WAYNESBORO – Waynesboro had just scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take what should have been a commanding 6-0 lead against visiting Greencastle-Antrim.
But this is baseball, and the Blue Devils scored seven runs over the next two innings and then held on as the Indians loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t force extra innings or put together their own rally.
Final score: Greencastle 7, Waynesboro 6.
The weather wasn’t anyone’s friend on a cool, blustery, overcast Thursday at Robinson Field. The wind was blowing decidedly in from center and right field.
The way Jack Knepper came out firing during the first five innings was a masterclass performance—until the bottom fell out from under him in the top of the sixth. Knepper coasted through the G-A batting order, retiring the first nine batters and 15 of the first 17 he faced in the opening five frames. He struck out the side in the fifth, bringing him to seven for the game. The only base runners he allowed both walked.
Meanwhile, Waynesboro put up two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Elijah Miller was hit by a pitch with two outs. Leadoff hitter Riley Eaton walked, and so did Knepper. Pinch runner Garrett Scheeler scored on a passed ball, and Eaton slid across the plate thanks to a wild pitch.
The Tribe left two runners aboard in the third and fourth innings, setting up a four-run fifth inning. Four batters walked, and another was hit by a pitch. Knepper hit a two-run double. Miller was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run, and Eaton walked to force in another.
The Blue Devils erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth inning. Bryce Davidson led off with a single. A balk moved him to second base, and an Andrew Weaver base hit sent him home for the team’s first run of the game. Nate Wheeler walked, and a sacrifice bunt placed runners on second and third to set up Avery Horst, who delivered a two-run single to cut the deficit to 6-3. Horst crossed the plate on a passed ball. Manny Brookens, the team’s starting pitcher who was relieved by Ryder Linn in the fifth, singled and later scored on a two-out single by Mason Mellott to make it 6-5.
Waynesboro went down in order in the home sixth, and the Blue Devils scored the tying and winning runs in the top of the seventh. Davidson led off with a single, then reached third base on consecutive stolen bases. Down to its last out, Greencastle’s Nolan Sullivan and Horst walked to load the bases. Brookens followed with a two-run single.
Waynesboro is on the road Monday, April 6 to play West Perry. The Indians host Shippensburg on Wednesday, April 8, and end the week with a road game against Chambersburg on Friday, April 10.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
