WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro Indians and James Buchanan varsity baseball teams had to wait three weeks to complete a suspended game and then play a regularly scheduled game.
Waynesboro led 8-0 on April 14, a thunderstorm ended the game with the Indians leading 8-0. Waynesboro picked up where it left off on Thursday, May 7. The Tribe scored three runs in the top of the third and six more in the fourth inning en route to a 17-0 victory.
It was more of the same in the second game of the doubleheader. This time, Waynesboro jumped out to a 12-1 lead after the first inning and went on to win 16-1 in three innings.
Since the suspended game, the Indians have won nine out of 10 games. The lone loss was to Sprig Grove on April 24. Waynesboro has won six straight games since then, improving to 15-4.
The Tribe finished 12-2 in the Mid-Penn Colonial Division. They are co-champions with Greencastle-Antrim.
Waynesboro hosts Carlisle on Monday, May 11, in the final game of the regular season.
The Indians, who lost to Boiling Springs, Greencastle-Antrim, Chambersburg, and Spring Grove, are currently ranked 4th in the District 3-6A rankings. Hempfield (16-3) is the top seed, followed by Ephrata (14-5) and Chambersburg (13-5).
Ashton Davis, a freshman, slugged a lead-off home run to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead in the second game.
But Waynesboro roared back to score 12 runs in the home first. The Indians sent 15 batters to the plate and accumulated 10 hits. Jack Knepper belted a two-run home run to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Three batters later, Rylan Nichols hit a three-run round tripper.
Riley Eaton delivered a two-run single, and Knepper added his second hit of the inning, an RBI single. Nate Nystrom hit a run-scoring double, while Nichols added a two-run double to his resume.
Knepper pitched the third and fourth innings of the first game and the first inning of the second game. Knepper struck out two hitters before giving way to Chance Hall. Hall allowed a lead-off single in the second inning but retired the final five batters he faced.
Waynesboro tallied four runs in the bottom of the third inning to end the game. Nichols hit a two-run single, finishing with three hits, seven RBIs, and two runs.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
