FAYETTEVILLE — In a game that included 298 pitches thrown, 34 baserunners (20 of them left on base) and 19 hits, Chambersburg was able to find ways to score its runners better than State College.
Kendall Flory
The result was a 9-2 Mid Penn Commonwealth softball victory for the Trojans at Norlo Park on Wednesday afternoon.
“It felt like a weird game — we had people on base all the time, but we just never got the big hit to break it open,” Chambersburg coach Chris Skultety said. “I was a little worried about how we’d play after taking that tough loss on Monday (at Central Dauphin).”
Jessica Hawbaker blasted a two-run home run in the top of the first off Kori Leedy to give the Little Lions a lead. Karley Skultety got one back in the bottom of the inning on a solo shot to center, but State College threatened again in the second with two runners on when Leedy picked up a strikeout, then snared a nasty, belt-high line drive off the bat of Kara Rhinehart to end the inning.
Leedy stranded two runners in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth, reliever Sanay Jones loaded the bases with two hits and a walk, but got out unscathed when third baseman Kendall Flory fielded two straight ground balls — the first forcing out a runner at home plate and the second enabling her to step on third for the last out.
Skultety said, “I was happy with our defense. We made some plays and did some good things out there.”
Chambersburg (9-3, 6-3 MPC) scored runs in each of the first five innings to gradually increase its lead.
In a three-run second, Kylee Perry led off with a double, Marley Onomastico singled and Flory singled to bring in the tying run. A run scored on an error, and Bree Paetow doubled in the third score of the inning. In the third, Malia Cramer doubled to center to lead off and eventually scored on Rowan Ogden’s base hit.
Three more runs came across in the fourth. Paetow reached on an error, stole second and third base and trotted in on Skultery’s grounder. Addison Gsell walked and scored on Perry’s second double, and Flory drove in the third run with a hit. In the fifth, Bailey Summers singled and courtesy runner Errissa Varner scored on a stolen base and an error on a grounder by Paetow.
NOTES: The Trojans play at Greencastle-Antrim on Friday in a matchup of two strong local teams … After all of the long at-bats and long innings, Issie Slimmer relieved in the top of the seventh for Chambersburg and retired the side on just 4 pitches … Paige Moriata was 3-for-3 for State College (4-4, 3-3 MPC).