Zack Leonard carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and then got some help from his defense to preserve a shutout as the Solanco baseball team topped Penn Manor 5-0 Friday. Leonard allowed a clean single with one out in the seventh. The next batter blasted a shot off the left field wall, but the baserunner was gunned down at the plate on a relay throw from James Rohrer to shortstop Brady Thomas to home. Leonard gave up one walk while fanning seven. "He was just incredible," Solanco coach Tom Fish said. "He was working the ball outside and inside. He and pitching coach Chris Powl work incredibly well together and attack the hitters' weaknesses."
The Mules defense also came up big and did not commit an error. Second baseman Joe Murray and third baseman Eric Lefevre each made nice plays. "I'm proud of the whole team," said Fish. It was a battle of section leaders. Penn Manor came in atop Section One while the Mules are tied with Ephrata for the Section Two lead. Solanco scored three runs in the first. Once again it was Damon Kreider who was the catalyst. Kreider and Murray each had a hit and Kreider scored on a Darren Rutledge sacrifice fly. Caleb Groff reached on an infield single and an error by the pitcher allowed two runs to score. "Caleb always finds a way to make things happen," Fish said. Solanco added a run in the second on a Bailey Keys RBI and another on the third when Thomas expertly executed a suicide squeeze bunt. The Mules entered Thursday's game with Lebanon coming off a disappointing defeat to Cocalico and took some of their frustration out on the Cedars in a 14-1 win in five innings. "We had a lost a game we expected to win against Cocalico," Fish said. "They were better prepared and played better offensively and defensively. But I had a feeling we would bounce back." Murray was 2 for 3 with a double and triple and Thomas collected three hits including a pair of doubles. Cocalico downed the Mules 9-2 last Wednesday. "One of the only bright spots was Kenny Walton," Fish said. Walton came up from the JV to throw three scoreless innings and help preserve the pitching staff for the rest of the week. Fish said the Mules' defense did not play well behind Matt McCarriston, who was making his first start of the season. "I was just happy we got a chance to quickly turn the page with games Thursday and Friday," Fish said. The coach is optimistic as Solanco heads into one of the most challenging weeks of the season. The Mules are 6-3 overall, 5-1 in the league, the same record they had at this point last year before stumbling down the stretch. "I have a lot of confidence in this team that they're going to play well in this tough part of the season and have better results," said Fish. Comments are closed.
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