Softball

District 1 Little League baseball and softball tryouts begin this week. American Tryouts will be held at American Little League Field. Friday - all ages from 5:30-8 p.m. Saturday - all ages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday - all ages from 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 - all ages from 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 13 - draft day. Clear Spring Tryouts will be held at Clear Spring Little League's field. Saturday - all ages at 8 a.m. Sunday - all ages at 5 p.m. Monday (makeup date)

Halfway Little League Softball 11-12 All-Stars manager Chris Schlotterbeck knows what it's like to be part of a Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Bristol, Conn. Schlotterbeck was a coach on Conococheague's 11-12 All-Stars baseball team that won Maryland District 1 and state titles last year to earn a trip to Bristol. His son, Isaac, was a part of that team - and the experience made an impression on Chris' daughter, Trinity. “We took the whole family to Bristol, and last year was the first year that Little League had the softball at the regional tournament and it had just finished a week before,” Chris Schlotterbeck said.

Please forgive Washington County softball pitchers if they feel as if the deck has been stacked against them this season. For starters, the National Federation of High Schools made a rule change to move the circle back three feet, increasing the distance from the rubber to home plate to 43 feet. That’s only going to give more reaction time to a group of talented hitters at the top and middle of their team’s lineups. Six players return who hit better than .400 last season — North Hagerstown’s Shanan Plunkett and Allysen Breeden, Smithsburg’s Shayla Murray and Brooke Parks, Clear Spring’s Heather Schlotterbeck and Hancock’s Tiffany Younker.

Ball careers don't have to end with Little League or Pony League, high school or college. The Washington County Senior Softball League offers athletes from Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia the opportunity to use their softball skills in friendly competition. Now in its 23rd year, the league is open to men 50 and older and women 40 and older. Prior to 2001, the league was called Washington County 50 Plus League. A four-member board of directors is gearing up for the season, in hopes of adding two teams, since players had to be turned away last year.

To view slideshow View/purchase more photos WILLIAMSPORT -- Cheers rang from the dugouts Saturday at Kemps Mill Park outside of Williamsport. "Swing that bat and bash that ball, honey ... Swing that bat and bash that ball, baby," the Equipped for Life team shouted. Spirits were high among the 23 fast-pitch teams on hand to celebrate opening day ceremonies for the Washington County Girls Softball League. The day opened solemnly with a tribute to three young local men who died recently -- Ryan Myers, Benjamin Burger and baseball star Nick Adenhart.

PINESBURG - The Hagerstown Community College Hawks' softball team came up a little bit short in the Hagerstown Invitational at Pinesburg Complex on Sunday. Hagerstown lost a 4-2 decision in the semifinal round against the Mercer (N.J.) Vikings. cont. from sports page Charles won the championship by beating Mercer 18-8 in the title game. All of the games in the tournament went just five innings, except the championship game which went seven innings. "I was very happy with the way that we played this weekend," Hagerstown coach Brian Beck said.

Baseball 1. Chambersburg5-01 2. Greencastle6-05 3. Jefferson11-42 4. Boonsboro6-06 5. Clear Spring6-09 6. Waynesboro3-34 7. Walkersville4-23 8. Hedgesville5-2- 9. Martinsburg7-3- 10. Brunswick3-38 Also: Thomas Johnson (2-3), Catoctin (4-3), St. John's at Prospect Hall (7-1), Goretti (4-4). Softball 1. Chambersburg3-01 2. Frederick3-12 3. Catoctin5-03 4. Martinsburg8-46 5. Berk. Springs7-37 6. Middletown3-14 7. Musselman8-35 8. J. Buchanan4-1- 9. So. Fulton3-1- 10. T. Johnson1-29 Also: Waynesboro (2-3)

First Data Corp. in Hagerstown is planning a fundraising snow softball tournament at three sites in January, the City Council heard Tuesday. The tournament would be at Municipal Stadium, Fairgrounds Park and City Park on Jan. 26, 27 and 28, 2006. Scott Fessler of First Data said the goal is to raise $15,000 for the United Way of Washington County. First Data would provide shuttle service between the three venues. A memo describing the event says the Hagerstown Suns staff would serve alcohol at Municipal Stadium.

Staff Correspondent WILLIAMSPORT - HCC softball coach Brian Beck could smile a few short minutes after his Hawks were eliminated from the HCC Fast-Pitch Tournament in a dramatic 10-9 decision by the Monroe Tribunes Sunday. Some may have thought that the last two days exposure to the frigid temperatures, intense sunshine and constant wind at teh Pinesburg softball complex may have finally affected him. But Beck knows patience is paying off as his team has improved in leaps and bounds this weekend.

Martinsburg softball defends crown in Kamensky's final game By DAN SPEARS dans@herald-mail.com Martinsburg 4 Musselman 2 Musselman0002000-245 Martinsburg300010x-484 Stanley and Riner. Anderson and Slaughter. WP-Anderson (10-3). LP-Stanley (6-4). MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Tuesday night's storyline in the Class AAA Region II semifinals at Charlotte Prather Park was this: The Martinsburg softball team played to keep its season going.

