WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro varsity softball team has been stung by late losses during the season.
But not this time. The Maidens used a three-run bottom of the third inning that erased a 2-1 deficit, and relief pitcher Riley Shetler and a dependable defense backing her up did the rest. The result was a 4-2 Mid-Penn Colonial Division victory on Tuesday on a pleasant spring day at Maiden Field.
Riley Shetler hit and pitched for Waynesboro. It was her two-run home run in the third frame that provided the winning margin. She took over for starting pitcher Emma Bradley after Bradley surrendered a lead-off single in the top of the fourth inning. Shetler was solid, and so was the defense. Big Spring had nine base runners in the first four innings, and the Maidens were lucky they gave up just two runs.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth inning, but centerfielder Alex Monk put the squeeze on a fly ball to end the inning, Big Spring put a runner on first with two outs in the sixth but Bradley recorded a force-out at second base. Then, in the seventh inning, the Bulldogs had runners on first and second but again were frustrated as Shetler notched a strikeout to end the game.
“She hit well and pitched well,” said Waynesboro head coach Troy Witte of Shetler. “She had an all-around good game. My freshman (Bradley) pitched a good three innings for us today. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“It would have been their third time seeing her, so it was now or never. I wanted them to see someone different. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We played a great all-around team game. It’s better than we did the last couple of weeks. I’ll take it.”
Waynesboro could have erupted in the first inning. Zoie Singrey led off the inning with a single. Bradley reached base on an infield error, putting runners on first and second bases. Shetler loaded the bases with a base hit. However, a potentially blockbuster inning started to go south when Big Spring forced out a runner at home plate. The bases were still loaded as Lydia Shank reached first base on the fielder’s choice. Abby McElroy got the Maidens on the board with a run-scoring single.
“We played better than we’ve been playing,” Witte said. “We needed this win to get us over the hump. We lost some close ones early this year. We had Shippensburg on the ropes. They won on a walk-off. We went nine innings with WestPerry; we did win that one. It gives us confidence.”
Big Spring scored a run in the second and another in the third, but the Bulldogs left two runners on base and had another tagged out attempting to steal second base.
In the pivotal bottom of the third, Singrey led off with a single. She scored on a double by Bradley. Shetler then homered.
Waynesboro hosts Northern York on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
