WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim varsity softball teams met for their annual Pink Out game, with the Blue Devils donned in pink jerseys and the Maidens wearing pink socks to mark the occasion.
Mother Nature didn’t cooperate at first, sprinkling rain off and on well into the game. But the sky eventually cleared and the sun peaked down as the clouds passed by and then came back again.
The game could have been a pitching duel between Waynesboro’s Michelle Baker and Greencastle-Antrim’s Sophia Layton. But the Blue Devils got the hits when they needed them and capitalized on key opportunities to score runs on their way to a 6-1 Mid-Penn Colonial Division win.
The loss was Waynesboro’s second in a row, slowing down coach Steven McElroy’s squad which had won four consecutive games before losing to Northern 5-4 last Thursday.
Waynesboro is 7-8 with five games remaining in the season.
G-A’s fortune was Waynesboro’s misfortune as the Blue Devils pushed across two runs in the of the first inning when Meadow Gambacurta hit a two-run double, scoring Caroline Longsdon who reached on an error, and Makayla Jerin, who singled.
And that’s the only scoring Greencastle needed, thanks to the efficient pitching of Layton and the play of the defense behind her. The Blue Devils did not commit an error and recorded 10 groundouts, most of which could be considered routine. Centerfielder Sydney Orndorff made a shoestring catch of a dying fly ball and turned it into a double play in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Layton set down six of the final batters she faced, and the Maidens managed to put just seven runners on base.
Waynesboro did respond to the Blue Devils productive first inning with a run to cut the early deficit to 2-1. Slaydon Fisher hit a one-out single and scored on a two-out double by Karsyn Moore. However, Layton struck out the next batter to end the inning, leaving the Maidens with a runner in scoring position.
Baker gave up a one-out single in the second inning but induced a pop up to first baseman Lydia Shank and a ground ball to second baseman Abby McElroy.
Layton retired the side in order in the home second, and Greencastle-Antrim scored a run in the third inning as Gambacurta hit a two-out double and scored on a single by Emma Broadwater to make the score 3-1.
Za’Mariah Diggs led off the third inning but advanced no farther than second base as the Maidens failed to get a hit or walk in their next three chances at the plate.
After failing to score in the fourth inning, the Blue Devils scored their fourth run, and it was Gambacurta who was part of another run. She hit a home run with two outs to increase the lead to 4-1.
That occurred an inning after Waynesboro had runners on first and second bases, only to be disappointed again when Alexis Jones put the squeeze on a fly ball to right field.
The Blue Devils put up two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning when Jones belted a two-run home run, also scoring Abby Stouffer, who singled. Jones’ dinger also came with two outs.
Waynesboro will try to bounce back on Wednesday when the Maidens travel to Elliottsburg to play West Perry in a league game.
