H.S. Extra: One F-F team remains unbeaten
After the Chambersburg softball team faltered in a 1-2 week, the Greencastle-Antrim baseball team remains the only unbeaten squad in Franklin and Fulton counties, with a 6-0 record. With wins over Shippensburg, Waynesboro, James Buchanan and Boiling Springs, the Blue Devils are nearly halfway toward a second consecutive Mid Penn Colonial Division title.
The Rockets are on the Blue Devils' heels, though, and have won five straight since losing to G-A 12-4. James Buchanan is 3-1 in the Colonial Division, while Greencastle's next threat, Big Spring (5-3, 2-2 MPC), will welcome G-A in their first battle of the season on Tuesday in Newville.
"I hate to be cliche, but we are not 100 percent sure of what we have yet, so we have to take it one game at a time," Greencastle coach Eric Shaner said. "This season is different. Last year I knew we were going to go 6-0, but you can't predict if this new batch of guys were going to be that way. But we're fortunate that they have been coachable and they're doing the little things the right way to be in the position of 6-0."
SOMETHING IN THE AIR: There must have been some good vibes Tuesday afternoon among area female throwers, because three of them set school records.
In Greencastle, a pair of Blue Devils snapped their own throwing records while helping their team beat Boiling Springs. Keri Gearhart threw the javelin 124-6 and Jenay Faulkner earned a 43-3 distance in the shot put.
At Chambersburg, Reagan Winebrenner broke the school record previously held by Hope Rogers when she fired the discus 128-4 in a win over Cumberland Valley.
GOOD WEEK OF VOLLEYBALL: Thanks to a 3-0 week, the Chambersburg boys volleyball team is back on track after losses to Mid Penn Commonwealth top dogs Cumberland Valley and Central Dauphin in the previous week.
The Trojans ran their record to 5-2 (4-2 MPC) by beating Spring Grove, State College and CD East.
"This was our first three-match week and I wasn't sure how we'd handle that," Chambersburg coach Marta Helfrick said. "We were a little sloppy at times, but showed signs of improvement.
"And I hope that continues, because we have three matches this coming week, too. We play Red Land on Monday and it's a big match for both of us in the district rankings (the Patriots are No. 8, the Trojans No. 9). Then we have Carlisle on Tuesday and host CV on Thursday."
SOME POSITIVES: While the Chambersburg baseball team is still figuring out how to get out of its hitting slump, there have been some positives, despite the 2-7 record.
One example came in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Cumberland Valley.
Sophomore pitcher Josiah Picard allowed seven hits and three runs, while striking out three and walking none. He did hurt himself with a hit batter and wild pitch in the fourth inning when CV scored twice, but otherwise looked sharp.
"Picard was fantastic," Trojan coach Scott Folmar said. "He did everything you'd ask for to keep us in the game. He did a nice job working out of some jams."
The problem is that without much run support, the pitchers are walking a fine line every game.
Chambersburg assistant coach Corey Dayley said, "When you don't hit, you're putting too much pressure on the pitchers and on the defense."