100 wins, 100 hits for Dallastown's Deardorff, Anders
Dallastown softball coach Jeff Deardorff and senior third baseman Haylee Anders will be forever linked on Wednesday by the number 100.
Deardorff collected his 100th win as the Wildcats coach in a 15-5, five-inning YAIAA win against backyard rival Red Lion. And Anders slugged a home run for her 100th career hit in a Dallastown uniform.
"It is an awesome accomplishment for (Deardorff)," said Dallastown starting pitcher Jaelynn Harbold. "I'm super happy for him, and I'm so glad I can be a part of this team with him. I couldn't be happier."
Deardorff deflected the achievement, which comes in his eighth season of leading the Dallastown program.
"It just means I've been fortunate to have good softball players," Deardorff said. "And I've just been around a long time."
The home run deep into the left-center field gap by Anders was part of a 17-batter, 12-run second inning that erased a 3-0 Red Lion lead. Deardorff said it was the Wildcats' biggest inning of the season.
Click here for more photos from this story."I couldn't really see (where the ball went), but I saw (Deardorff) waving me, so I had to go," said Anders, who will play Division III softball for Messiah College next year. "I was just trying to get there."
Deardorff had nothing but praise for Anders, a four-year varsity performer. He said her preferred position is second base, but he placed her at third because it makes the team better.
"She's never even mentioned it," Deardorff said. "She is such an unselfish player. She would play anywhere I asked her to. She's kind of quiet. She doesn't say much. But she is one heck of a player."
Anders was thrown out at home plate on a second home run attempt in the fourth, but she was credited with a triple. She went 2-for-3 hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the order and now has 101 career hits.
"One hundred hits," Deardorff said. "That is a hard thing to do. Think about it. First of all, most freshmen don't make the varsity team. Even if you do, that averages out to 25 hits a year. That's something. There is not many people in high school softball who can get to 100 hits. There really isn't. I can think of maybe three since I've been coaching here."
Shortstop Maggie Noll added a two-run double, and Harbold and center fielder Madisyn Johnson each rapped two-run singles in the 12-run inning.
"I think after the first inning, we just said, 'No,'" Noll said. "We said to ourselves, 'That's not how we are going to do this game.' It just wound us up and we put the hammer down."
Dallastown (11-3, 10-2 Division I) added three more runs in the third inning highlighted by run-scoring singles by No. 7 hitter Kayla Flemmens and the No. 9 hitter Noll.
When the game ended, Noll and Harbold helped dump the water cooler onto Deardorff.
"We didn't want him to see us, so we went around the backstop and came back around," Noll said with a laugh. "He definitely didn't see us and wasn't expecting it. We had a lot of ice in it too. We got him good."
Noll is a junior who played her first varsity season under Deardorff last spring.
"He really cares about us, and practices are fun with him," Noll said. "It's been nice playing for him. We do have some tough practices, but he makes us the players we are and keeps us in shape."
Noll, Anders and Harbold all said Deardorff's relaxed nature stands out.
"He is outgoing and easygoing," said Harbold, a junior who first came up to the varsity during her freshman season. "He is fun to play for. He's always there for us and will do anything for us. It's great to know that and helps the environment we practice and play in."
Asked for anything funny she can share about her coach, Noll offered up this nugget.
"I know the bus rides are always fun," Noll said. "He is always singing along with us. Those have made for some good memories. He knows all the words to the songs. He's got it. He's in there."
"He's crazy. We love him," Harbold added. "He's awesome."
Red Lion (1-12, 1-10) got a run-scoring triple in the first inning and an RBI single in the fifth from cleanup hitter Lindsey Teal, who batted 3-for-3.
Dallastown and Red Lion used the game to promote breast cancer awareness. Both teams wore pink T-shirts with their numbers on the back for the game. Players from both teams washed cars together for three hours at a nearby bank. That event, along with collecting money during the game, helped raise more than $1,350, which will be split and donated to each team's charity of choice.
"We started this, I think, three years ago," said Red Lion coach Troy Eveler. "It's nice to see both teams get together and work for a cause like this."
Dallastown 15, Red Lion 5 (5)
Dallastown0(12)300—15170Red Lion30002—591
Dt, Jaelynn Harbold, Delaney Kolb (4) and Melanie Grant; RL, Hailey Inguanti, Taylor Dewees (2) and Lindsey Teal.
SO-BB— Dt, Harbold 2-1, Kolb 0-0. RL, Inguanti 1-2, Dewees 0-2; W — Harbold; L — Inguanti; 2B — Dt, Danielle Ludwig, Melanie Grant, Maggie Noll. RL, Hailey Inguanti; 3B — Dt, Haylee Anders. RL, Lindsey Teal; HR — Dt, Haylee Anders.
Deardorff's 100 wins
According to athletic director Tory Harvey, Dallastown coach Jeff Deardorff is the school's first softball coach to earn 100 victories. Here's a look at his record since 2008:
2008: 11-8
2009: 5-14
2010: 6-12
2011: 15-6
2012: 19-5 (advanced to district final)
2013: 13-6
2014: 19-3
2015: currently 12-3