'Boro does it all well in baseball win vs. Ship
Four errors in the first two innings certainly didn't help Shippensburg's cause in a Mid Penn Colonial Division baseball game Thursday afternoon.
But the Greyhounds didn't help themselves later on, either.
Shippensburg could not figure out Waynesboro ace Kyle Hoffman, who allowed just two hits and was backed by a flawless defense. Meanwhile, the Indians racked up nine hits and claimed an 8-0 victory.
"I think the games where we get the lead, we usually hold it," 'Boro sophomore Jarrett Biesecker said. "It's really key for us to get the early lead then keep going."
The Indians (5-2, 1-1 MPC) needed just one hit to grab a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, but it was later that things really started to break open. Defensively, Shippensburg (2-2, 1-1 MPC) steadied itself, but that's when the 'Boro bats got hot.
"They executed the small ball game," Ship coach Nate Rosenberry said. "They did a very nice job with that, and that was the big difference. We didn't do enough, obviously, today to make the plays."
The best example of that successful small ball was Biesecker's game. He went 2-for-3, reaching base all three times. His first at-bat was a bunt that ended in an error, and he laid the next two down successfully.
"We made a decision to go with all of our left-handers today," Waynesboro skipper Greg Chandler said. "It's hard for right-handers to pitch to lefties, and I think that paid off for us in the long run. We wanted more lefties at the plate to get more walks, more bunts, a more up-tempo game that we like to play."
Waynesboro broke the game open in the sixth inning. Leading 4-0 with two outs and the bases loaded, Hoffman drove in a pair of runs with a single, and after a walk to Matt Peck, Francisco Maya had a two-RBI single of his own to set the final score.
Adam Ross and Cole Friese were the only Greyhounds with hits.