DIST. 3-AAA BASEBALL: Greencastle-Antrim secures victory over Lampeter-Strasburg in rain-shortened affair
LAMPETER >> The combination of clouds, thunder and a steady rainfall threatened the likelihood of a complete game taking place at Lampeter-Strasburg on Monday night.
But in the first round of the District 3 Class AAA baseball playoffs, Greencastle-Antrim did just enough to take the lead late and hold off the Pioneers through five innings. The game was then delayed before being called off, and the Blue Devils claimed a 4-2 victory.
"My heart goes out to them; I know how we would feel if we lost a rain-shortened game," Greencastle coach Eric Shaner said. "But at this point, it's survive and advance. We got one hit and struck out 18 times just to get in, so we'll take anything we can get."
Greencastle (12-8) will advance to face the winner of Spring Grove-Bishop McDevitt, which was postponed in the fourth inning with the Rockets leading 6-2. Lampeter-Strasburg ends with a 13-9 record.
"We talk all season about focusing on the things we can control, taking pitches one at a time," Pioneers coach Keith Martin said. "If you play the game the right way, you hustle, we talk about the game giving back. It kind of makes me sick to my stomach to think that we maybe just didn't have that opportunity for the game to give back."
The fans that did stick through the stormy weather were given a fine five-inning show, though. Greencastle took an early lead only to have L-S to take it right back, but the Blue Devils didn't hang their heads.
In the top of the fourth inning with one out, Matt Kline smacked a ball that looked like it was going foul, but it was played and dropped in fair territory by the first baseman. Bailey Parker then notched a single, which was Greencastle's first hit that went out of the infield.
After a strikeout, Derek Measell helped his own cause with an RBI single, and Spencer Meyers stayed hot, driving in a pair of runs with a single that went right down the first-base line.
"I always have the butterflies on deck whenever there's a big moment in the game, and I just hope that I can make it count and make the play," Meyers said. "(L-S pitcher Brandon Nickel) was pretty consistent for the most part. He kept throwing it outside, so I kept trying to go the other way."
Shaner said, "Spencer has been working really hard all year in staying back. Mike (Ensminger) has done such a great job as our hitting coach, and Spencer has been very diligent with it. He did a nice job of staying to the right side and staying behind the baseball."
Meyers was 2-for-2 and the runs he drove in proved to be the difference-maker.
Greencastle went ahead early after Myles Gayman led off the game with a single. Kurt Hansen moved him along with a sacrifice bunt, and Kline plated him with a single to short.
Lampeter-Strasburg then gained the lead in the third inning. David Greenwood, who finished 2-for-2, led off with a single and Garrett Groshong added one more. Then with two outs, Cameron Enck, a Maryland commit, smacked an RBI single to centerfield that was bobbled, allowing Groshong time to get home. But Enck was thrown out on his way to third base on the play to end the trouble.
Measell, who is now 8-1, got the Blue Devils out of a few jams. In five innings of work, he allowed six hits, but other than the third inning, he limited the Pioneers to no more than one hit per inning.
"He had good velocity, and he was in the zone," Martin said. "He didn't miss much and threw a lot of strikes, and I think he had a decent curveball that kept us a little bit off balance. We just have to see the ball a little better and attack."
Measell ended with six strikeouts, all of which were swinging.
"I felt like I was getting over top for most of my pitches," Measell said. "I felt really strong out there until the rain came, then I started slipping a bit, though."
He didn't let it affect him too much. Measell gave up only one earned run and didn't walk any. He got to a full count only three times, two of which came in the final inning.
"When he settles in and we have that lead, we start seeing it in him," Shaner said. "He's so hard to hit because you have to honor three different pitches, and he'll throw them on different planes. It's like playing a video game when he's on; I can call any pitch I want at any time in the count."
Greencastle 4 Lampeter-Strasburg 2 (5)
GreencastleLampeterabrhbabrhbChrstmn 2b0000 Howells ss3000Gayman dh3110Rhoades lf3000Hansen cf2010Brown cf0000Ambeault c3000Enck dh2011Kline ss3111Pltcher 2b2000Parker lf2110Nickel p2010Brchmn 3b2000Hay cr0000Measell p2111Weiant c2010Meyers 1b2022Dnehwr cr0000Morgan rf1000Eckman 3b2000Grnwod 1b2120Perozzi pr0000Grshong rf2110Totals20474Totals20261
Greencastle10030—4L-Strasburg00200—2
E: GA 2, LS 1; LOB: GA 3, LS 3; SAC: Hansen, Morgan; SB: Kline.
Greencastle pitching
Measell (W,8-1)562106
Lampeter pitching
T: 1:10.