Knights dominate CV in District lacrosse opener

BY ARA GRIGORIAN

The Hempfield boys’ lacrosse team poured it on in the second quarter of Tuesday’s District Three Class 3A playoff match. The Black Knights, who played host to Conestoga Valley, matched their firstperiod production of five goals, taking a 10-3 advantage into halftime.

Julian Morales, who scored five goals in the game, Seamus Mack, and the game’s leading goal scorer Jason Hilton (6 goals) each contributed to the second-period offense. Also, Zack Antesberger picked up a hat trick in the 17-4 victory over the familiar LancasterLebanon League opponent. Antesberger also dished out three assists.

Drew Bennett and Carsten Rankin each netted one goal.

With plenty of offense and a defense that limited CV to less than 10 shots on goal, Gabe Colon-Munoz picked up five saves in front of the Hempfield net.

The victory gave Hempfield a spot in the district quarterfinals. The top four teams from District Three 3A qualify for the PIAA 3A state playoffs.

Softball

Hempfield entered the District Three Class 6A softball playoffs as the number nine seed.

The Wilson Bulldogs entered the district tournament as the number eight seed, bringing their 14-5 record. The Black Knights (14-6) had to start the playoffs on the road, Monday, May 22.

“We were up to the challenge,” said Chris Landis, the Hempfield head coach.

The Black Knights put together a three-run rally, highlighted by Kali Peifer’s home run, to beat the Bulldogs 5-3.

“We were up 2-0 after one inning,” Landis explained. “They scored a run in the second, third and fourth innings. Kali hit a two-run homer and Chloe Diener had an RBI single to give us three runs in the fifth inning.”

Holding back the Bulldogs with her repertoire of fastballs and breaking pitches, Hempfield ace Carley Ernst struck out nine in the complete game victory.

“I believe we have one of the best pitchers in the district,” Landis said. “There aren’t a lot of pitchers whose curve ball moves eight or nine inches.”

The perplexing parties aren’t only the opposing team’s batters; umpires also have to grow accustomed to the movement on her pitches.

“Sometimes they can’t see her pitches too well because they’re not used to her unique spin,” Landis said.

Senior Mikayla Hughes has taken over the catching duties for the Black Knights after an injury to Avery Landis has the starting catcher and the team’s leading hitter sidelined for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.

“Avery is out for the rest of the year,” Landis said. “She was helping by calling the pitches on Monday. Mikayla just had to catch them.”

With the slugging of Avery Landis missing from the lineup, the head coach said the team has a different approach to its offense and batting order.

“We have reset the lineup more analytically,” he said. “There are players who can drop a bunt to move runners over; there are those who can hit the fly ball to drive them home.”

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

The Black Knights were able to take advantage of Red Lion’s mistakes in the first two sets of the District Three 3A boys’ volleyball match on Tuesday, May 23.

Thus, on their home court, the Knights took a 2-0 lead by posting consecutive 25-22 victories.

Somehow, the sleeping lion was awakened, resulting in the next two close sets going in favor of the visitors.

Red Lion, in fact, won the next three sets - 25-20, 27-25 and 15-9thus ending Hempfield’s season at 8-5. Red Lion moved on to the district quarterfinals.

“They really just stopped making mistakes,” Hempfield head coach Kenny Eiser explained. “There were some missed serves and serve receive errors they had at key times in the first two sets.”

The mistakes helped Hempfield register wins in the first two sets, especially with key points in the close battles.

“The rest of the way they limited those and were able to come out on top,” Eiser said.

“They did a great job fronting our middles and we were not able to fully capitalize on the one-on-one looks we had.”

Aiden Beiler led the team with 19 kills while Finley Hunt put down another 14. Brady Rigard came through with 28 digs while Cole Jackson’s contribution to the highscoring sets included the team-leading 44 assists.

Also on the night, Conor Eby served up three aces and Ethan Earhart registered three blocks.

The Black Knights will look to 2024, reloading and keeping their winning tradition intact.

“Overall, the boys had a great season,” Eiser remarked. “We were extremely reliant on our seniors this season with many of them stepping into new roles. We will have a lot of shoes to fill next year.”

Baseball

The Cedar Cliff Colts galloped home seven early runs and went on to defeat the Knights 9-5 on Monday, May 22, at Hempfield in the opening round of the District Three 6A baseball playoffs.

Despite trailing 7-0 after two innings, the Knights started their comeback attempt in the home half of the third inning. Hempfield got on the board when Josh Toole’s sacrifice fly drove in Brayden Hostetter, who had tripled. Drew Benchich singled to drive in Peter Fiore, making it 7-2.

The Colts made it 8-2, but the Black Knights did not go down quietly.

Stephen Katch’s single and a double by Benchich again created a threat. Logan Harelson’s sac fly made it 8-3.

The Knights came on strong in the sixth inning, loading the bases with nobody out. Toole singled in one run and a bases-loaded walk made it 9-5. Cedar Cliff stopped the bleeding as relief pitcher Cayden Bender worked out of a jam.

The Knights ended the season with an excellent 17-6 record.

TRACK & FIELD

The District Three Class 3A Track & Field Championships took place at Shippensburg University on Friday and Saturday, May 19-20.

As expected, the two distance runners for Hempfield did very well. Aidan Hodge grabbed the gold medal in the 1,600-meter race, posting a time of 4:10.77. He finished fourth (1:56.72) in the 800.

Ella Wolfe ran the 3,200 at a 10:51.15 clip, which earned her fourth place. She took sixth (5:06.02) in the 1600 race.

Andy Garcia had a tremendous LL League Championships and carried the momentum into the districts triple jump. The Hempfield senior had a 43-foot-6.75 jump to take seventh in the event.

Brody Weachter came through for an eighth-place 13-9 pole vault.

Also competing in the boys’ distance event was Joseph Fahrney. He concluded a remarkable senior campaign with a 16th-place finish in the 3,200.

Mya Thompson’s sophomore season saw her finish in 12th-place in the 100-m