Manheim Township holds off Hempfield, sends L-L League Section 1 baseball race to a wild finish [roundup]

Manheim Township removed clarity and added drama to the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One baseball pennant race Friday, holding off rival Hempfield 8-7 at Neffsville.

It took two hours, 34 minutes, and the game ended with Black Knights on second and third.

It means that with one game left in the league season, either Township or Hempfield still could win the section title, and those two teams plus Penn Manor are in contention for the section’s two berths in the L-L playoffs.

It also means the Blue Streaks have won eight of nine, making Township coach Matt Kirchoff sound prescient when he said a month ago: “I actually think the first time through (the section schedule) is overrated. You’re just trying to figure out what you’ve got.”

He sounded pleased with what he’s got Friday.

“Our guys put the ball in play and they battled,” he said. “The motto of our team is to get better as the year goes on. Typically, that’s been the case.”

The Black Knights scored in the first and added three runs in the third, and had an elite pitcher, Logan Harelson, on the mound.

But Harelson struggled to locate on this night, and the Streaks scored three in the first and came up with two-run rallies in the fourth and fifth and a single run in the sixth.

Kirchoff went through four pitchers to hold off Hempfield, which scored two in the seventh and had two in scoring position with one out before two bounce-outs ended it.

Josh Toole had a two-hit game for Hempfield.

Josh Boll was huge for the Streaks, going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Ben Connors and Jacob Carrasco had two hits each.

Here’s what the result, coupled with Penn Manor’s 7-4 win over Warwick Friday, means for the section race as it thunders toward Monday’s finale:

Hempfield still leads the section at 11-4, 15-4 overall. Township and Penn Manor are 10-4, 12-5.

Hempfield plays Penn Manor at home Monday, while Township goes to McCaskey, which is winless in the section.

Penn Manor has beaten Township twice and thus holds the tiebreaker over the Blue Streaks. Township beat Hempfield twice and has the tiebreaker there.

A Hempfield win clinches the section. A Hempfield win and a Township win eliminates the Comets from the league playoffs.

A Penn Manor win and a Township win leaves all three teams at 11-5 in the section.

Stay tuned.

Section Two: This race was essentially over heading into Friday, Ephrata having clinched the section title and Lampeter-Strasburg, which beat Lebanon 7-3 Friday, making the league playoffs as section runner-up.

The Pioneers are 10-4, 12-6.

Ephrata fell 2-0 to Solanco at home.

The Mules (6-8, 8-11) got a superbly-pitched complete game from Luke Herr, who went six innings before Chase Sensenig got the last three outs in the seventh.

The offensive hero was Austin Wenger, who doubled, walked twice and scored one of the two runs.

Ephrata is 12-2, 13-5.

Section Three: The remaining battle here is for second place and a league playoff berth. Manheim Central (9-5, 11-7) pulled even with idle Garden Spot for that spot by beating Elco 13-5 at Myerstown.

The Barons scored four in the top of the first but the Raiders hung around until Central got six in the sixth

Offensive heroes for the winners: leadoff man Kyle Mylin, 4-for-5 with four runs; Nolan Book, 2-for-5 with three RBIs; Chase Book, 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Section champ Donegal routed Octorara on the road 10-0. Three Donegal pitchers, Landon Sexton, Brock Hammaker and Elijah Jones, got quality work in, and Wheaton went 2-for-4 with a triple, three runs and an RBI.

The Indians (12-2, 15-4) will host the Section One runner-up in the quarterfinals of the L-L playoffs Thursday.

Section Four: Northern Lebanon (13-1, 17-2) clinched the section title, edging Pequea Valley 2-1 at Fredericksburg behind an heroic performance from Adrian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez struck out 11 and walked one in a complete game on the mound, and went 2-for-3 at the plate. He drove in one of the Vikings’ two runs and scored the other, both in the first inning.

Pequea Valley (10-4, 12-6) has a one-game lead over Lancaster Catholic for second place in the section and hosts the Crusaders Monday.

That game will decide the playoff berth, since Pequea and Catholic split their first two meetings.