DISTRICT 3 BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL: Locals teams gear up for playoff run

It's funny how things play out once district playoffs roll around.

When the District 3 baseball playoffs fire up on Monday, followed by softball on Tuesday, there will be many headlines. That starts with the Chambersburg baseball team, who will open Class AAAA play as the No. 10 seed and travel to face an all-too-familiar opponent, Lower Dauphin, the No. 7 seed, at 4:30 at Nye Elementary Field in Hummelstown.

The Trojans (12-8) will face the Falcons (15-5) in the first round of districts for the third time in the last four seasons. Lower Dauphin won the two previous meetings – 2-1 in eight innings last year and 2-0 in 2012.

"It seems like no matter where we end up, this is who we get." Trojan coach Bob Thomas said. "But really, it doesn't matter who you face, you know it's going to be a good team."

The Trojans will start senior Tristan Daywalt, who holds a 5-0 record with a 1.21 earned run average in 52 innings. Chambersburg will likely see Blair Lewis on the mound for the Falcons. He held the Trojans to just one run on five hits with eight strikeouts last season.

"Honestly, I thought we hit him pretty well last year. They just made some good plays," Thomas said. "We've been hitting the ball well lately, so hopefully we can roll that over to Monday."

Shippensburg – the No. 1 seed in Class AAA with a 16-4 record – will also have its hands full Monday when it hosts Middletown at 4:30. The Blue Raiders (11-9) are the No. 16 seed, but they have a pitcher in Nathan Ocker who presents plenty of issues. He is 4-3 this season with a 1.30 ERA in 54 innings.

Greyhound coach Nate Rosenberry said, "At this point, you know you're going to face quality teams and quality pitching no matter who you get. Our biggest key will be to just make the most of our opportunities and execute when we get them."

Ship will bring its ace to the mound in Cordell Shannon. He boasts a 5-2 record with a 0.62 ERA in 45 innings. He also has 52 strikeouts.

"I expect him to come out, perform very well and be tough like he has all year," Rosenberry said. "I'm sure he will be prepared and ready to go."

Greencastle-Antrim, the No. 12 seed, got a win over Ocker and Middletown (with only 1 hit) to clinch a berth in the district playoffs. The Blue Devils (11-8) will travel to face the No. 5 seed, Lampeter-Strasburg (13-8) at 7.

Derek Measell, who has been Greencastle's best pitcher this season with a 7-1 record, will get the start. He's given up just three earned runs in 47 2/3 innings (0.44 ERA) with 47 strikeouts. The Blue Devils will need to get their offense going after scoring only eight runs in their final five games.

District 3 softball starts play on Tuesday, and James Buchanan may have garnered the toughest draw. After going into its final regular season game as the No. 1 seed, the Rockets (17-4) lost to Shippensburg – the No. 12 seed in Class AAAA – and dropped all the way to fifth, setting them up with a home game against No. 12 Garden Spot (10-10) at 4:30.

"To be honest, I think us coaches are really the only ones that worried about the seeding," JB coach Eric Reed said. "If you'd ask the girls, I bet 95 percent of them wouldn't even know what seed we are. They just want to play."

Reed hasn't decided who will pitch – Taryn Miller is still working her way back from a back injury – but if the Rockets want to achieve their goals, they will have to be strong both offensively and defensively.

"We had three goals coming into the season: Win the division, play well at districts and get to states," Reed said. "Of all the teams we could face, Garden Spot is one I really don't know much about, but we are going to have to pitch and hit well if we want to win."

Also in Class AAA, Greencastle-Antrim (13-7) stumbled toward the end of the season, losing three straight before winning two to close out the season, but it still managed to get a home game. The Blue Devils, the No. 6 seed, will host No. 11 seed Dover (11-7) at 4:30.

In Class AAAA, Chambersburg (13-7) won its final seven games of the regular season and goes into the tournament as the No. 10 seed. The Trojans will travel to face No. 7 seed Central York (20-2) at 4:30. The Lady Hounds (15-5) will go on the road to face No. 5 seed Hempfield (16-6).