H.S. EXTRA NOTEBOOK: End of suspended game was not lacking for pitches

If you decided not to make the trek to Hummelstown for the second straight day to watch the conclusion of the suspended District 3 Class AAAA first-round baseball playoff game between Chambersburg and Lower Dauphin, it's understood.

Normally, driving 130 miles to see three innings might not be worth it.

But Tuesday's finish didn't seem like three innings at all. Those three innings, plus the end of LD's bottom of the fourth, took over 90 minutes to play.

There were 15 runs scored, and 24 batters reached base.

There were 172 pitches thrown, which is more than some full games require.

The Trojans had an ominous start when LD's first four batters ripped hits against Drew Betz. That made the score 7-1 after four full innings.

But the top of the fifth turned into a nightmare for Falcon pitcher Tyler Roman. He threw 41 pitches to get two outs, and gave up three singles to load the bases, then issued two walks, hit a batter and gave another walk, all of which scored a run. It was now 7-5 and momentum had swung around for good.

"We gave them some free walks, and then they started swinging aggressively," LD coach Ken Kulina said.

Meanwhile Betz turned things around, allowing only two ground ball hits in the last three innings. But he still got himself into six 3-2 counts and ended up throwing 79 pitches, including 29 in the bottom of the seventh.

Chambersburg tied the game in the sixth on a hit batter, Carlin Christian's double, a fielder's choice, a wild pitch and an error. Then the Trojans jumped ahead on the seventh helped by two leadoff walks, an RBI hit by Austin Suders and a three-run bomb by Manning Brookens.

"The walks certainly helped, but we put some good swings on the ball, too," Chambersburg coach Bob Thomas said.

WINNERS >> Congrats are in order for the Forbes Road softball team, even though it was knocked out of the District 5 Class A tournament in the first round Wednesday.

The Cardinals finished with a 10-9 record, the first time the program had a record above .500 since it began in 2007.

Forbes Road won three games in its first season under coach John Mixell, then had four straight winless years before Beth Bryant took over as the coach.

In Bryant's four years, the Cardinals have improved each season, from 5-13 to 6-14 to 8-12 last year and the first district playoff game, to 10-9 this year.