Post 373 opens season with a win and a loss

AAU Baseball Club, The PA Heat Baseball Club, an AAU club, captured the Memorial Day Select Tournament in Morgantown, W.Va. recently by going 5-0, including a 5-4 championship game win over the Fairmont Cardinals. The Heat also beat the Mid-Ohio Valley River Pirates, Ball Zone Bombers, Elite Baseball and Blue & Gold Storm. From left, are: front row - coach Jason Schaeffer, Denton Cordell, Drew DeShong, Chad Miller, Andrew Zeger, Dylan Rhodes, Denver Cordell and head coach Mike Ensminger; back row - coach Joe Szaflarski, Jared Grove, Cody Ezolt, Eric Schanzenbacher, Denton Ensminger, Tyler Szaflarski, Devin Schaeffer and coach Dan Zeger.

The Greencastle American Legion Post 373 baseball team opened the season at .500 last week.

After being shutout on only three hits in its opening game, Post 373's offense came alive by scoring 17 runs on 18 hits in their 17-8 win over Dry Run Post 232 Saturday evening.

Greencastle got up 6-3 through two and a half innings before Dry Run came back to make it 6-5. Post 373 caught fire offensively against and rolled to the victory.

Rusty Cordell (three hits, double, three runs, four RBIs, three walks), Heath Ausherman (three hits, double, four runs, RBI), Drew Bittner (three hits, double, two runs, two RBIs) and Trevor Ile (two hits, three runs, three RBIs, two walks), paced the attack. All nine positions in the lineup had basehits, scored runs, and drove in runs. Greencastle had 18 hits in the game.

Derek Keener, in his first game from the mound, picked up the win, with relief from Evan Dixon and Cole Sellers. The trio of hurlers scattered nine hits, walked six and struck out five.

In the opener for Greencastle, Shippensburg Post 223's Ricky Ott and Greencastle Post 373's Drew Bittner each tossed three-hitters, but Ott's offense came through with some timely hits to take a 4-0 victory.

With one out in the first, Post 223's Kyle Plasterer reached on an error. Zach Piper followed with a long double to plate Plasterer. Piper advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a fielders choice ground ball by Justin Varner. In the fourth, Varner reached on an error and Ott singled to right, Kellen Bullock drove in a run with a single, and Ott scored on a gound out by Chris Davis.

Post 373 managed to get two runners to third, but could not score. Post 373's hits came in the first three innings on singles by Derek Keener and Derrick Barkdoll and a triple from Rusty Cordell. Ott closed the door allowing two baserunners the rest of the game. Ott fanned seven and walked one.

Bittner struck out four and walked one, and allowed no earned runs in taking the loss.