Softball

One step at a time Stepsisters Abbamonte, Burdette stick together on, off field By DAN SPEARS / Staff Writer photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer Walkersville pitcher Amy Burdette knows exactly what she's going to see every morning when she gets up. Her pillow ... her blanket ... second baseman Lisa Abbamonte standing over her. "I don't wake up to an alarm clock," Burdette said. "She wakes me up every day. " [cont.

THURMONT, Md. Fully recovered from an early-season ankle injury, Alicia Brandenburg has discovered she much prefers playing to riding the pine. But the Williamsport softball team finds her far more likeable in a sitting position. Brandenburg's 60-mph fastball completely stymied the Wildcats' offense Friday and spurred Catoctin to a 4-0 victory in a key MVAL Antietam softball game. "I've been feeling pretty good lately," said Brandenburg after her one-hit, 11-strikeout masterpiece.

YOUTH LEAGUES Sharpsburg Blue & Grey 7-8 Tournament South Mountain 11, Hancock 6 South Mountain: Logan Taulton 3 hits, HR; Evan Pettyjohn; Matt Crisci, Devin Griffith, Nick Pantos, Brent Sweigert 2 hits each. Hancock: Darren Lashley 2 hits, grand slam; Justin Barnard, Jesse Wolford 2 hits each. GOLF Smith, Barr equal long drives Kenny Smith and Dave Barr tied for first place Friday in the Jim Ward "Big Daddy" Long Drive Contest as the WACO festivities continued at Beaver Creek Country Club.

HAGERSTOWN - Richard L. "Rick" Johnson said his mother always hoped he would be a bank teller someday. Instead, Johnson decided that law enforcement was the career for him. And a long career it has been, starting as a clerk at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., for three years, then back to his native Greencastle, Pa., for a 4 1/2-year stint with the borough police, and then to the Hagerstown Police Department in 1980. His official retirement date is Oct. 1 but he already has worked his last day with the department.

Gerald Eugene Ingram Sr. passed to his heavenly home May 17, 2013, at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Gerald, also known as Roney, was born in Dargan, Md., on July 25, 1923, to the late Dola Ingram. He lived in Martinsburg for most of his life and was raised by his grandmother, Laura Ingram. He graduated from Martinsburg High School, Class of 1941. Gerald was a veteran of World War II with the 179th infantry regiment, Thunderbird Division, serving in the Mediterranean Theater of Operation in Africa and Italy.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - In many ways, this has been a Cinderella season for the Greencastle-Antrim softball team. After earning their first-ever District 3-AAA title last week and notching their first PIAA state tournament win on Monday, the Blue Devils had their sights set on handing undefeated Milton its first loss of the season. But the slipper didn't fit for the Blue Devils on Thursday, as the Black Panthers defeated Greencastle 6-1 in the quarterfinals at Brightbill Park. "Milton is well-coached.

PINESBURG - Sophomore pitcher Caroline Rosenthal was her own best friend on Friday. Rosenthal fired a complete-game four-hitter with 16 strikeouts and collected four hits and a walk offensively to lead St. Maria Goretti to a 10-3 victory over St. James in a a Washington County private school softball game. "I thought that I was pitching pretty good," Rosenthal said. "I was throwing more fastballs than I usually do. It felt really good to strike out 16 batters. I have been working really hard.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - R&R Trim didn't believe in doing anything easily or quietly. The Hagerstown-based softball team came back from a two-game deficit in a best-of-5 series with Team Miken with emphasis by scoring 20 runs in the first inning of the championship game for a 31-22 victory and the ASA Class B World Series championship last weekend. R&R Trim, managed by Dick Montgomery, finished the year with a 94-26 record en route to winning their league, the state and two national bracket tournament titles to go along with the national World Series.

While reminiscing a little the other day about growing up in Dargan, I was reminded of one of my softball teammates. We both played for the Dargan Aces and later the Dargan Deuces softball teams. This particular fellow, now deceased, was one of the smallest players on the team. He was not much more than 5 feet tall and weighed, at most, probably 120 pounds. He was a heck of a nice guy, and a good ballplayer, but sometimes when he got a little inebriated, he would want to get into a fight, and usually he picked it with the biggest guy around.