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H.S. Highlights: G-A wins dogfight versus Rockets


Two games into its Mid Penn Colonial Division schedule, James Buchanan’s baseball team is still trying to find its identity.

The Rockets are 3-2 (0-2 MPC) and suffered a loss at the hands of Greencastle-Antrim on Thursday, but one thing is certain - they aren’t the Rockets of a year ago.

It took the Blue Devils eight innings to take down JB, and even then, it was only a 6-5 victory.

“JB played an outstanding game,” G-A coach Eric Shaner said. “They executed well. We were fortunate enough to have one more than they did in the end.”

After tying it up in the seventh inning, Greencastle (4-0, 2-0 MPC) had two on with two outs in the top of the eighth when Myles Gayman came up to the plate. He smacked a triple that scored Tanner Rock and Bailey Parker. Austin Branchman then hit an RBI single before the inning’s end.

The Rockets didn’t go down without a fight, though. Despite having two outs, JB got the bases loaded for Zach Vosburg, who delivered a two-RBI single, before a final strikeout by Nathan Starliper.

Starliper earned his first varsity win, fanning eight batters in just 3 ⅔ innings of work.

“It was an outstanding game,” Shaner said. “We had some things go against us that we couldn’t control. Last year, it would’ve turned into a three-ring circus in the dugout, but we didn’t panic or complain. We just kept at it, and that’s the reason we were able to maintain what we did to come back in the seventh.”
The teams combined for 24 hits. Gayman and Branchman both finished with three, while Quinn Ambeault had a pair. For JB, Vosburg and Jared Pine both had two hits and two RBIs.

STILL UNDEFEATED

Going into the fifth inning, Chambersburg held a narrow 1-0 lead in a Mid Penn Commonwealth Division softball game against Carlisle.

But then the Trojans got back to their hard-hitting ways. Chambersburg reeled off nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined, completing a 10-0 victory over the Thundering Herd in just six innings.

With the victory, Chambersburg is now 7-0 (6-0 MPC).

Sam Bender had a fine day for the Trojans. She picked up the win in the circle, striking out eight and walking just three. She also smacked a double and a triple.

Doubles by Tara Harmon, Leah Hunt and Dori Loukopoulos also propelled Chambersburg to the victory.

SCORES

Baseball

Fannett-Metal 10, Tussey Mountain 9: Fannett-Metal rallied from a 8-3 deficit, scoring four runs in the top of the sixth, and adding the game-winning run in the seventh to lock in the Tigers second win of the season.

Cole Funk was the top performer in the Fannett-Metal (2-6, 1-6 SHL, 1-4ICC) win, pitching the final three innings, including a shutout in the final inning to seal the win. He also went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

“Funk has been our 140-pound spark plug this year,” Fannett-Metal coach Jamie Funk said. “When he goes, our team goes.”

Shalom Christian 7, Cumb. Valley Christian 0: Colby Maun and Logan Martin combined for a no-hitter in a MDCC victory over Cumberland Valley Christian. Maun went five innings and struck out 12 Blazers, and Martin ensured the victory by fanning three for Shalom (4-4, 2-3 MDCC). Martin, Nate McKee and Jacob Nicholas each had two hits for Shalom. CVC is now 2-3 (2-2 MDCC).

Mercersburg 15, Musselman 0 (4): Mercersburg Academy scored at least two runs in each of the four innings of a non-league victory. Brandon Thomas was 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs for the Blue Storm (9-2). Jake Artz and Eli Riley were both 2-for-2, and Jayvien Sandridge also knocked in three runs.

Chestnut Ridge 7, Forbes Road 1: Forbes Road allowed seven runs on 10 hits in a SHL loss to Chestnut Ridge.

“We lost the game before we even got off the bus,” Forbes Road coach Randy Gelvin said. “The team had no fire, no enthusiasm, no desire to win.”

Grayson Hall had two hits for the Cardinals (4-3, 4-2 SHL), and took the loss in two innings of work.

Softball

Shippensburg 7, Waynesboro 1: Tied 1-1 heading into the fifth inning, Shippensburg broke the Mid Penn Colonial Division game open with six runs over the next two frames. Courtney Coy, Maddie Kline and Ashley Macedo all had three hits for the Lady Hounds (4-0, 2-0 MPC), while Nicole Kreimer went 3-for-4 for the Maidens (4-3, 1-1 MPC).

