The Pequea Valley softball team hung tough against Northern Lebanon in a Lancaster-Lebanon League game on Monday afternoon, April 11. The Vikings took advantage of walks and fielding errors as they scored seven times in the top of the seventh inning for a 15-7 victory at Pequea.

"We had four errors in the seventh inning," Doug High, the Braves' head coach, pointed out. "We ended up with eight errors in the game.

"It has been an issue for us," continued the coach. "Our third baseman was out one or two games and our starting second baseman from last year is injured."

The Braves' offense helped the home team pull ahead early, 2-0. After the Vikings took a 5-2 lead in the third, the Braves came back and tied it in the home half of the inning. They also shaved the Vikings' three-run lead down to 8-7 before the final frame.

Maddy Hassis went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in. Victoria Smoker also drove in two runs for Pequea as did Olivia Clark. Emily Hammond slugged a double.

Hassis pitched a complete game, recording two strikeouts and only giving up four walks.

"She pitched her first complete game," High remarked. "She was pitching decent. She hung in there.

"I have between her and Tori Smoker for pitching," he added. "They're young. No varsity pitching experience for the whole staff, so it was nice to see her pitch a complete game."

As for the errors that opened the gates for the Vikings and helped drop PV to 0-3 on the year, High added, "It is going to change. We are too good a team to be 0-3. We just need to figure some things out."

BASEBALL

Baseball can be a strange game with outcomes that are difficult to rationalize. A game can be in the grasp of one team and yet the team that is trailing can have the "It isn't over until it's over" attitude.

"We were winning 8-4 going into the seventh inning and gave up five runs in the bottom of the seventh," Carl Langley, the Pequea Valley head coach, lamented. "We gave up five walks and they had only two hits. It was a tough loss."

The Braves lost 9-8 to L-L League rival Northern Lebanon on the road Monday, April 11. The five walks came during the Vikings' winning rally.

Gavin Eby was the Braves' starter. He went six innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out five.

"Gavin got us out of a jam in the sixth inning," Langley said. "He hit his pitch count after that."

Pequea trailed 2-0 early on. After scoring two runs to tie the game in the fourth inning, the Braves added three in the fifth and added three more in the seventh to take the 8-4 lead.

Offensively, Dylan Knott went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and three runs scored. He also knocked in two.

"We did a good job playing small ball," said Langley. "We had timely hits and some walks."

Freshman Stephen Smucker also drove in two runs while Cristian Smucker went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. At the plate, Eby was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

"Overall, the boys played well," Langley said. "Runs are at a premium for us this year. The loss came down to three base running mistakes we had that could have led to more runs for us.

"I told the boys that that's a very good Section Three team that lost to Manheim Central 12-11," added the coach. "They also lost close games to a couple of other good teams. So, despite losing the game, our boys should keep their heads up."

Pequea followed this game with another heart breaker, losing 4-2 to Elco in nine innings. Knott went six innings and struck out seven while allowing two runs.

Peyton Temple had a big day (2-for-4) at the plate, hitting a double, stealing a base, and driving in a run. Cristian Smucker went 3-for-4 with a run batted in.

BOYS TENNIS

The Braves stayed unbeaten with a convincing 5-0 victory at Manheim Central on Monday, April 11 in non-league boys' tennis action. Pequea Valley was coming off a 7-0 victory at Octorara on Friday, April 8, and improved to 10-0. The win at Octorara raised Pequea's L-L League mark to 6-0 on the year.

Pequea used seven different players to blank the Barons on Monday. Cole Stoltzfus and Samuel Arena handled their opponents in straight sets at number one doubles, 6-0, 6-0 while Dylan Ratjavong paired with Joel Peifer for a 6-2, 6-2 win at number two doubles.

Wade Stoltzfus came out on top 6-2, 6-0 at number one singles. Jazae Itegi dominated the number two singles 6-2, 6-1 and Hayden Winey made it a singles sweep (6-0, 6-0).

The same singles lineup, followed by Peifer at number four, helped make it a straight sets singles sweep for Pequea at Octorara. Wade Stoltzfus, who had paired with Itegi in an 8-2 first doubles victory, won his singles match 6-4, 6-0. Itegi posted 6-2, 6-3 winning sets followed by Winey's 6-0, 6-0 shutout and Peifer's 6-4, 6-4 wins.

Winey and Cole Stoltzfus were 8-0 winners at second doubles followed by Arena and Ratjavong's 8-0 win.

The team suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday, April 13 in a league match at Lancaster Country Day. The Cougars won 7-0 despite a couple of tenacious efforts by PV players.

In the second doubles, Winey and Cole Stoltzfus came up just short in a 9-8 (12-10) final. Arena and Peifer were on the short end of an 8-6 final at third doubles.

Also, at number four singles, Cole Stoltzfus won the first set 6-4. Diez Vilarino came back to win the next two sets 6-3 and 10-8 for the Cougars, who improved to 6-0 in league play.