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Barons Advance to District 3 5A Title Game
BY ERIC PYLES
They may not have reached ‘cardiac kids’ level but the Manheim Central baseball team is working towards that nickname. The Barons closed out May with a 6-5 win over Susquehannock, securing a spot in the District 35A Championship game with their third straight walk-off win in as many games.
Collin Thompson was the hero against Susquehannock, lofting a sac fly to right that allowed Brady Harbach to complete his trip around the bases after a leadoff double. Nolan Book helped the cause with a fly out to center that moved Harbach into prime position.
The game ended with much needed heroics but as it began it appeared that Manheim would roll to an easy win, jumping out to a 2-0 lead just one inning into the semifinal tilt. A trio of Warrior walks loaded the bases for Thompson’s first RBI, a single to left that made it 1-0. Cayde Connelly picked up his lone RBI with a sac fly of his own making it a quick 2-0.
Central pushed their lead to 30 in the third with a Harbach single to center but Susquehannock shut down the rally with three quick outs. The Warriors put one on the board in the top of the fourth, but Manheim bounced back with two more in the bottom half for a 5-1 edge. Both of those runs came as a result of five free passes issued by Susquehannock pitchers in the frame with Harbach and Book picking up the RBIs. Bats went silent until the top of the sixth where Susquehannock plated four runs to tie it at 5-5, setting up Thompson’s game winning sac fly.
Cole Lawhorne ended up with the win, tossing the final one and two-thirds innings and allowing no runs and one hit. Connelly got the start and covered the initial five and one-third innings, allowing six hits and all five runs but only two earned. Connelly added three strikeouts and two walks to his day.
Manheim earned that semifinal berth with their second straight walk off win, this one over Red Land on the 26th.
“Super proud of the guy’s perseverance, and mental toughness to come out on top of these one run walk off wins,” said Thompson.
This time it was Book playing the hero, ripping a single to right that allowed Mason Weaver to score. Weaver also played a part in Central’s first run, using his lone hit of the game to drive in Andrew Harrison that knotted the game at 1-1.
Connelly needed only eight pitches to collect the win, covering the final two outs in relief of Connor Rohrer. Rohrer’s work covered the initial six and onethird innings with the senior striking out nine and walking two to go with one unearned run. TRACK
The track and field season ended with Landon McGallicher and Madison Knier returning to Shippensburg University for the PIAA Championship Meet on May 27th and 28th. The duo took part in five events with Knier’s seventh place in the javelin the lone podium finish for the Barons. Knier’s 130-1 toss was her best by nearly ten feet and counts as a top 25 throw in PA.
Knier fell off the high jump podium on misses, finishing 10th despite her top jump of 5-2 being the same as Anna Scoblick (Abington Heights) and Ashley Laukus (Norwin) who shared eighth place. That height was still good enough for a PA top 50 height according to PAMileSplit.com. Knier added another 10th place finish, this one in the long jump thanks to a leap of 17-2.25”.
McGallicher experienced some heartbreak, failing to make it out of the preliminary round of both the 110H and the 300H. The heartbreak was worse in the 110H where his prelim time of 15.27 was good enough for a PA Top 50 mark but still left McGallicher in ninth and out of the finals by 0.04 seconds.
McGallicher experienced more frustration in the 300H where his prelim time of 40.19 placed him 11th overall, just 0.49 seconds out of the finals but was good enough for a PA Top 50.
VOLLEYBALL
It might be rarified air for some but for the Central boys’ volleyball team this is expected. With a 3-0 sweep over Lansdale Catholic on May 31st, the Barons find themselves in the PIAA-2A quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row.
That focus led to easy wins of 25-13 and 25-11 with the Crusaders putting up a fight and making Manheim earn the match in a 25-20 game three win. Dylan Musser led the way with 34 assists, five blocks, three kills and two aces. Trent Groff added 14 kills while John Wenger had 14 digs. Kevin Saengdara chipped in with four kills and two aces.
The Barons earned that PIAA spot opposite Lansdale Catholic by knocking off Garden Spot, 32 on the 26th, securing a District 3-2A bronze in the process. The two teams traded blows with Manheim opening with a 26-24 win only to see Spot claim game two 25-20. The Barons used the same score to take game three but were unable to close out the match with the Spartans forcing a fifth and final game thanks to a 25-17 win. Central righted their ship in time to steal the match with a 15-13 victory.
“These kids have a ton of gut and mettle, and I couldn’t be prouder of how they responded in the face of adversity,” Dietrich stated.
Musser was at the forefront of the attack, finishing with 33 assists with Jacob Moyer (12 kills), Barend Oostdam (11 kills) and Groff (11 kills) letting it rip on the other end of those assists. Wenger collected 16 digs with Moyer adding 11 of his own.
The win over Garden Spot was a bounce back variety after the Barons dropped a 3-0 final to York Suburban on the 25th. The 25-17, 25-20 and 25-22 loss not only ended Manheim’s district title hopes, it nearly derailed their PIAA dreams as well. Musser managed just 11 assists while Moyer and Peter Burkhart shared team high honors with six kills. Wenger finished with 10 digs.
Photo by Cheri Sine
Collin Neiles bunts for the Barons in their 6-5, District Three semifinal victory over Susquehannock last Tuesday in Manheim.
