WAYNESBORO – As if playing on the hottest day of the summer wasn’t hard enough.
Waynesboro Post 15 got the worst of it on Wednesday evening on the hottest day of summer against Greencastle Post 373 in a Franklin County American Legion League baseball game at Robinson Field.
Greencastle, with a roster dotted with players who competed on the Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils team that advanced to the PIAA Class 4A semifinals, made it look easy en route to a 12-3 victory.
The loss put Post 15 a game under .500 at 7-8 with two more games left on the regular season schedule. After that, Waynesboro’s season continues when it hosts the Region 4 tournament beginning July 15.
The verdict was uncertain until Post 373 put up five runs in the top of the fifth inning to expand its lead from 4-1 to 9-1. Waynesboro couldn’t make up the deficit.
Greencastle took a 1-0 lead in the first frame as Jarek Szaflarski led off the game with a single, moved to second base on a balk, and scored on an error.
Waynesboro also had a lead-off single off the bat of Dylan Morgan in the bottom of the first inning. But Post 373 starting pitcher Connor Rohm, who pitched into the seventh inning, retired the next three batters to end the inning.
Post 15 didn’t get many baserunners, and when it did, six of them were left on base and four more were forced out.
Waynesboro starting pitcher John Kahl gave up a leadoff single in the second. However, Rohm, who hit the single, was forced out at second, making a base hit by Jace Szaflarski relatively harmless as Kahl struck out the next two batters.
Waynesboro tied the game in the home second when Kahl led off with a walk, advanced to second base on an error, then on to third base on a fielder’s choice, and finally scored on a fielder’s choice by Devin Wynkoop.
Greencastle posted three runs in the top of the third, and Post 15 couldn’t come back from the deficit.
Garrett Decker led off with a double and scored when the next batter, Jarek Szaflarski, hit a single. Szaflarski scored, as did Aiden Grudzinski, who doubled and came around to score on a base hit by Rohm.
Rohm continued his command performance by setting down the side in order in the third and fifth innings. He allowed two baserunners in the fourth but got some help from the defense on a force-out, and Rohm did the rest by striking out a hitter for the third out.
Greencastle batted around in the top of the fifth and scored five runs on five singles and a hit batsman.
Waynesboro plated two runs in the sixth inning. Ethan Earley singled and advanced to second base on a passed ball Eric Knepper and Seth Dodson walked to load the bases. Earley scored on a base hit by Brody Daywalt, and Knepper stole home.
Waynesboro hosts McConnellsburg on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
