It’s the win or go home time part of the season, and Manheim Township’s softball team has already gone deeper than expected in the District 3-6A Championships.
The No. 13-seed Blue Streaks, a team which entered the playoffs with a losing record, opened their tournament with an upset victory over No. 4 Central York. Now Manheim Township is aiming to pull off another stunner in the quarterfinal round, this time over the No. 5-seeded Chambersburg Trojans.
The Blue Streaks face an uphill battle against Chambersburg, a battle-hardened program that has qualified for districts every season since 1982.
We’ve selected this matchup as our Game of the Week.
Until the end of the high school season, we plan on spotlighting area teams with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming games we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
District 3-6A Quarterfinals
Manheim Township at Chambersburg
First pitch: Thursday, 4:30 p.m., at Chambersburg
Records: Manheim Township is 10-11, while the Trojans check in with a 15-4 record.
Last game: The No. 13-seeded Blue Streaks defeated No. 4 Central York 3-2 in the opening round of districts. Chambersburg, the No. 5 seed, opened districts with a 9-4 win over No. 12 Red Lion.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the District 3-6A semifinals and is guaranteed a spot at states. The season is over for the loser.
Meet the Blue Streaks: After an upset win in the first round, coach Terry Bender’s Manheim Township squad is still in contention to pursue its first district title since the 1986 season … The Blue Streaks competed in Lancaster-Lebanon Section I during the regular season and finished fourth in the division with a 5-5 record … Manheim Township is led by senior Sara Hess, a Franklin & Marshall commit who is batting .422 with 10 doubles, one triple, 17 runs, 12 RBI, and five stolen bases … Hess highlights a group of six Blue Streak batters who are batting above .300 this season, with the others being Paige Hughes (.407), Ashley Bryant (.343), May Castillo (.323), Ava Stern (.321), and Natalie Brownell (.311) … Stern, who leads her team in home runs (4), is also Manheim Township’s primary pitcher. She’s pitched to the tune of a 3.87 ERA this spring, with 81 strikeouts over 85 innings … If Stern gets in trouble, the Blue Streaks could turn to their No. 2 pitcher, Violet Wagner, who has a 7.51 ERA and has fanned 13 batters over 36.1 innings.
Meet the Trojans: No team has had more postseason success in the District 3 Championships than Chambersburg, a squad that has now qualified for the district tournament for 43 consecutive years … The Trojans have won more district titles (13) and playoff games (89) than any program team in the district, but they are in a bit of a championship drought with their last title coming in 2017 … Last year at districts, coach Chris Skultety’s club finished in fourth and qualified for states … The Trojans, who enter this game on a seven-game winning streak, played to an 11-3 record in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division for third place this spring … Junior second baseman Bree Paetow, a James Madison recruit, has been putting up video game numbers all season. She is batting .587 (44 for 75) with 10 doubles, six triples, one home run, 39 runs, 15 RBI, and 24 stolen bases … Addison Gsell wields a big bat for the Trojans, as she carries a .406 average and leads her team in both home runs (5) and RBI (28) … A handful of other Chambersburg players are batting above .300, including Karley Skultety (.403), Malia Cramer (.356), Kylee Perry (.306), and Bailey Summers (.303) … Expect to see Kori Leedy, a 15-game winner, in the pitching circle. Leedy sports a 1.55 ERA and has struck out 88 batters over 99 1/3 innings of work.
Sandrik’s pick: Trojans by 3.
