HERSHEY – Some baseball games are a matter of which team is the first to take advantage of an opportunity. Both Chambersburg and Hummelstown had early chances to open the scoring in their Region 4 Legion baseball contest on Saturday afternoon, but once Hummelstown broke through for four runs in the fifth, Chambersburg was never able to get back in the game.
Hummelstown won the winners’ bracket semifinal 7-3, pushing Chambersburg into a losers’ bracket contest against South Parkland at 1 p.m. Saturday back at Hershey Memorial Field.
The contest was 0-0 for the first four innings, but the whole course of the contest could have changed when Chambersburg loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third. Wyatt Kissel hit the ball to the left-centerfield gap, but Ryan Ulrich was able to chase it down for the final out.
“Obviously, baseball is a pretty high momentum game,” Chambersburg head coach Brandon Kissinger said. “If Kissel’s ball lands in the gap it gives us some margin.”
Hummelstown, which had also come away with nothing after getting runners to second and third in the first inning, broke the scoreless deadlock when Bryce Forney singled in Joey Swartz in the top of the fifth. A two-run single by Noah Heath and an RBI single by Casey Westerberg made it 4-0.
That was the end of the day for Chambersburg starter Wyan Martin, who endured a line drive off his thigh in the third inning before grabbing the ball of the ground to get the out at first. He retired the side in order in the fourth with no signs of any difficulties before Hummelstown rallied in the fifth.
“[Martin] has a gamer mentality,” Kissinger said. “After that there was a little soreness, but if anything it helped him turn it up a bit.”
Martin had two strikeouts and four walks.
Hummelstown added three more runs in the sixth to push the lead to 7-0, and flirted with the mercy rule when it left the bases loaded.
It took Chambersburg until one out in the seventh to score against Hummelstown starter Ethan Duff. Brady Deneen’s double to left field scored Brady Truet and Bryce Murray to make the score 7-2.
That was the last pitch Duff threw, as he reached the tournament’s pitch limit. Duff finished with nine strikeouts and two walks.
Against reliever Ulrich, Deneen scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-3. Zach Molloy walked and Kissel reached on a strikeout passed ball, but Chambersburg never brought the potential tying run to the plate.
Though the late rally did not affect Saturday’s result, it gave Kissinger hope for success in the losers’ bracket.
“I think hitting is very contagious, and it can pick up at any time,” Kissinger said. “Momentum can go from inning to inning or game to game.”
Northeastern 6, Hampden 3: Northeastern will meet Hummelstown in the winners’ bracket final at 7 p.m. Sunday. Hampden scored twice in the top of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead, but Northeastern responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead back for good. In the rally, Owen Wilhide hit an RBI single, followed by Conner Rippo’s go-ahead two-run single. Wilhide held that lead when he came in for starter Drew Barshinger with two out and two on in the top of the sixth, inducing a fly out to end the inning. Northeastern tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Barshinger got the win with six strikeouts and four walks.
Paxton 4, Greencastle 3: Hank Fedullo’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh scored Alex Yarrish to score the walk-off run, pushing Paxton into Sunday’s action and eliminating Greencastle. Ethan Ford, Ryan Farrow and Zack Paris all had RBIs for Greencastle, which led 3-1 after the top of the fifth inning. Ben Horst pitched 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and four walks. Paris pitched one inning with two strikeouts and one walk.
Most Popular
Comments / 0