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F-F Highlights: James Buchanan softball stuns in 9th inning


The James Buchanan softball team needed nine innings, but the Lady Rockets pulled off a 4-3 victory over Hamburg to move on to the District 3 Class 4A semifinals.

JB will travel to top-ranked West Perry on Thursday for the second-round matchup. West Perry earned a bye in the first round.

"Our goal was to just qualify for districts," James Buchanan coach Troy Pittman said, "For this young bunch of kids to get a win is great."

James Buchanan racked up three runs in the top of the third inning to take a two-run lead, but the Hawks chipped away and eventually tied the game at three in the fifth inning. 

The game remained deadlocked until the top of the ninth inning when James Buchanan brought in a run in the top of the inning. 

The Rockets loaded the bases thanks to a pair of walks and a single by Paige Doyle to set the scene for Kyrstin Nichols. Nichols stayed patient at the plate and drew a walk to bring in the eventual game-winning run. 

"Jenna (Mongold) pitched well for all nine innings and we had a good evening executing and doing the little things well," Pittman said. "Nichols had her best game of year and the bottom half of the lineup came up big for us with four hits and three walks."

Nichols had two doubles and two RBIs, Doyle had two hits. Mongold pitched nine innings and struck out eight batters. 

MORE: G-A softball falls to Daniel Boone District 3 playoffs

READ: Ship completes undefeated home slate, moves on to D3 quarterfinals

G-A baseball falls to Lampeter-Strasburg: Lampeter-Strasburg pitcher Kris Pirozzi was too much for the Blue Devils to handle in a 3-0 loss in the first round of the District 3 Class 5A baseball tournament. 

The Pioneers limited the Blue Devils to just two hits thanks to a stellar performance from Pirozzi on the mound. Pirozzi struck out 15 Greencastle batters through six innings of work. 

Tanner Rock and Noah Brown had the team's only hits in the game. Brown also had a stolen base. 

Nathan Starliper struck out five Lampeter-Strasburg batters through four innings. 

McConnellsburg misses cue in 7th: The McConnellsburg baseball team had a chance to tie its District 5 Class 2A first-round game against North Star but ultimately fell 4-2.  

In the bottom of the seventh the Spartans loaded the bases with one out against No. 3 North Star, but couldn't bring the winning run through. 

McConnellsburg finishes the year 12-10. 

Waynesboro falls victim to CD's hot bats: The Central Dauphin softball team hit a pair of multiple-run dingers in a 9-1 victory over Waynesboro in the first round of the District 3 Class 6A tournament to eliminate the Maidens from the postseason. 

The Rams kicked things off with a six-run first inning thanks in part to a three-run home run hit by Nicole Bechtel. 

Samantha Gress later added a two-run dinger as CD's offense overwhelmed the Maidens.