WAYNESBORO – It was a game – until the top of the sixth inning.
The Shippensburg Greyhounds varsity softball team broke open a very close game with five runs in the sixth inning on Thursday against the Waynesboro Maidens in a Mid-Penn Colonial Division game.
After that, with only two innings to make up all that ground, Waynesboro (3-6) didn’t have the offensive firepower to rally as the Maidens lost 7-0.
Shippensburg starting pitcher Cierra Bender struck out four Maidens and was backed up by a capable defense that kept Waynesboro away from home plate. The hosts had only five batters reach base and were set down in order in the final two innings.
It’s been that kind of season for Waynesboro, which qualified for the District 3 playoffs a season ago but has had to fill some gaps.
“This year we started off the season with players injured. We lost our centerfielder for the year (Cameron Witte), so we had to make adjustments there. And then we had two girls right out of the gate go on the DL. So we have had to kind of mix and match to get things rolling. We’re starting to get healthy again. We played a much better game today than we have in the last couple games, so I think we’re getting ready to turn the corner.”
Alex Monk and Zoie Singray are back but not at full capacity. Both have made plate appearances but haven’t played in the field.
Shippensburg snapped the scoreless tie with a run in the second inning, then added a run in the third.
Waynesboro starting pitcher Michelle Baker shut down the Greyhounds in order in the fifth frame, including two strikeouts, but the Maidens couldn’t generate runs in the home half of the inning despite getting its first two runners on base (Singray and Za’Mariah Diggs). Bender pitched out of a jam thanks to a double play and a ground out to third base.
Waynesboro, coming off a 7-6 win over West Perry on Tuesday, will travel to Mercersburg on Monday for a matchup against James Buhanan.
