BASEBALL: Drew Betz's 4-hitter leads Chambersburg over Greencastle, 6-0

GREENCASTLE >> It appears that Chambersburg is starting to play its best baseball as the season winds down – the Trojans have won five of their last seven games.

That was bad timing for Greencastle-Antrim in a non-league game Monday afternoon.

Chambersburg got a steady four-hitter from pitcher Drew Betz and used an 11-hit attack to hand the Blue Devils a 6-0 defeat.

"Well, the last six or seven games we've hit the ball better," Trojan coach Bob Thomas. "But we still have a couple of guys not hitting and we're not always hitting at the right time."

That was not the case Monday.

Chambersburg (10-7) was 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Tristan Daywalt and Austin Suders were each 3-for-4, while Matt Stonesifer and Hunter Brindle each had two hits.

The biggest hit – a solo home run in the top of the third inning – came off the bat of Stonesifer. The blast to left-centerfield was his first ever in high school and lit a fire under his teammates.

Betz said, "Matt's home run was awesome. I mean, he's the last one in our lineup you'd expect to get a homer."

"It was a 2-0 pitch, so I was expecting fastball," Stonesifer said. "It felt pretty good, but I didn't think it would get over. I think the wind pushed it out."

Thomas said, "It was a little surprising. As far as I can remember, I don't remember him ever hitting one farther than that. He got it up in the wind and it kept going."

The homer made it 2-0 in the Trojans' favor after they scored an unearned run off Matt Kline in the second on a single by Daywalt and two miscues on throws.

That proved to be enough for Betz. The Blue Devils (9-7) had only six baserunners – two singles by Quin Ambeault, base hits by Shawn Keller and Dillon Morgan, an error and a hit batter.

The only real threat came in the fifth when Keller and Morgan hit one-out singles and moved up on a fielder's choice. Kurt Hansen smoked a line drive to center, but Stonesifer charged in, dove and made the catch to end the inning.

G-A coach Eric Shaner said, "That was a big play. Kurt hit it hard, and both runners were on the move, and it could have made it 5-2."

Betz, who pitches with a three-quarters delivery, threw only 87 pitches, and 56 were strikes. He had only three three-ball counts.

"He normally can throw it right where the catcher wants it," Thomas said.

"It makes it much better when you have good control," Betz said. "The defense played well behind me and it always helps when our hits are falling in."

Shaner said, "We saw a side-armer earlier this year and hit him pretty well. So I don't think it was the novelty of how he pitched, he just threw a good game. He worked ahead in the count and that let him mix up his pitches."

The Trojans added a run in the fourth when Bryce Feigl singled and scored on Suders' double to the fence in right-center.

In the fifth, with two outs, Betz walked and Daywalt blooped a single to left. After a wild pitch put Daywalt at second, Hunter Brindle looped a hit down the line in right to score both runners.

Thomas said, "We got a couple of cheap hits in that inning, but we had some good hits, too."

Daywalt drove in the final run in the seventh after Stonesifer singled and moved up on a fielder's choice and wild pitch.

Stonesifer said, "I think we're hitting better than we had been. Now we just have to keep it going."

Chambersburg 6, Greencastle 0

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E: Chbg 1, GA 2; LOB: Chbg 7, GA 6; 2B: Suders; HR: Stonesifer (1); SB: Brookens; CS: Stonesifer, Christian; SAC: Morgan.

Chambersburg

Greencastle

Kline (L,3-2)575430Meyers2411 0 1

HBP: by Betz (Keller); WP: Kline 2, Meyers 1.

T: 1:42.

JV: Greencastle 4, Chambersburg 2. Kaden Hoover took the loss for the Trojans despite giving up zero earned runs.