By winning its first two games of the District 3 Class 5A baseball postseason, Greencastle-Antrim already has a ticket to states tucked away in its back pocket.
That upcoming trip to states, however, just might be a little less rugged if the Blue Devils can win one or two more playoff games. In a perfect world for coach Eric Shaner’s squad, Greencastle would enter the PIAA Tournament fresh off its second district title in program history.
But alas, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before the third-seeded Blue Devils can even start thinking about district titles, they’ll need to find a way to get past No. 2 Lower Dauphin in Thursday afternoon’s semifinal game.
We’ve selected this contest between Greencastle and the Falcons as our Game of the Week.
Lower Dauphin won’t go down without a fight. The Falcons bring to the table a devastating batting lineup, backed up by a lights-out pitching staff that includes three undefeated pitchers. The Blue Devils have used a similar blueprint to throttle their competition, so Thursday’s game might just come down to whoever blinks first.
Buckle up.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting multiple teams and sports with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming contests we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
District 3 Class 5A Semifinals
No. 3 Greencastle-Antrim at No. 2 Lower Dauphin
First pitch: Thursday, 4:30 p.m., at Lower Dauphin
Records: The Blue Devils enter with an 18-2 record, while the Falcons check in at 19-2.
Last game: Greencastle blanked No. 6 Manheim Central 7-0 in the quarterfinals, while Lower Dauphin dismantled No. 10 Spring Grove by a 13-3 score.
Last meeting: The Blue Devils slipped past the Falcons 5-3 in the 2023 district postseason.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the district title game to play either No. 5 Lampeter-Strasburg or No. 8 New Oxford. The loser will play in the third-place game.
Meet the Blue Devils: Coach Eric Shaner’s hard-hitting squad has been an offensive powerhouse this spring, with the group outscoring its competition by a combined 208-42 score … The Blue Devils, on a six-game winning streak, haven’t slowed down in the playoffs with convincing wins over Elizabethtown (5-2) and Spring Grove (7-0) … Greencastle-Antrim’s batting lineup is spearheaded by three players batting over .400: Avery Horst, Cam Rakaczewski, and Bryce Davidson … Horst (.456) and Rakaczewski (.453) compose a formidable 1-2 punch, as the batters have combined this spring for 23 extra-base hits, 53 runs, 63 RBI, and 32 stolen bases … Davidson (.420) has contributed five extra-base hits, to go along with 27 runs and 10 stolen bases … Nolan Sullivan is a well-rounded competitor who is batting .386 (22 for 57) with six extra-base hits, 27 runs, 23 RBI, and 17 stolen bases … The Brookens brothers, Bo (.379) and Manny (.368), have combined for seven extra-base hits, 34 runs, and 35 RBI … Andrew Weaver (.358, 33 runs, 16 RBI) and Mason Mellott (.327, 12 runs, 14 RBI) are two other Blue Devils that could influence the game with their bats … The Blue Devils will be without the services of one of their top pitchers in Jaxson Bostic (6-0, 0.88 ERA, 43 strikeouts), who just pitched six innings in Monday’s win over Manheim Central … Look for Greencastle to hand the ball to either Ryder Linn (7-0, 1.67 ERA, 41 strikeouts) or Horst (6-1, 1.97 ERA, 33 strikeouts), with Rakaczewski (0-1, 0.68 ERA, 10 strikeouts) available for relief duties … If the Blue Devils can get past Lower Dauphin, they’ll be playing in the title game for their first district crown since 2013.
Meet the Falcons: Lower Dauphin, a team which won District 3 titles in 2013 and 2018, needs to beat Greencastle to have a chance to play for a third championship … Coach Ken Kulina, a 1989 draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays who has been at the helm of Lower Dauphin since 1998, is in charge of a lineup that includes eight players batting at least .300 … The standout in that group is senior catcher Hunter Strohm, a Mississippi State recruit. Strohm is batting .415 (22 for 53) with 11 extra-base hits, 22 runs, 27 RBI, and 15 stolen bases … Another Falcons batter who’s cleared .400 is Chase DeHart, who is batting .426 (26 for 61) with 22 runs and 12 stolen bases … Gavin Westerberg sports a batting average of .424 (25 for 59) to go along with eight extra-base hits, 16 runs, and 24 RBI … Ryan Ulrich (.379) and Braedyn Danner (.386) both possess power and speed, as they combine for 13 extra-base hits, 31 stolen bases, 43 runs scored, and 33 RBI … Lower Dauphin features a number of other capable batters in the lineup, including Tyler Newman (.341, 17 runs), Max Hoopes (.316, 17 runs, 13 RBI), Colin Shaffer (.303, 14 RBI), Evan Ketty (.296, 14 runs), and Nate McKelvie (.275, 9 RBI) … On the mound, the Falcons will likely be giving a day off to Danner (2-1, 2.25 ERA), who just pitched 3 2/3 innings in Monday’s win over Spring Grove … That means Lower Dauphin will probably trot out one of three unbeaten hurlers: Ulrich (5-0, 1.15 ERA, 32 strikeouts), Hoopes (5-0, 1.15 ERA, 32 strikeouts), and Shaffer (4-0, 1.40 ERA, 26 strikeouts) … If the Falcons get in a pinch, they have another capable pitcher in Stevie Stanislawczyk, who has worked 13 innings and 0-0 with a 1.62 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
Sandrik’s pick: Falcons by 1.
