The Lady Barons rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Elco 10-9 last Monday in Manheim. Central scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Manheim had to come from behind in the eighth, after the Raiders scored in the top of the inning. Maddie Moyer had the winning hit.

Elco took a 3-0 lead in the third, but the Barons responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. The Raiders scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead, but the Barons countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to lead 6-5.

The Raiders tacked on three in the sixth for an 8-6 advantage. Central, which has an 8-6 record, chipped away with a run in the bottom of the sixth and tied it in the seventh.

"Mental toughness," Barons' coach John VanBlargan said about his squad's rallying more than once in the game. "They believed in themselves and kept fighting."

Gabby Wettig earned the win in the circle, striking out seven batters. Her catcher, Brianna Mylin, hit a home run. She was 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Central had 13 hits. Emma Damon swung a hot bat, going 4-for-5 with a triple, double and three RBIs.

"Emma Damon is having a great year," VanBlargan said. "She is batting over .500. She is playing great offense and defense."

BASEBALL

Manheim suffered its first loss this season as Lampeter-Strasburg won 4-2 last Saturday on a windy day at Baron Field. Going for his sixth win on the season, Connor Rohrer started for the Barons. He struck out six batters in five innings of work. The Pioneers scored once in the second inning and added two more runs in the third for a 3-0 lead.

Central's bats came alive in the fifth inning, platting two runs to cut the L-S lead to 3-2, but this is all the scoring they would get. Trey Derck pitched two innings, striking out one, for the Barons.

Central coach Jason Thompson hopes to use the loss as motivation for his team. "Sometimes a setback is a good thing," he said. "Better (now) than in the playoffs when it is one and done."

Manheim bounced back with a 6-1 win against Elco on May 3. The Barons (9-0 Section Three, 10-1 overall) scored a run in the second and added three in the fourth inning to put the game away.

Cam Eberly was 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored. Collin Thompson was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Brady Harbach went 2-for-5. On the mound, left-hander Colton Book lowered his ERA to 1.18, while earning his fourth win of the season, striking out seven. He also went 1-for-3 at the plate with a triple that scored two runs.

VOLLEYBALL

They did not blow out Lancaster Mennonite last Thursday, but the Barons held off the Blazers to win 3-0 on game scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-23.

The senior pair of Jeremiah Zimmerman and Blake Wagner had a big night to lead the charge. Zimmerman had 29 assists and four aces. Wagner added 19 kills, four digs and two blocks.

After losing the first and third games, the Barons (9-1) rallied to defeat Elizabethtown 3-2 in a wild match last Tuesday. Game scores were 20-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-18 and 15-7. Zimmerman had a huge match, dishing out 53 assists. Wagner had 29 kills, four digs and two aces.

Barend Oostdam chipped in 11 kills and two blocks. Peter Burkhart had seven kills and four digs and Jacob Moyer registered six kills and two digs.

"The key to the win was that the games we won we were the more aggressive team on offense," Barons' coach Craig Dietrich said.

TRACK

The Lady Barons remained undefeated after beating Lampeter-Strasburg, 89-61, on May 3 in Manheim. Maddie Knier had another stellar performance, collecting 18 team points by finishing first in the high jump, discus and long jump and was second in the javelin.

Also winning multiple events was Julie Lindberg (1600 and 3200), Malea Stoner (high hurdles, 300 hurdles), Abbie Reed (400 meters, 4x400 relay) and Sarah Forry (800 and 4x400 relay). Cadence Getz won the triple jump for Manheim.

On the boys' side, Manheim suffered its first loss in Section Two, 81-69, against L-S. The Barons were aiming for their first section title since 2017.

In this close meet, the Pioneers held an advantage in distance running, outscoring the Barons 31-1. The Pioneers ran wild in the 800, 1600, 3200 and 4x400 relay. L-S is now in first place in the section.

Trying to counter the Pioneers' athletes, Barons' coach Ryan Kennedy spread his multi-talented athletes out, attempting to gain more second and third place finishes, but it wasn't enough.

Zach Witmer (triple and high jumps) and Landon Watson (shot put and discus) were Central's only double winners.

Caleb Sick won the pole vault and Kade Kargarise won the javelin. Nate Reed captured the 300 hurdles.

TENNIS

Tyler Snavely made a great run in singles tennis. The first-year player lost to No.1 seed Evan Stehman, of Donegal, in the Flight Three finals at Conestoga Valley last Monday. The senior lost 6-3, 6-1.

Snavely played well, dropping just five games in two matches last Saturday at McCaskey, after winning the opening round Friday against Cocalico's Matt Laudenslager, 6-0, 6-0.

Snavely beat No. 2 seed Wade Stoltzfus, of Pequea Valley, in the second round, 6-0, 6-1. He beat Nick Keener, of Manheim Township, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Andrew Rajaratnam beat Penn Manor's Maxwell Davis in a crucial matchup for fifth place in No. 1 singles last Monday. The 6-0, 6-0 win gave Rajaratnam the automatic berth for districts.

Rajaratnam and Snavely reached the semifinals in Flight 1 doubles before losing to the Penn Manor. The MC twosome qualified for districts. Manheim's Flight 2 doubles tandem of David Graff and Ben Ginder also bowed out of the tournament in the semifinal round. They will not, however, be advancing to district play.