The Solanco baseball team's season came to an end with an 11-1 six-inning loss to Hempfield in the Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinals Tuesday, May 14. The Mules took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before Hempfield took over. Damon Kreider reached when the second baseman could not handle a chopper. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and Darren Rutledge drew a walk. With two out, Harrison Ault delivered a bloop RBI single to center. Caleb Groff singled sharply to left to load the bases but the next batter struck out. Hempfield tied it in the bottom of the first against Ault and broke it open on a three-run homer by Jared Pestcoe and a grand slam by Nick Yarnall.
"They are a very good offensive team," Solanco coach Tom Fish said. "We probably ran out of gas a little bit coming off a big victory the night before." Pitcher Zack Leonard and the Mules downed Donegal 6-2 in the first round. Donegal, the top-seeded AAA team in the district, entered the game with an 18-2 record. "We were the underdogs but when you have Zack on the mound you have a chance to win." Trailing 2-0, Solanco tallied six times in the top of the third. Eric LeFevre reached on an error and Joe Murray walked. Kreider reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Bailey Keys produced an RBI single and Rutledge singled to tie the game. Leonard walked to force in a run and Ault came through with a two-run single to left-center. Caleb Groff followed with an RBI single to make it 6-2. "As we have all season we strung together some hits," said Fish. "It was enough with a guy like Zack on the mound." Leonard fanned six and allowed five hits and a walk. "Giving up less than one baserunner against a team like Donegal," said Fish. "We didn't make any errors so we didn't beat ourselves. We gave Zack a chance to have a special night." Leonard led the league with 75 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. He compiled a record of 6-2 and a 1.80 ERA. One of the losses came despite a one-hitter when the only run he allowed was unearned. The other came against Hempfield in the regular season and the score was tied 1-1 entering the sixth before Hempfield broke the game open. The Mules finished the season with a record of 12-8. "All in all, I couldn't be happier with the season," said Fish. "We got the young guys a chance to get playoff experience." While underclassmen played a big role this season, Fish said the Mules' success would not have been possible without the major contributions of seniors Ault, Eli Groff, and Devin Marshall. Ault led the team with a .414 batting average and was the number to starting pitcher. Eli Groff played nearly every inning of every game in right field and added a couple of doubles in the playoffs. Marshall was the starting shortstop before suffering a season-ending knee injury. "They are tremendous examples of the kind of ballplayers we want at Solanco," said Fish. "They came to every practice, worked hard, and learned. We would not have been where we were if it wasn't for the seniors." Comments are closed.
|
Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|