"We faced an excellent pitcher tonight," Waynesboro coach Aaron Burke said. "Coy was making us swing at some bad pitchers and scattered our hits. We just couldn't string together the big inning."

Chestnut Ridge 8, Forbes Road 4: The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth inning in an attempt to rally over Chestnut Ridge in a Sideling Hill League loss, but it was too little too late. Courtney Schoen pitched a complete game for Forbes Road (2-5, 2-5 SHL) and struck out six. She also went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Southern Huntingdon 4, McConnellsburg 1: Lack of offense was the only problem for McConnellsburg in an SHL/ICC loss. Madison Koontz had a double and single, the only hits for the Spartans (2-7, 1-6 SHL, 1-5 ICC).

“The girls played really well,” Spartan coach Junior Swope said. “We got doubled up a couple of times, but it was a good ballgame. We gotta play that way all the time. If we get our hitting up, it could be an exciting rest of the year.”

Fannett-Metal 3, Tussey Mountain 0: Brooke Harris continued her hot streak for the Tigers, throwing a complete-game shutout in Fannett-Metal’s 3-0 win over SHL/ICC foe Tussey Mountain.

Morgan Ritchey went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Fannett-Metal (5-4, 3-4 SHL, 3-3 ICC) did not commit an error.

“We had good pitching, good defense and were able to will across enough runs to get a quality road win,” Fannett-Metal coach Michael DeAngelo said.

Boys volleyball

Chambersburg 3, Central Dauphin East 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19): The Trojans (4-1, 4-0 MPC) remained unscathed in the Mid Penn Commonwealth with a drama-free shutout win over the Panthers.

Trojan coach Marta Cummings said, “Everyone played a good match and it was a good team win. The guys played with confidence and had fun.”

Stat leaders for Chambersburg included Riley Washington (10 kills, 6 blocks), Dalton Strite (8 kills, 2 aces), Ian Patterson (29 assists), Will Gerhart (12 digs), Evan Misal (8 digs) and Dylan Culler (2 aces).

Girls soccer

Boys track & field

Mt. Union 85, So. Fulton 64; So. Fulton 86, West Branch 63: Chase Varner was a four-event winner in an ICC split with Mount Union and West Branch. Individually, Varner won the 1,600 and the 800, and was also a member of the winning 4x800 and 4x400.

McConnellsburg 93, Fairfield 57; McConnellsburg 132, Carson Long 18: Josh Booth won the 110 hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the triple jump in a non-league sweep for McConnellsburg. Chance Hawbaker was the victor in both sprints.

Girls track & field

So. Fulton 81, Mt. Union 69; So. Fulton 99, West Branch 50: Southern Fulton picked up a pair of convincing ICC victories. Celina Merchant (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Emily Bradshaw (1,600, 3,200) each won two individual events, and Linsey Pryor won the pole vault (8-0), was second in the long jump (14-2) and placed third in the triple (29-2).

Fairfield 102, McConnellsburg 48: McKenzie Gelvin won the 100, 400 and the long jump, but it wasn’t enough to lead McConnellsburg to a victory in non-league action versus Fairfield.

Girls lacrosse

Palmyra 14, Chambersburg 10: Avery Rife led the Trojans with four goals, while Hannah Raines added three in a non-league loss to Palmyra.

“We let the game slip away from us,” Chambersburg lacrosse coach Katie Feairheller said. “Attack came out making simple mistakes which cost us a few opportunities.”

Micaela Champion had 11 saves for the Lady Trojans (1-5).

Boys lacrosse

Palmyra 18, Chambersburg 1: Riley Ocker scored the lone goal for Chambersburg (1-6, 1-4 MPC) in a Mid Penn Conference loss. Clayton Schellhase had 13 saves.

Boys tennis

James Buchanan 5, Tussey Mountain 0: James Buchanan lost a total of just 11 games in a non-league victory over Tussey Mountain. The No. 2 doubles team of Jalen Ayers and Luke Leidy had the most trouble; after winning their first set, 6-0, they had to eek out a 6-4 win in Set 2.