'Revenge is a dish best served cold' might just sum up Lampeter-Strasburg's 5-1 win over Twin Valley in this year's District Three Class 5A Championship, Friday June 4 at Millersville University. After all, it was Twin Valley that handed L-S its only loss to date, a 4-2 result all the way back on March 26.

Twenty-two wins later, the two teams met again and the stakes were higher, a district crown which Twin Valley robbed L-S of in the 2018 finals. The Pioneers avenged that loss, so to speak, one year later when they knocked the Raiders out of states.

"They beat us three times in our last five outings," stated head coach Gene Charles. "Anytime you can beat your nemesis it's a good day."

Or in this case, two days as weather on Thursday pushed the game to Friday morning.

L-S got off to a solid start, taking advantage of three walks, including one with the bases loaded to go up 1-0 in the first inning. Twin Valley answered the challenge in the home half of the inning, scoring on a base hit, a stolen base and a wild throw past third base.

The weather appeared in the bottom of the third, forcing the game to finish on Friday.

"I was a bit concerned that we would come back flat," said Charles, "but Kieva (Middleton) shut them down. That just might have been the best I've seen her pitch."

The junior struck out eight, walked two and scattered five hits.

L-S, on the other hand, also collected five hits, but two of them were home runs. Chloe Blantz broke that 1-1 tie with a two-run blast in the top of the fifth, plating No. 9 hitter Sydney Weichler who opened with a base hit. Two outs later, Middleton (7K, 3H) walked and Emily Platt sent another ball over the fence, powering L-S past the top seed Raiders (21-2) just hours before nine Pioneer seniors graduated.

"Sydney's hit was big to start the inning," said Charles. "Those homers gave us some breathing room.

"It was a satisfying win against a quality opponent. The seniors won states as freshmen," he continued. "They had won everything but a district title. Now we have that."

Three days later, back at Millersville, the Pioneers began their quest for a second PIAA trophy, opening the 5A tournament against Marple Newtown (17-7). L-S scored single runs in the first, second, third and fifth innings but broke things open with a four-run sixth and move on with an 8-2 victory.

Delaware-bound shortstop Blantz again set the tone, opening the action with a lead-off triple and scoring on Daisy Frank's sac fly. She finished with two triples and three runs scored.

Ally Raub doubled in Emily Platt (3-4, 3 RBIs) in the second inning and Middleton (2-4, 2 RBIs) singled in Blantz in the third for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers got one back in the fourth and cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the sixth but that was as close as they would get. L-S iced the victory, its 23rd straight, with four runs in the bottom half. Julia Gerard provided the spark, a two-strike double that opened the inning. An error, Middleton's full count run scoring base hit and Platt's two strike, two run single wrapped up the scoring.

"We left a lot of runners on base, but we got a win when we needed it," Charles said. "We didn't show them our best, that's for sure. Now we need to regroup for Springfield."

BASEBALL

In another tight game, the Pioneers saw a 2-1 lead slip away in the seventh inning when Manheim Central rallied for two runs in their final at bat to earn the fifth and final berth to the PIAA tournament, Friday, June 4.

The Pioneers defeated the Barons 4-2 on May 1 but then dropped a 2-0 final to that same squad in the L-L League playoffs 19 days later.

In their third meeting this season, Manheim jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but L-S rebounded with two in the top of the third. Andrew Whitehead walked and courtesy runner B Adams advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on Alex Knapp's double to left. Knapp's steal of home put L-S in front.

That lead stood through the next three innings with both teams leaving a runner here and there on base. Then, in the seventh, Manheim opened with a leadoff single and, with one out, got another base hit that scored the tying run.

Gehrig Harsh struck out the next batter on a ball in the dirt. "Our catcher threw to first to get the out there but then, in an attempt to get the out at third, we threw the ball away and they scored the winning run," recalled head coach Jeff Swarr.

"That was a difficult loss to see and experience. Our guys worked hard all game and played great baseball all year," he added.

Jack Swarr started on the hill and went 5.2 innings before turning the ball over to Harsh.

The Pioneers finished with just two hits on the day - one by Knapp, who also had an RBI, and one by Isaiah Parido.

In 2019 the Pioneers finished second in the PIAA 5A playoffs.

GIRLS' LACROSSE

Riley Dawson (attack, 67 goals- 5 assists) and Jeslyn Krebs (midfield, 29 goals - 50 assists) both received First Team All-Star recognition for their contributions to Lampeter's 13-7 record this season while Rowan Kimmell (80 goals, 30 assists) was a Second Team all-star at midfield and Hannah Gawne (50 goals, 20 assists) was an Honorable Mention selection.

"To have all three of our midfielders recognized for League all-stars in some special (we only had one midfield line)," said head coach Marshall Krebs. "The midfield was a pool with a plethora of talent around the league.

"Riley was third in on the team in scoring with 72 points overall," he continued. "She had a strong presence on attack and a key defender in our rides. She would blanket the goalkeeper on clear attempts and pursue the ball carrier to the opposite restraining line. We will miss her presence for sure.

"Jeslyn led the defense while finishing second on the team with 79 total points. Her 50 assists were the second most total in the league," Krebs noted. "She is also the recipient of the Fackler-Hower Sportsmanship Award. This honor goes to athletes across District 3 who demonstrate good citizenship and sportsmanship alongside high academic achievement."

Krebs will play lacrosse at Division 1 Old Dominion University. She is one of only four players in the L-L League committed to play at that level."

"Kimmel, a sophomore, took the league by storm this year with her stick skills, speed and ability to control the draw," recalled Krebs. "She was first in team scoring with 110 points (81 g, 29 assists) and 119 draw controls. Most impressive in Rowan's goal total was that they occurred in the flow of our offense. We didn't have any set plays for Rowan," Krebs stated. "Rowan was also a finalist for the Heather-Leigh Albert Award, for the top player at this year's U.S. Lacrosse Women's National Tournament.

Gawne was second on the team in Draw Controls with 100, and Lampeter's fourth leading scorer.

"Hannah, a junior, was a force on the draws this year," said Krebs. "Her breakout game was against Cocalico, gaining all six controls in the second half against Hannah Custer (league mvp) enabling us to come back from a five-goal deficit. Her contributions were crucial to our success this year."