WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro Indians varsity baseball team has become used to playing in tight games – and winning them.
They did it again on Thursday against James Buchanan. After losing a 3-1 lead and heading into the bottom of the seventh inning tied 3-3 with the Rockets, Waynesboro pulled out a 4-3 win on a walk-off single by Mason Gochenour on Senior Day at Robinson Field.
With the win, the Indians improve to 12-5 overall, 10-3 in the Mid-Penn Colonial Division. Waynesboro is a half-game behind Shippensburg, which defeated Northern 2-1 to end the regular season at 11-3 in the division.
The Tribe needs to beat Northern at home on Monday to gain a share of the league championship.
Five seniors – Gochenour, Tyler Caron, Logan Clapsaddle, Seth Dodson, and Kellan Smith – were recognized for their contributions to Waynesboro baseball. Dodson pitched the final two innings after James Buchanan rallied from a two-run lead and tied the game with no outs in the sixth. Starting pitcher Drew Crouse hit a sacrifice fly and Carter Hissong hit a run-scoring single. Dodson fielded ground balls for the final two outs of the inning.
Crouse retired the first two batters he faced. He was relieved by Trey Daugherty after reaching his pitch count limit. Waynesboro took advantage of the new pitcher. Clapsaddle hit a triple. Ethan Hotchkiss was intentionally walked. Gochenour then hit a hard single past the infield to bring home Clapsaddle and set off another trademark celebration as players raced down the rightfield line in unison, jumping up and down and voicing their elation about the win.
“They had to change pitchers there, and Logan Clapsaddle has been pretty consistent,” said Waynesboro head coach Travis Hardman. “That was the right guy to have up there. He hit the ball well in the gap. Mason hit the first pitch for a single to win it. I was very happy for the seniors. That’s a great senior memory. A lot of them contributed to it.”
The Rockets (11-6, 7-6 MPC) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when lead-off hitter Parker Summers singled, advanced to second base on an error, and scored on a two-out single by Jake Miller.
Waynesboro plated two runs in the third and added a run in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Starting pitcher John Kahl held his own through the first five innings and was backed up by some good defensive plays to keep James Buchanan away from home plate. Kahl made two assists in the first inning. He struck out a batter in the second, while left fielder Eric Knepper caught a fly ball and shortstop Calvin Myers fielded a ground ball and threw to first for another out.
Kahl gave up a lead-off double in the top of the third but got out the next three batters, including his second strikeout. The Rockets led off with a base hit in the fourth frame. After an out, Waynesboro third baseman Tank Benedict threw to second base for a force out. The last out came when Gochenour fielded a hit in center field and threw a strike to Benedict for the final out of the inning.
Kahl retired the side in order in the fifth and got off to a rough start in the sixth as he allowed back-to-back singles with no outs.
“He did a heck of a job,” Hardman said. “He’s only in tenth grade. He’s getting more experience. He’s really improving. He pitched against Spring Grove (a 5-1 win).”
