Logan Groff served 15 straight winning points, Jeremiah Zimmerman had 39 assists and Blake Wagner registered 39 kills as Manheim held off a pesky Elizabethtown squad for a 3-1 boys' volleyball victory on April 23 in Manheim.

Game scores were 23-25, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-22. Central junior Barend Oostdam had four kills and one block. Freshmen Peter Burkhart (three digs) and Jacob Moyer (two aces, three kills, two digs and one assist) also played well.

The Bears rallied from a 21-15 deficit to take Game One. Manheim (7-1 Section Two) led most of the game and was ahead 23-22 but the Bears scored to the last three points to capture the game.

The Barons responded to take the second game 25-18, but not before blowing a 21-13 lead to make things interesting. Wagner closed the door with the highlight of the game, a huge block on E-town's Rudolf Woitas (39 kills and five blocks), who was having a monstrous match.

Central led 2-1 after three games, but trailed 15-7 in the fourth game and it looked like the match would be decided on a fifth and deciding game. After a Barons' timeout, Groff started serving. When he was finished, Manheim led 23-15.

"We have to keep the ball in play and there have been nights where we have not kept the ball in play on serves," Dietrich said. "I thought we did a good job of that tonight. I was happy and pleased to see that."

Riding the momentum of that win, Zimmerman had 32 kills and three blocks, Wagner notched 21 kills, three blocks and Oostdam had 11 kills as the Barons beat Cocalico 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) on April 27. Central was in control most of the match and never let the Eagles put together any long scoring runs. The second game featured six ties and three lead changes.

"We got some nice contributions from our freshmen," Dietrich said. "Peter Burkhart, who filled in for Jacob Moyer who was out, and Logan Groff had a nice night swinging. It is nice to see some other guys come through when their number was called. They didn't always get the kill, but you could tell that they pressured the defense. I was really happy to see that."

BASEBALL

The Barons remain undefeated after a hard-fought 7-5 victory over Cocalico at Baron Fields last Wednesday. Tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Manheim regained the lead on back-to-back doubles by Dylan Yoder and Riley McGallicher, scoring Cam Eberly, who doubled, and Yoder to make it 7-5.

The Barons are now 12-0 overall and 8-0 in Section Three. Central took a 4-3 lead, as Eberly walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. They made it 5-3 on a Mason Weaver's RBI double, scoring Malakai Zilinski, who singled. Eberly was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Drew Mylin was 2-for-3 with his first varsity home run.

Colton Book, who had two RBIs, got the start on the mound and pitched five innings. Logan Shull got his first varsity win in relief.

The Barons beat Garden Spot 17-4 last Monday at Baron Fields. Yoder hit a first-inning grand slam, highlighting a 10-hit attack. Wyatt Becker started the game and worked three innings, striking out five batters before giving way to Shull, who had one strike out.

Manheim beat Lancaster Mennonite 18-0 April 23 in a three-inning game. Yoder was 2-for-3 and Zilinski was 1-for-1 with 3 RBIs. Central is now the top team in District Three Class 5A.

TRACK

The Lady Barons defeated Solanco 83-67 Monday to remain undefeated at 5-0 in Section Two. Sophomore Madison Knier won four events - long jump, high jump, triple jump and javelin - securing 20 points for her team.

Malea Stoner (100 hurdles and 300 hurdles) and Sarah Forry (800m and 3200m) each won two events. Stoner was also part of the 1600 meter relay team.

For the boys, depth was a key in a 99-51 victory over the Golden Mules. They boys are also 5-0 in the section. Injuries and COVID-19 issues were a factor, but the Barons still found a way to win 13 of the 18 events and secured enough second and third place finishes.

Nate Reed (300m and 1600 relay team), Gabe Redcay (800, 1600 and 1600 relay team), Brady Knier (3200 and 3200 relay team), Zach Witmer (long jump and triple jump) each won multiple events.

TENNIS

Manheim lost against defending team champion Cedar Crest in the first round of the league team tournament on April 23. The Falcons won both doubles by 6-2 scores. In singles, Barons' coach Ryan Jeckel was encouraged with the fight his players showed.

"We played pretty well," he said. "Andrew (Rajaratnam) was in a close match on Court One and David (Graff) pushed his singles to a first-set tie break and was 1-1 in the second set. Tyler (Snavely) had a tough day as a first-year senior against a guy whose been playing since he was quite young. Court One doubles had a lead in both sets, but lost 6-3, 6-3. Court Two doubles played well, but they (Crest) played a bit better and made less errors."

SOFTBALL

The Lady Barons got back to their winning ways, securing three wins last week. They beat Lancaster Mennonite 13-3 on April 23. Leading 7-2 after three innings, Manheim plated six runs in the sixth to end the game early. Maddie Moyer (2-for-2, 1 RBI), Ava Kenneff (3-for-4, 1 stolen base) and Emma Damon (3-for-3, 1 stolen base, 4 RBIs) each had multiple hits. Gabby Wettig, who had a hit and two walks, pitched six innings and struck out four.

Manheim beat Conestoga Valley, 4-3, on April 24. MC had eight hits and overcame five errors in the contest. Offensively, Wettig went 2-for-4 with a double, Damon was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and 2 RBIs. Brianna Mylin had a triple and a walk and Brynn Lehman had a double and 2 RBIs.

Central earned its third win and improved its record to 7-6 with a 17-6 victory over Cocalico last Wednesday. Mickey Lauver had a big game, going 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Wettig was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Damon was 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs, Moyer was 2-for-5 with an RBI and Mylin was 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

Central swung the bats well to start, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and led 4-0 after two innings. Then the Barons were a little flat and let the Eagles back into the game. Cocalico scored four in the bottom of the third and two more in fourth to make it 7-6 Barons, but Manheim refocused and erupted for 10 runs in the sixth to end the game early.

"It is one of those things where they jump out to a big lead and then they are trying to make things happen even more; they want to hit it even further, get bigger hits," VanBlargan said. "We've been trying to rein that back. When they can calm down and just start getting hits and putting good balls into play, they play well."