clear about the Mid Penn Colonial Division.

"It's a little bit weird," Shippensburg coach Mike Peters said.

At this point in the season, Waynesboro sits alone at the top of the division with a 4-1 league record. There's a three-way tie for second place - Big Spring, Greencastle-Antrim and Shippensburg are all 3-2 - and there's absolutely no reason to count out fifth-place James Buchanan, which is 2-3.

"This has been nuts," Blue Devils coach Mark DeCarli said. "Anybody can knock anybody off, so you have to bring your A-game every day. It's exciting, because it's given everybody hope. Every year is tough, but this year is crazy."

Here's just some breakdown of the unpredictably of the local-heavy division:

  • G-A lost to Waynesboro, 14-13, just days before beating James Buchanan, 11-10.
  • Shippensburg, which lost to the Blue Devils, defeated Big Spring, 7-3. The Bulldogs proceeded to take down G-A, 20-5.
  • Likewise, the Rockets lost to Big Spring (and Greencastle-Antrim, for that matter), but defeated the Lady Hounds, 1-0 on Tuesday. 
  • The Maidens, who have beaten Greencastle and JB, suffered a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Shippensburg.

"Anybody can beat anybody on any given night, you can definitely see that," JB coach Troy Pittman said.

Waynesboro coach Aaron Burke reiterated those sentiments and offered an explanation for what might be happening in this crazy division.

"We have a situation where we have a lot of offense in the league, and I'm not sure there's a shutdown, 17-strikeout pitcher for any team," Burke said. "Teams are so well coached, and they make plays, so you have to bring your A-game every night. If you don't, you're going to get beat."

Peters said, "They always say good pitching beats good hitting, but this year, the hitters are having the last say."

All four local teams still have to run through their division opponents once more during the regular season, so it, quite literally, is anybody's game.