SCOTLAND — James Buchanan’s baseball team, which returns everybody from a district playoff team last year, is expecting big things in 2025.

The Rockets got off to a fine start Tuesday afternoon at Greene Township Park by scoring two runs in the top of the eighth inning to hand Chambersburg a 5-3 non-league defeat.

Ryne Mills

The Trojans, who didn’t have a hit off JB starting pitcher Jake Miller until Tyler Foreman singled up the middle in the fifth inning, finally got to him for three runs in the sixth to tie the game 3-3. But the Rockets put together a two-run rally in the eighth to claim the victory.

“It’s opening day and you’re hoping for a win, but you want your team to be tested, too,” JB coach Dave Sanchez said. “So giving up the lead, then winning it in extra innings was good for us. As a coach, you want to see who will come through, and it took everybody to get this win.”

Chambersburg made three errors and a couple of other defensive miscues, and put five Rocket batters on base via walks.

“Mistakes definitely cost us this game,” Trojan coach Scott Folmar said. “Almost all of their runs came after we made an error or gave them a leadoff walk. So they capitalized on them.”

James Buchanan scored a run in the second off starter Kadyn McMullen with two leadoff walks and a misjudged line-drive double to center by Trey Dougherty.

It became 2-0 in third when Hayden Sanchez reached on an infield hit that might have been an out with a better throw. He moved around on a balk, an error on a rundown after he was caught in a pickoff, and a fielder’s choice grounder by Jimmy Bell.

In the top of the sixth, Miller reached on an error, moved up on a stolen base and a wild pitch and came home on Carter Hissong’s deep fly to right.

To that point, Miller had handcuffed the Trojans, allowing only hit and three walks, with six strikeouts.

“Miller was working fast, throwing well and keeping us off-balance,” Folmar said.

But that all changed in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff walk to Ceagan Truett. Evan Brown ripped to run-scoring triple to rightfield. Bryce Murray bunted for a hit, then Ryne Mills singled in the second run.

Sanchez brought in Drew Crouse to pitch and Trojans tied it up on a sacrifice bunt by McMullen and a sac fly to left by Wyatt Martin.

Sanchez said, “Miller got up in his pitch count, and gave up that leadoff walk that hurt. Then they bunted well and had a couple of clutch hits.”

In the top of the eighth, reliever Jacob Pyne walked Bell to lead off the inning. After an out, Hissong blooped a hit to left and Crouse followed with a hard-hit single to score Bell. A wild pitch allowed Hissong to score an insurance run.

Folmar said, “I was glad to see us fight back in the sixth, but we need better at-bats throughout the game. Our pitchers worked out of some jams and overall kept us in the game.”

Crouse picked up the win with three innings of two-hit relief. Hayden Sanchez had two hits for the Rockets, while Mills had two for the Trojans.

“We wanted to be tested, and the guys answered the bell,” coach Sanchez said. “We have everybody back from last year and we have seven seniors, so we’re really hoping we can play to our potential and be free and loose.”

Folmar said, “JB will win a lot of games this season. That’s why this would have been a nice win to pick up.”