Solanco senior Brady Thomas tossed a no-hitter against Lampeter-Strasburg last week to enable the Mules to win one of three games. Riding high after Thomas' gem, Solanco built a 5-0 lead over Penn Manor Friday, but the Comets came storming back for a 13-6 triumph. Bailey Keys, Joe Murray, and Colin Ewaka each drove in a run to help the Mules jump in front. The Comets countered with 13 unanswered runs. Solanco issued 12 walks and 10 of those came in to score.
Penn Manor tied it with two in the second against Mules freshman Hayden Fox and took the lead with four in the third, benefitting from a three-base error. "Hayden didn't do a bad job," Solanco coach Tom Fish said. "I probably pulled him early. I'll take the blame for that." The coach was mostly pleased with the offensive output. "We loaded the bases a couple times but couldn't get the big hit," Fish said. "It's the most runs allowed by Penn Manor in a game so far this season. Driving there, we would've taken six runs, but it wasn't good enough." Last Thursday, Thomas provided the highlight of the season so far when he no-hit Lampeter-Strasburg in a 1-0 victory. "It was a real special moment for the whole team," said Fish. "Brady works harder than everyone. It was exciting to see him have that moment. To do it in a 1-0 game is pretty cool. To do it against a big rival makes it even cooler." Thomas allowed just two baserunners, both walks, and recorded 11 strikeouts. "Everybody was happy for him," said Fish. "He has played with (catcher) Bailey (Keys) since they were six or seven years old and Bailey has always been his catcher. Bailey deserves a lot of credit as well." Thomas also scored the game's only run. He singled with two out in the third, stole second, and scored on single by Joe Murray, who is also a longtime teammate of Thomas and Keys. Solanco made a couple of solid defensive plays in the late innings. With a runner on third, shortstop Mike Worthington made a nice play, ranging to his left, and getting the batter by a step. With one out in the seventh, third baseman Derek Lavin went to his left to fielder and grounded and tossed across the diamond for the out. Thomas ended the game with a strikeout. "That's why we all do this," Fish said, "to have these moments." Last Wednesday, the Mules lost to Garden Spot 10-3. Solanco led 3-0 before the Spartans tied it with three runs in the third and took command with seven in the fifth. "It was a similar game to Penn Manor and CV," said Fish. "We jumped out on top, but for whatever reason, our bats went quiet. Then we had an inning where things went sideways." In the third, Garden Spot's number nine hitter clubbed a two-run homer and the leadoff man followed with another roundtripper. The Spartans then gained control in the fifth. "We made the plays but they were hitting the ball hard," said Fish. "We hit the ball hard, too, but right at people." Worthington had two hits and scored two runs. Murray and Keys each had an RBI. Solanco (2-4 league) is still alive in the hunt for a league playoff berth. Ephrata (6-0) is running away with the section crown, but the Mules are tied with Garden Spot and Lampeter-Strasburg and just one game behind Elizabethtown and Conestoga Valley, who are tied for second. "We still have a chance to get a league playoff spot, but we have to win some games and get back to .500 before we can scoreboard watch." Comments are closed.
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