1928 Varsity Baseball

Football and basketball having taken their bow in the spotlight of M. H. S. sports; baseball and the other spring sports are waiting to step to the front and claim the attention of all. Therefore the sizing up of prospects in this field are in order. Baseball is first on the list.

Pitching has been rated by some as being from 60% to 80% of the team's strength, and it is here that graduation hit Mechanicsburg hardest. Rider, Stought and Wrightstone all left. Bair, counted upon to plug that hole is ineligible, thus completing the wreck of the mound staff. These loses have put the responsibility up to Shank and Jennings-unless some dark horse pulls through.

With Renard, Dearborn and Trimble on deck, three-fourths of the infield is pretty well fixed. But a first baseman must be developed to round out the inner defense. The flycatching will be done by Culp, the old standby, Zerbe, and others. Gouse will probably handle the backstopping chores.

The above-mentioned potential heroes will be coached by Mr. Fortney. Outdoor work will begin, or will have begun, as soon as blue skies and clear days are pulled in. In the meantime loosening up workouts were staged in the gym.

Mechanicsburg is entered, as usual, in the West Shore Baseball League. The schedule calls for ten games, five home and a like number away. Mechanicsburg has one championship to her credit in the West Shore League this year - basketball. And, although prospects for baseball seem none too stable, a second championship might be added.

The 1935 yearbook, The Pirate, stated that last year (1934) baseball was more or less on the decline in M.H.S. Either lack of good material or spring fever may be the direct cause. The first three starts were defeats. After that our pitchers began to bear down and hits began to rattle off our bats and of the remaining eight games, only one proved to be disastrous.

Boyd Fortney to Coach Alma Mater’s Baseball

The case of Boyd Fortney may be compared with that of Elmer Layden. Layden, a member of the famed Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, has returned to his Alma Mater as a coach-and so has Mr. Fortney. He was a performer for Mechanicsburg High on the diamond, and now he is taking Mr. Cruttenden's p'lace as baseball mentor for the spring diamond devotees of M. H. S. In the interlude between leaving and returning to M. H. S., he continued his baseball career in college--at Shippensburg. So the Steel and Maroon candidates will be coached by one who is by no means new at the game.

Thirty-five candidates turned out for baseball, with many of last year’s "stars" included in this number.

Coach Fortney reports the team to be coming along fine as candidates work hard and long at opening outdoor practices.

The pitching staff was hard hit last year by graduation, thus leaving the responsibility to Jennings, Shank and Gouse. Coach expects a good season as the pitchers show much improvement.

Renard, Dearborn, Trimble and Culp will make up the infield. While the outfielding will be done by Adams, Glenn, Gouse and others. Corman or Castle will probably take up the job of catching.

Mechanicsburg is entered, as usual, in the West Shore Baseball League The schedule calls for ten league games, five at home and a like number away.

The two non-league games are scheduled with Chambersburg, one at home and one away.

Coach Fortney's Mechanicsburg High School baseball team lost its third consecutive game of the season to Enola. The score was 9 to 4, the main reason for the defeat being the reckless fielding- of the losers.

Gouse proved ineffective after pitching well against Lemoyne and was moved behind the bat after the first inning with Shank doing the twirling. The latter pitched well during the remainder of the game but his teammates could not overcome the early lead gained by the subsequent victors. The batting, however, of Coach Fortney's team was somewhat of an improvement over the first two games.

Boiling Springs High's baseball team rose to its heights to defeat Mechanicsburg High's team and to start the Steel and Maroon off on the wrong foot. The score was 4 to 1 with Boiling Springs on the long end.

The game was played on the Boiling Springs diamond and was hard-fought. Jennings was on the mound for Mechanicsburg and twirled brilliantly for three innings but weakened in the fourth and fifth to allow the Boiling Springs team to bunch 7 of its 8 hits and to score 4 runs.

Mechanicsburg was weak at the bat, producing only four scattered singles. They scored their lone run in the third inning when "Boots" Glenn scored while the Boiling Springs team tried for another Mechanicsburg player.

Both teams fielded well, only one error being made throughout the whole game. The game was featured by the hitting of Wilson of Boiling Springs and by the all round playing of Jennings.

Lemoyne Defeats M. H. S. at Mechanicsburg, 3 - 0

Coach Fortney's team took another setback in the West Shore Scholastic Baseball League when they were overcome by the Lemoyne nine on Friday evening by a close score of 3-0.

Gouse hurled well for Mechanicsburg considering that this is his first game for M. H. S. Sorry to say, however, he had poor support at times. Adams and Gulp made several fine catches for Mechanicsburg.

Both teams played under many difficulties, such as wet grounds, cold weather and heavy wind, thus making it hard for either team to play a good game.

Mechanicsburg: Trimble, 3b; Renard,2b; Jennings, 1b; Dearborn, ss; Gouse, p; Cornman, c; Culp, cf; Glenn, rf; Adams, lf; Hubbart, (batted for Glenn in the seventh inning)

Lemoyne: Warfield, 3b; Hilbush, 2b; Deachak and Norris, 1b; Helman, ss; Reeser, p; Myers, c; Brown, cf: Conley, rf; Sprecker, lf. (May 4, 1934 The Torch)

Mechanicsburg's baseball team finally broke into the win column as a result of their 8 to 5 victory over New Cumberland.

Shank was on the mound for the winners and allowed the losers but 4 scattered hits, one of which was a home run. Mechanicsburg scored 5 runs in the third inning on 2 hits, 2 bases on balls, and 2 New Cumberland errors.

After defeating New Cumberland, Mechanicsburg lost to Chambersburg, a new rival in this sport, by the score of 11 to 8. Mechanicsburg was handicapped because they had the use of only one pitcher.

Gouse was the only pitcher available because Jennings did not accompany the team to Chambersburg and Shank had been used the previous day.

The batting of Coach Fortney's team has improved during these games and if it continues to improve the coach has high prospects for the remainder of the season.

“Bits by Bus"

Midseason review: The baseball team seems to be in a slight slump. Said slump may be partially accounted for by the thought that they have been wasting their batting power in practice. (So much so, in fact, that three bats were broken in one night.)

There are some players who don't believe in sparing uniforms—and "Boots" is one of them. And a pair of non-skid shoes would have been welcomed by "Cinny" Gulp in that one inning against Lemoyne.

The present baseball season is nearing its finish. Up until May 15, Coach Fortney's team had won four games and lost five. However, one of these was a non-league game.

Thus far Shank has proven to be the most dependable hurler, having won three games and losing but one. However, Gouse has been doing commendable mound work. The leading batter has been none other than "Cinny" Culp, although several others have been hitting consistently. Hubbert leads the Mechanicsburg team in the home run department with two to his credit.

1934 Varsity Scores

MHS	Game	Opponent	Record
1	Boiling Springs	4	0 – 1
0	Lemoyne	3	0 – 2
3	Enola	9	0 – 3
8	New Cumberland	5	1 –3
8	Chambersburg	11	1 – 4
14	Camp Hill	13	2 – 4
15	Boiling Springs	0	3 – 4
5	Lemoyne	1	4 – 4
3	Enola	1	5 – 4
8	New Cumberland	0	6 – 4
4	Camp Hill	1	7 - 4

Reflections By A Ball Player

Another pitch approaches, I see thee still, and on thy cover seams protrude and do not

Players: Bob Trimble, Renard, S. Jennings, M. Culp, D.Dearborn, Adams, Hubbert, Corman, M. Gouse, Shank