WAYNESBORO, Pa. — It was one of those games you want to preserve on video, especially the wild ending.
The Waynesboro Indians hosted the Carlisle Thundering Herd in a regular-season varsity baseball finale, and, after Ryan Jenkins crushed a three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning, it looked like the Tribe was heading for an easy win.
But the Indians had to rally in the bottom of the seventh, and what an ending it was. Riley Eaton hit into an RBI groundout to cut a 9-7 deficit to 9-8. Jack Knepper, who scored ahead of Jenkins on the three-run homer, walked to load the bases. Once again, Carlisle had to pitch to Jenkins, who hit a solo round-tripper in the sixth inning, delivered again. He ripped a double to left field, as the ball landed just inside the foul line. Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt, who singled, and Elijah Miller, who was hit by a pitch, both scored to send Waynesboro to a 10-9 win in a Mid-Penn Conference crossover game.
The celebration was epic. The energy was electric. After Miller swan-dived into home plate, players sprinted toward center field in unison before the post-game handshake. It was a well-deserved celebration, despite an awful fifth inning that saw the Herd score seven runs to take an 8-6 lead.
Carlisle scored what looked like a possible insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, meaning the Indians had to score three runs to win.
It happened, raising Waynesboro’s record to 16-4. It was the most wins during a regular season since the Tribe went 17-3 in 2013.
District 3 playoff-bound Waynesboro will host a first-round game in the 6A tournament, which has 14 teams. The top two teams receive byes—seeds three through seven host first-round contests.
If the District 3-6A rankings remain unchanged, Waynesboro will host Central Dauphin on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Senior John Kahl got the start on the mound, and he put together four strong innings. He allowed three baserunners in the first three innings. The Herd scored a run in the fourth inning to make the score 3-1, but Jenkins, who finished with an eye-popping 5-for-5 with eight runs batted in and two runs scored, hit the first of his two home runs.
The wheels fell off in the top of the fifth. Chance Hall came on in relief of Kahl, and he ran into some tough at-bats and some costly errors. Carlisle had five hits in the inning, but was helped by a walk, a hit batsman and two errors.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
