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8- MERCHANDISER - Manheim Central Edition - May 26, 2021 SPORTS Conestoga Valley • Donegal • Elizabethtown Garden Spot • Hempfield Lampeter-Strasburg • Manheim Central Penn Manor • Pequea Valley • Solanco MORE SPORTS PICTURES and other high school sports news at

Barons Knock Off Streaks in L-L Playoffs

BY ERIC G. STARK

It was the game everyone was waiting for, and it didn’t disappoint. Manheim Central pulled off a 3-2 victory in the LancasterLebanon League baseball semifinal against Manheim Township (20-1) last Tuesday night, at Ephrata’s War Memorial Field.

As they’ve done all season, the bottom of the Barons (19-1) order came through with clutch hits and turned the lineup over for the top of the order to do damage. Batting eighth, catcher Mason Weaver drove in the winning run in the fifth inning with a single up the middle, scoring Riley McGallicher, who, along with Collin Thompson, walked earlier in the inning.

In the fourth, Thompson and Weaver, batting seventh and eighth, respectively, each singled and Drew Mylin sacrificed bunted to move the runners to second and third and turned the lineup over. Lead-off hitter Cam Eberly singled up the middle to score Thompson, making it 2-0. MC started the scoring in the third when Eberly got hit by a pitch and Brady Harbach singled to third. Colton Book sacrifice bunted the runners to second and third and Dylan Yoder knocked in Eberly.

The Streaks tied the game at 22 in the fifth, but that’s all they would get, as Book (five hits, four strike outs) and Wyatt Becker (no hits, two strikeouts) combined for a pitching gem. Becker got the last four outs of the game. Defensively, Eberly made a big play at shortstop and Weaver pounced on a ball in front of the plate and made a great throw for a bang-bang play at first.

“This is our best game defensively, by far,” Baron’s coach Jason Thompson said. “And the shortstop play, the catcher play in seventh inning was amazing. So, yeah, our defense picked it up, huge.”

In the league quarterfinals on May 15, Manheim scored three runs in the first inning against Solanco en route to a 6-2 win. Book doubled to left to score Eberly, who got hit by a pitch and Yoder had a two-run single to plate Harbach, who walked, and Book.

“We really strive for on base percentage,” Jason Thompson said. “We have been doing a nice job with that this year and then walks and then we get a guy with a key hit. I feel like we were a key hit or two from breaking this open, but that’s the playoffs, sometimes.”

Connor Rohrer gave up four hits and notched five strikeouts in the win. Becker entered in the sixth, fanning one, while not allowing a hit.

As a tune-up, the Barons beat Conestoga Valley 12-5 on May 13. Pitcher Trey Derck got his third win of the year. He was used more in the latter half of the season, Jason Thompson said, noting that “he’s given us some good innings to give our big guys some rest.”

Central trailed 5-3 after three innings but erupted for six runs in the top of the fourth. Collin Thompson started the inning with a walk and Weaver, attempting to sacrifice bunt, was safe on a bad throw. Mylin was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Then Eberly singled up the middle to score Thompson. Yoder delivered the big blow, a two-run double.

TENNIS

Andrew Rajaratnam and Tyler Snavely drew the number one seed Aiden Mahaffey and Tyler Mahaffey of Palmyra and lost 60, 6-1 on May 14 at Racquet Club West in the District Three Class 3A doubles tournament.

“We played well,” Barons’ coach Ryan Jeckel said. “They executed the game plan. The difference was they (Palmyra) had stronger serves and transitioned well from defense to offense. We wanted to get to the net, and they (Palmyra) did an excellent job lobbying.”

Jeckel believed the best opportunity to win was for his tandem to attack and be aggressive. They didn’t make bad errors, he said. They simply lost to a better team, one that eventually won the district crown.

TRACK

It was a great weekend for the boys’ and girls’ teams at the L-L League meet. The girls finished third with 75 team points.

Sophomore Maddie Knier continued her excellent season, capturing two golds and two silvers. She was first in javelin and the long jump. She gained second in the high jump and triple jump, where she secured a personal best of 35-11.

“Maddie is such a competitor,” Barons’ coach Ryan Kennedy said. “To do four events in a dual meet is manageable, but four events at a league meet is a challenge. There is so much going on and everything is heightened.

“What impressed me the most was on Saturday she did javelin, high jump and long jump. The javelin she did well, but high jump wasn’t her greatest day. She still got silver. But she was not happy with it, being six inches off her personal record. Then she had to come back with long jump and won it. It says a lot about how she was able to recover and perform.”

Abby Reed was second in the 100 hurdles and Malea Stoner was inched out of first by a mere .01 in the 300 hurdles. Stoner was third in 100 hurdles.

The boys finished fourth with 64 points. Senior Kade Kegarise won the javelin with a toss of 165-3. “He has been consistent and improved every year and throughout this season,” Kennedy said. “He put a lot of work in with the javelin and I liked seeing him win. It was not his best his throw, but it was good.”

Kennedy said Mike Wise deserves credit for working with the throwers. Tyler Fahnestock was third in shot put and sixth in the discus. Landon Watson was sixth in shot and fifth in the discus.

Landon McGallicher was third in the 110 and 300 hurdles. Nate Reed was second in the 300 hurdles.

“I was really pleased with the performances overall,” Kennedy said. “Now is when you want to put it all together and have your best performances in the big meet. It was really a great meet for both teams.” SOFTBALL

The Lady Barons lost 14-1 to Elizabethtown on May 13. Manheim had three hits in the contest, including a home run for junior short stop Emma Damon. Besides pitching, where she struck out three batters, junior Gabby Wettig hit a triple. The Bears scored five runs in the second and added four more in the third to blow the game open. MC will compete in districts as the 14th seed. VOLLEYBALL

The Barons beat Conestoga Valley 3-1 in the first round of the league playoffs Friday, May 15 at Hempfield. Game scores were 26-24, 25-23, 24-26 and 25-20.

Blake Wagner had 22 kills, Jeremiah Zimmerman had 35 assists and John Wenger added five digs.

In the semifinals, Manheim lost to Hempfield 3-0 last Monday. Game scores were 25-13, 2523 and 25-10. Assistant coach Jim Graham said the Barons were the underdog and spent a lot energy in the second game and had difficulty recovering.

“We were running on fumes in that third one,” said Graham, who noted the team will prepare for districts. “But I really liked what I saw in that second game. We were covering the blocks and picking up in the back and it’s just one more time to prove to the guys that they really can play this game and play it well.”

Photo by Mark Palczewski

John Wenger bumps a Conestoga Valley serve for the Barons during their 3-1, L-L League quarterfinal win at Hempfield on May 14.