North Hagerstown knows one of the keys of softball is to put the ball in play. No one ever said how far in play that had to be. The Hubs literally turned their Maryland Class 3A West quarterfinal against Northwood into a game of inches, using four well-placed bunts Monday to blow open a tie game in a 17-3 victory that last 4 1/2 innings. “The girls executed today,” North coach Amanda Fleming said. “They put down the bunts and we had some great hitting. The bunts broke it up a bit.” They did more than that.

While the Clear Spring and Smithsburg softball teams both had opportunities Monday, it was the Blazers who were able to capitalize, defeating the Leopards 3-1 in the Maryland Class 1A West region East section semifinals. All three of Smithsburg's errors came in the bottom of the second inning, when Clear Spring scored all three of its runs. “We had a bad inning, and against good teams like Clear Spring, that comes back to get you,” said Smithsburg coach Katy Barnhart, whose team finished 12-7 this year (1-2 against Clear Spring)

Generosity is usually a good thing, but in softball, it can prove costly. Clear Spring gifted North Hagerstown two runs on three walks and an error in the first inning of Monday's MVAL Antietam contest, and it set the tone as the Hubs rolled to a 6-0 lead and beat the Blazers 6-3. “Scoring early gave the girls confidence,” North coach Amanda Fleming said. “The first time we played them, we had a lot of errors, so we definitely played better this time around.” North (10-6, 10-3)

Saturday, May 4, 2013 PREP SOFTBALL THURMONT, Md. - Catoctin clinched the MVAL Antietam Conference title outright on Saturday with a 6-1 victory over North Hagerstown. Rhianna Drieu scattered six hits for the Cougars (17-1, 13-0), allowing a run in the fourth inning when North (9-6, 9-3) tied the game, 1-1. Kaliah Frost doubled to lead off, Lauren Harbaugh sacrificed Frost to third, who then scored on an infield ground out by Rachel Thomas. Catoctin took a 3-1 lead in the fourth and added two more runs in the fifth inning.

Williamsport's youth movement paid dividends on Friday afternoon. Playing four freshmen and three sophomores, the underclassmen rose to the occasion as the Wildcats blanked  Boonsboro 4-0 in the MVAL Antietam. Both of Williamsport's wins this season have come against Boonsboro. Freshman Kate Wade pitched a four-hit shutout for Williamsport (2-15, 2-10), allowing only one walk. “I just threw how I usually do,” Wade said. “I just wanted to throw strikes. I have trust in my catcher and in my defense.

Back on April 19, the Clear Spring softball team was in the middle of a rally in the bottom of the second inning where it scored five runs to take a 5-1 lead over Hancock when rain suspended play. When the suspended game was continued on Tuesday at Hancock, Clear Spring scored two additional runs in the second to make the lead 7-1 and the Blazers went on to beat the Panthers 13-3 in five innings. Then, in the regularly scheduled game, the Blazers won again by the 10-run rule, 12-1 in five innings.

For the second time this season, North Hagerstown's softball team turned back Smithsburg in extra innings. Three weeks ago, the Hubs and Leopards were tied at 4 after seven innings, Smithsburg took a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh and North answered with two in the bottom half to win it. On Friday, the score was again tied at 4 after seven innings. This time, the Hubs put up three in the eighth for a 7-4 MVAL Antietam victory. Using the international tiebreaker rule, Alex Chinn started on second base in the eighth for the Hubs (7-5, 7-2)

Callie Good went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Caitlinn Eigenbrode hit a pair of two-run home runs as the Waynesboro Maidens softball team overcame its sloppy defensive play to escape with a 10-7 Mid-Penn Colonial victory over Boiling Springs on Thursday afternoon. “It's a shame that we have to score 10 runs because our defense is sometimes horrendous,” Waynesboro coach Doug Stuart said. “It's going to catch us in a close game because we won't always score this many runs.” The defense accounted for seven errors on the day, including three in a debacle of a fifth inning, which allowed Boiling Springs to pull within two. The poor defense overshadowed a few web gems out in the field, especially after a diving snag by Eigenbrode in the third inning prevented two runs from scoring.

To play softball, you have to put the softball in play. It was the key to it all for North Hagerstown, as the Hubs took advantage of their opportunities in a 10-0 MVAL Antietam win over South Hagerstown that was stopped after six innings by the 10-run rule. “Offensively, we hit the ball hard today,” North coach Amanda Fleming said. “We put it in play and we manufactured some runs off some smart baserunning. We got some stolen bases and that led to some runs.” Khaliah Frost had three hits and scored twice, while Emily Getz finished with two hits and two RBIs for the Hubs.

For a team that was riding the crest of an eight-game winning streak, Clear Spring showed anything but being a contender on Monday afternoon. The Blazers had not lost since a season-opening setback to Catoctin on March 27 by a 7-5 count. Monday was no different, but probably much uglier than the first. Catoctin took hold of first place in the MVAL Antietam Conference by two games over the Blazers, ripping 12 hits and taking advantage of six Clear Spring errors and a few other mental blunders to record an 11-8 victory.