Dallastown coach Greg Kinneman talks to his players in a huddle before a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford's Alex Brown (#10) fistbumps teammate Nolan O'Brien during player introductions in a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford's Nolan O'Brien slides under an attempted tag by Dallastown shortstop Carson Meyer during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown pitcher Chase Meyer on the mound during a YAIAA baseball game with New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford players huddle up between innings during a YAIAA baseball game with Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford starting pitcher Gavin Haifley on the mound against Dallastown during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown second baseman Isaac Seitz-Gemmill makes the throw to first baseman Max Howard during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford right fielder Carter Wagaman catches a pop fly during a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown pitcher Chase Meyer talks with catcher Ryland Neutzel during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown shortstop Carson Meyer throws to first during a YAIAA baseball game with New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford coach Scott Anderson talks with his players during a mound visit in a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown's Chase Meyer leads off from third base while New Oxford third baseman Jackson Brown waits for the play during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown's Peyton Seitz-Gemmill cheers with his teammates after scoring during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown's Austin Santiago and New Oxford's Jackson Brown warm up in the bullpen during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown's Isaac Seitz-Gemmill rounds third base during a YAIAA baseball game vs.New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford's Gavin Haifley takes a lead off first base during a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.New Oxford's Jackson Brown on the mound during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Dallastown's Chase Meyer bunts during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.1 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown coach Greg Kinneman talks to his players in a huddle before a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.1 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown coach Greg Kinneman talks to his players in a huddle before a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.2 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford's Alex Brown (#10) fistbumps teammate Nolan O'Brien during player introductions in a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.3 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford's Nolan O'Brien slides under an attempted tag by Dallastown shortstop Carson Meyer during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.4 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown pitcher Chase Meyer on the mound during a YAIAA baseball game with New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.5 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford players huddle up between innings during a YAIAA baseball game with Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.6 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford starting pitcher Gavin Haifley on the mound against Dallastown during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.7 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown second baseman Isaac Seitz-Gemmill makes the throw to first baseman Max Howard during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.8 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford right fielder Carter Wagaman catches a pop fly during a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.9 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown pitcher Chase Meyer talks with catcher Ryland Neutzel during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.10 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown shortstop Carson Meyer throws to first during a YAIAA baseball game with New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.11 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford coach Scott Anderson talks with his players during a mound visit in a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.12 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown's Chase Meyer leads off from third base while New Oxford third baseman Jackson Brown waits for the play during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.13 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown's Peyton Seitz-Gemmill cheers with his teammates after scoring during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.14 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown's Austin Santiago and New Oxford's Jackson Brown warm up in the bullpen during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.15 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown's Isaac Seitz-Gemmill rounds third base during a YAIAA baseball game vs.New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.16 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford's Gavin Haifley takes a lead off first base during a YAIAA baseball game against Dallastown on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.17 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordNew Oxford's Jackson Brown on the mound during a YAIAA baseball game on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.18 / 18Meyer's one-hitter lifts Dallastown baseball over New OxfordDallastown's Chase Meyer bunts during a YAIAA baseball game against New Oxford on April 10, 2026, at Dallastown High School.Chase Meyer can't stay away from baseball. Not for long, anyway.
The Dallastown senior was itching to get back on the mound for one more year. Last season, Meyer had forgone his junior campaign with the Wildcats to take a hiatus and focus on other sports. The longer he spent away from the team, however, the more he felt an urge to go back.
Time passed, and the itch returned. Meyer missed playing for the Wildcats, he missed the culture and he missed playing baseball alongside his brother Carson, who's also in Dallastown's pitching rotation.
"I overplayed the sport too much in the summer, and I just lost the love for it," Meyer said. "Then I realized, outside of the sport itself, the culture here and the family is just amazing. I have a lot of brothers here that I love playing with, so I had to come back after last year."
Meyer didn't skip a beat Friday afternoon. In a cross-division bout with New Oxford, Meyer threw a one-hit shutout to guide the Wildcats to their seventh straight win.
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If there was any rust in his game, Meyer didn't show it. He struck out seven batters, gave up two walks and wrapped his seven-inning stint in 89 pitches. The only hit he gave up came in the first inning, when New Oxford's Gavin Haifley notched a leadoff single. After that, Meyer hit a groove. He'd eased back into the season after going four innings against Susquehannock on March 31. But Friday was his first complete game of the season.
"My slider was a great out pitch after the fastball," Meyer said. "I also learned how to throw a splitter a few days ago, so I incorporated that too and it was working. I only threw five or six, but I got four outs on them. You can't ask for anything more than that."
While Meyer worked away on the mound, Dallastown padded the lead. It scored all four of its runs in the third inning, spurred on after Peyton Seitz-Gemmill drove in Max Howard on a line drive single. With those four runs of support, Meyer settled in on the mound and closed the afternoon out.
Meyer's dominance through his senior year has provided a further boost to an already stacked Wildcats rotation. Dallastown has held all but one of its opponents under three runs through its first 10 games, and each of its pitchers has an ERA of 2.63 or less. Four of those pitchers have at least 14 strikeouts.
"We have a lot of arms, and we have confidence in those guys," Dallastown coach Greg Kinneman said. "I think certainly pitching and defense has been our mojo."
Kinneman knows the utility of having such a strong pitching rotation. Many of the Wildcats' wins were driven by whichever pitcher got the nod that afternoon. Meyer's performance Friday was a sample of that depth. Dallastown's pitchers have four combined shutouts on the year. Meyer hasn't missed a beat since his year off, and the rest of the Wildcats' rotation hasn't slacked either.
"At the end of the day, if we can pitch and defend, we have a chance to win every day," Kinneman said. "We want to score more runs and we showed a glimpse of that today. The third inning was fantastic, we just need to continue to build on that."
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Chase Meyer's return to Dallastown baseball bolstered pitching depth