WAYNESBORO – Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
He also said of a lot of other things that have become part of baseball lore and legend. Maybe that’s why baseball became America’s Pastime.
Berra’s words rang loud and true at Robinson Field on a sunny, breezy Thursday afternoon against
Northern York.
The two Mid-Penn Colonial teams faced off for the second time this season. In their first meeting on
April 3, the Polar Bears eked out a 5-4 victory that began an uncharacteristic slump for Waynesboro.
The Indians would lose four of their next six games, including a 9-0 loss to Greencastle-Antrim and a 10-0 setback against Cumberland Valley.
A 12-6 win against West Perry was followed by a heartbreaking 8-7 loss at Shippensburg in which
Waynesboro lost a late lead. The Tribe rebounded with an 8-7 win over James Buchanan and the lost 3-2 to Boiling Springs that dropped Waynesboro’s record to 5-6.
But something changed, because the Indians are riding a three-game win streak. The latest exploit of
head coach Travis Hardman’s bunch was a thrilling, heart stopping 3-2 win over Northern. The Polar
Bears took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the lead didn’t hold up.
Waynesboro not only scored three runs, punctuated by a walk-off ground rule double off the bat of first
baseman Ethan Hotchkiss, but the Indians scored three runs with two outs. The reaction by teammates
was worthy of a viral video, as it demonstrated the invincibility of the team’s determination to uphold its legacy as one of the best programs in the Mid-state.
Northern opted to replace starting pitcher Timmy Bonin with reliever Oskar Dees in the seventh inning.
Dees was workmanlike in setting down the first two batters, the first on a ground out to second base and the second on a strikeout.
What could go wrong for Northern? What could go right for Waynesboro?
When Kellan Smith was hit by a pitch, the dugout roared with enthusiasm. They didn’t quiet down until the game was over, because Dylan Morgan and Mason Gochenour both walked to load the bases. The next batter was Waynesboro’s starting pitcher, Aiden Campbell. The pitcher did indeed help himself, and he had to, because the Tribe was down to its last out. Campbell responded with a base hit that sent both Smith and Morgan racing home to tie the game at 2.
Then, Hotchkiss sealed the win with a long fly ball that bounced over the fence in left center field,
scoring Gochenour and setting off a celebration that could only be experienced after a team rose from
the ashes of defeat and seized victory from the jaws of defeat.
For his part, Campbell held his ground against the Polar Bears. He allowed four baserunners in the first
three innings, with Northern stranding runners in scoring position in the second and third innings.
Meanwhile, Waynesboro was frustrated in its attempts to score, as Northern turned two double plays in
the game and the Indians were hitting right at opposing players.
The Polar Bears sprang to life on offense with two runs in the sixth inning, thanks to Mason Yohn’s two-run single.
Campbell and the Waynesboro defense kept its cool and kept Northern away from home plate in the top of the seventh. In all, Campbell induced nine fly outs, six ground outs and he struck out two batters. Campbell gave up seven singles in the game, but the Polar Bears left seven runners on base. Waynesboro stranded seven base runners and also were caught up in three force outs at second base.
Waynesboro (8-6) will try to avenge its loss to Greencastle-Antrim when the Indians travel to Greencastle to play the Blue Devils on Monday.
