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Chambersburg pitchers are formidable foursome


After touting a pitching staff of four strong juniors last season, Chambersburg's softball team knew it was going to be strong in the circle this year.

And other than a brief rocky start, the Trojans have yet to disappoint.

On Monday, Sam Bender didn't look in fine form, but she owned up to it and vowed to be stronger next time. The next time was Thursday, and Bender rebounded even better than expected.

Bender allowed just one hit in a 10-0, five-inning victory against Central Dauphin in Mid Penn Commonwealth Division action.

"I gotta say, 'Wow.' I did not expect a 10-0 ballgame in five innings, especially early when we left some people on base," Chambersburg coach Chris Skultety said.

Bender said, "I think on Monday, I immediately was a little freaked out after I walked the first two batters, but I knew it was nothing more than my mental state instead of me not knowing how to pitch. I made it my goal today to come back and do better."

It was the fourth straight excellent performance for a Trojan pitcher.

After Bender started Monday's game, Dori Loukopoulos faced just seven batters in two innings of work and didn't allow a hit. On Wednesday, Laken Myers gave up only one hit in four innings, and Leah Hunt struck out three in a row to end the game vs. Red Land.

"Everybody who knows us knows we have a very strong pitching staff, and we're lucky for that," Bender said. "A lot of high schools usually have one, or maybe two, but we're lucky enough to have four. I think Coach is using us in a way to make us stronger so we'll throw off teams when we're switching people out."

Chambersburg's offense likewise put on another show. The Trojans were expecting to see Central Dauphin ace Sam Gress, but instead they faced Autumn Fortney and Kylee Rissinger and scored 10 runs, seven of which were earned, on seven hits. Lexi Leedy and Loukopoulos each had two hits and two RBIs, and Hunt added a two-RBI double.

So far, the Trojans have outscored their opponents 43-9 in 15 innings.

"I'm not worried about who's pitching (for the other team)," Skultety said. "The only people that are going to beat us are us right now if we play like that. With pitching like that and getting those timely hits, it's gonna be tough to beat us."