WAYNESBORO – Waynesboro’s varsity baseball game against Chambersburg will have to wait for a sunny day.
A steady – and progressively heavier – rain prompted the suspension of Saturday’s non-league contest. A makeup date will be announced at a later date. The Trojans were leading 2-0 when the game was suspended in the top of the fifth inning.
But the game was a much-anticipated one – not because of the opponent, but the theme. The game was designated Youth Day, and former head coach Greg Chandler was honored before the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch to 1989 WASHS graduate and former player Charlie Koons.
“I think it was great. I was proud of the turnout,” said Waynesboro head coach Travis Hardman, who played for Chandler in the late 1990s. “It was a special feeling for a good community event. There were a lot of kids here. To honor Greg Chandler – I know we should have done it sooner. I’m glad we finally got to do it.”
Chandler was head coach from 1988 until 2020. He compiled a record of 476-208 (.696-win percentage), and his teams won the District 3 championship in 1989 and 1994. The Indians qualified for the state playoffs in 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2000 and 2002.
“There’s nothing like high school baseball,” said Chandler. “Baseball is in my blood. I spent so much time here at the baseball facility and with the kids. I didn’t realize how much time it takes to do it right. We always had great kids. And the facility – look at it.
“Coming back, I feel the energy of high school sports. There’s nothing like it. It’s an atmosphere that holds you. It held me for 30-some years. I spent late nights here laying on the bench and getting up to water the field. We didn’t have automatic sprinklers. We had to move the sprinklers around. I’d go home around midnight. It was like another home for me, this field.”
Chandler said the two memories that stand out to this day are Waynesboro’s 14-12 win over Chambersburg in 1997, the year the Trojans were ranked first in the nation by USA Today. The other was a 1996 game against Red Land when ESPN did a story on Matt White.
“We had so many wins here in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s,” Chandler said. “We’ve had some great people play on this field. I remember Matt Wise hitting a home run to beat Chambersburg one year. We beat Martinsburg (West Virginia) one year, and they went on to win the state championship.”
In addition to Hardman, assistant coaches Joe Wetzel, Jessie Mowen and Jarret Biesecker also played for Chandler.
“Joe was our third pitcher behind Danny Welsh and Greg (White),” Chandler said. “He was probably the best number three pitcher for anybody in the country. He could have been an ace for anybody.”
Chandler spends some of his free time golfing. He also goes hunting. His daughter Caroline is graduating from Shippensburg University and plans to become a teacher.
“About the youth day,” said Hardman, “I was up at Shippensburg High School, and they did something similar. I thought we needed to do something like this. I hope to continue it each year. Maybe next year we’ll have better weather. With Greg Chandler, I knew we needed to do something to honor him. Daryl Warrenfeltz said we need to do it. He gave a little push.”
As for the game, it was a pretty good one despite the pesky rain.
Chambersburg scored single runs in the top of the first and third innings. Lead-off hitter Brady Deneen scored both runs for the Trojans. He singled and scored in the opening frame and doubled and scored in the third inning.
The Indians left the bases loaded in the third and fourth innings, losing out on two golden opportunities.
Tyler Brechbiel started on the mound for Chambersburg and pitched the first three innings. Kamden Mongan pitched the fourth frame.
For Waynesboro, Blake Daywalt pitched all four innings.
