Rudy Serafini pitched a nine-inning three-hitter Saturday to lead the Chambersburg to a 5-0 victory over Mechanicsburg in the first game of a non-league doubleheader.

Mechanicsburg came back to take the second game, 4-1.

Serafini was in complete control in the first game, striking out nine and walking three. He allowed only two men to get as far as second base.

"Rudy pitched real well," said Trojan coach Bob Thomas. "He was getting ahead of hitters. He was throwing his curveball for strikes."

Serafini was not in the position to take a breather the entire game. The regulation seven innings went scoreless, then the Trojans pushed across five runs in the top of the ninth.

Jerry Brookens led off the ninth with a single, took second on an error, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a muffed pickoff play. Brian Hege followed with a walk, Serafini sacrificed him to second and Bob Coburn walked. Brett Wise singled home Hege, then on a hit-and-run, Mike Frederick punched a single through the right side to bring home Coburn and Wise. After Rob Martin singled him to third, Frederick scored the final run on a wild pitch.

The Trojans failed to produce in the second game, scoring their only run in the fourth inning after Mechanicsburg had pushed across four unearned runs the previous frame. Mechanicsburg used two Trojan errors, a walk, Dave Ritchey’s double-the only hit of the inning-and three wild pitches to grab the runs.

Mechanicsburg had 3 hits in the first game and 2 in the second; Chambersburg had five hits in each game.

The Mechanicsburg High School baseball team erased a six run deficit Saturday to overcome Carlisle in eight innings, 11-10.

After the thundering Herd added its last two tallies in the sixth, the Wildcats again tied the score in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.

" I was really proud of them," Wildcats’ coach Donald Shirley said. Shirley missed Saturday’s game because of the death of his mother.

After reliever Bob McDonald prevented any Carlisle players from reaching first in the eighth inning, the Wildcats scratched out the winning run.

It was Carlisle’s problems with its pitchers which enabled Mechanicsburg to keep coming back. And, the bottom of the eighth was no exception.

The go-ahead run came from lead-off batter Mark Hertzler, who drew a walk against Herd reliever Rick Carns. Hertzler then displayed heads-ups base running by stealing second and reaching third on a wild throw to second base from the Herd catcher.

Carns retired the next two batters, but threw one in the dirt at the feet of Phil Guerriero, allowing Hertzler to slide in for the game winner.

Guerriero always seemed to be around when the Wildcats were catching up, scoring a run third and tying the score in the fifth with a clutch bases-loaded triple.

The Thundering Herd hit well in the early going against starter Tom Bailey, but drew blanks for three innings against McDonald.

McDonald struck out eight while walking two, and giving up the game’s only home run to Mike Knox in the fourth.

"We hit the ball and ran well." Carlisle coach Harry Mundorff said. "We’ve got to get better on pitching. We’ve got to throw the ball across the plate. Our pitching was always behind the count."

"You have to give them credit for coming back," Mundorff said.

A stellar performance by the Wildcats produced a 4 - 3 victory for the Wildcats against C.V. The Wildcats were paced by the pitching of left-hander Bob McDonald, who used a blazing fastball and a sharp breaking curve to baffle the Eagles for almost six innings. And, when he needed help, it came quickly.

The pivotal play of the game came after the Eagles had given the Wildcats a 3 - 0 lead in the first. By the bottom of the sixth, they had battled back and were down 4 - 3 with the bases loaded and one out. Wildcat’s coach Don Shirley chose to pull McDonald and bring in Todd Flagg. He got the job done in one pitch.

Barney Shupe was at the plate pinch-hitting for Arlanda Dintaman. On the first pitch from Flagg, he hit a hard ground ball at third baseman Geoff Minter, who was drawn in to cut down the run at the plate. Minter gunned the ball home for one out and the ball was relayed to first for the double play to end the inning.

"That’s the play that killed us," said Billman. "We had the squeeze bunt on on the next pitch. I told Barney to take one swing to get the ball out of the infield and then on the next p[itch we were going to squeeze. It just killed us."

The Eagles were also hurt by a poor first inning and the inability to lay down a bunt.. Runners were stranded or picked off because of missed bunts. In the first, Eagles hurler Mike Crum had a man on first with two outs. The next man then grounded to short for what appeared to be an easy force play, but the ball was dropped and Mechanicsburg had life. The next man walked to load the bases.

John Martin followed with a ground ball to first. Dintaman had the ball take a bad hop and bounce away from him. Second baseman Bill Lutz charged over to make a play but threw the ball out of play. One runner scored on the first error while two more came in on the throwing error.

The Eagles got two runs back in the second when Don Saussaman led off with a walk and scored on Jim Folmer’s triple to left. He then scored on Jim Alexander’s single.

The Wildcats got another run in the sixth when, with Dave Robinski on second, Shawn Kessler singled just inside the bag at third, driving in Robinski.

The Eagles had bases loaded in the seventh with two outs but couldn’t capitalize.

C.V.’s Tom Billman, Don Shirley and Carlisle baseball coach Harry Mundorff suggest that District Three should allow more teams than just the League winners in the playoffs.

Billman said last year Lower Dauphin "had one of the best teams in the state and we beat them for the league championship and a chance in the playoffs."

"Billman said he would like to see teams admitted to the District playoffs with a certain winning percentage. "Somewhere between 60 and 70 percent, " he added.

"It’s not just the idea of getting into the playoffs, but it’s to get the best teams in the playoffs for a chance at the state final."

Shirley agrees that "a larger field for the district playoff is due."

The District Three has six league champions, the South Central, CAC, Bliue Mountain, Tri-Valley, Upper Dauphin and an independent, this year Harrisburg High School, vie for two berths in the 16-team field for the state crown.

"Definitely, it is time we expand the district playoffs to include more teams," he said. "baseball is very good around here and there are a lot of teams that are good enough to be in the playoffs that won’t get the chance."

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Director I. Charles McCullough who sits above all of this among the 12 districts in the entire state said, " Most everybody is happy with the way we set up for state baseball playoffs. We have expanded to 16 teams up from 12 of last year.

"The big districts get two representatives. If the District Three wanted to have more teams for their playoffs it would be up to them.

"I have heard nothing about them expanding their playoffs. You have to consider it would make the season longer, but I have no problem with that."

(May 17, The Sentinel)