In Lancaster-Lebanon League softball action, Pequea Valley hosted Annville-Cleona on Thursday, April 28.

After the Braves battled back to even the score at 4-4 in the fourth inning, the Dutchmen were able to pull ahead on an odd sequence of calls by one of the umpires.

"The umpire called our pitchers' pitches 'illegal' in the fifth inning," explained a befuddled Doug High, the Pequea head coach.

With the so-called "illegal" pitches being called balls, the Dutchmen went on to draw four walks in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth en route to their 14-4 victory at Pequea.

"We tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth inning," High said. "Our number one and number nine hitters did a good job getting on base."

The batters he was referring to were Emily Ammon and Sarah Arment, respectively. Arment went 2-for-2 with a stolen base. Ammon had three hits, including a double and a triple. She also stole two bases and drove in a run.

Against Lancaster Mennonite on Monday, the Braves routed the Blazers 19-7.

Pequea had 15 hits, including two doubles. One rarity that may have prompted some to page through L-L League record books was that 10 PV batters reached base after being hit by a pitched ball.

"Two of our kids got hit three times - Camryn Bailey and Hailey Yothers," High noted. "Camryn got hit three times and had a double.

"Carissa Mulder also had a nice day at the plate," said High. Mulder had four hits and four runs scored plus two RBI's. She also got hit by a pitch once.

Emily Ammon was 2-for-5 with two RBI's.

Maddy Hassis pitched four innings in relief.

"Hassis did a great job hitting her spots," added the coach. "She had seven strikeouts in four innings - that's a personal best."

TENNIS

In the L-L League Championship Tournament, which took place at Conestoga Valley, starting on April 28 and concluding on May 2, Pequea's Cole Stoltzfus reached the finale of the Flight Four singles only to lose a hard-fought battle to Jack Nyeveldt of Elizabethtown.

Stoltzfus defeated Jared Hostetler of Annville-Cleona in a close match, 6-2, 6-7, 10-6. He went on to win his next battle 7-5, 6-2 over Cocalico's Nicholas Neustadter, making it to the semifinals where he topped Gonzalo Diez Vilarino of Lancaster Country Day 6-1, 7-5.

Stoltzfus came up short in that epic finale, however. After posting a 6-2 win, he lost 3-6, 6-10.

Hayden Winey reached the semifinals of the Flight Three singles, losing to the eventual runner-up - Hempfield sophomore Andre Hurst. Winey beat Lancaster Mennonite's Oliver Hall in a tough match, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6. In the next match, he topped Marin Davis of Warwick 6-4, 6-0 before Hurst ended the PV freshman's quest with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Wade Stoltzfus lost the fifth-place match in the Flight One Class AA singles. He opened with a bye and fell to Freddie Bloom of LCD in straight sets. In the consolations, he rebounded with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, defeat of Lancaster Catholic's George Brubaker but lost to Jayden Grumbine of Elco 7-5, 2-6, 4-6 in the fifth-place match.

Jazae Itegi won his first match in Flight Two singles 6-1, 6-1 over A.J. Paynter of Warwick before suffering a 2-6, 6-4, 5-10 loss to Nick Keener of Manheim Township.

Itegi teamed up with Wade Stoltzfus in the Flight One AA brackets where they lost to Elco's Grumbine and Trevor Spang 3-6, 2-6 in the second round.

BASEBALL

For much of the season, Pequea baseball coach Carl Langley has said how important it is for his lineup to put up more runs on the scoreboard.

This past week, the Braves won three L-L League games by a combined score of 32-4.

Coming off a 6-1 loss at Annville-Cleona the previous week, the Braves took the field against Lancaster Mennonite on Monday, May 2.

"It was our senior night, so it was a nice win for our seniors," said Langley.

Jaden Estevez, Dylan Knott, and winning pitcher Gavin Eby each did their part in contributing to the 9-1 victory.

"Gavin Eby threw the whole game," Langley noted. "He had a shutout until the last inning. But they led off with a triple. They had a one out walk and tried to steal second. We threw down and they got a steal at home."

The unconventional base running strategy avoided the shutout. Eby finished with 13 strikeouts.

"I think before this game, he was third in our section in strikeouts," Langley added. "This was definitely his highest total in a game."

The Braves scored five times in the first inning, aided by another unusual strategy - that of the Blazers choosing to walk Knott with two runners on base, thus loading the sacks with nobody out.

Eby and his battery mate Cristian Smucker both tripled. Estevez added a double. Aside from that, the Braves' run production came mainly on singles and walks.

As for the seniors, Langley pointed out that the pandemic literally took away the 2020 baseball season and also caused havoc with scheduling for what would have been these three players' junior season as well.

"I've only had the fortune of coaching them for two years - two years in unprecedented times," he said. "They are three of the players who have been in the lineup every day since I've coached here," he added. "They've contributed to victories or kept us close in other games."

In a Tuesday game at Lancaster Mennonite, Knott went 3-for-4 with a triple and a RBI as the Braves beat LMH 8-1. Knott also scored two runs as did Evan Smith, who went 2-for-2 with a triple and a walk.

Knott not only contributed to the run production, but he also pitched a complete game, striking out 12.

Myles Furlong also had two hits, adding a run and an RBI to his offensive contributions. Freshman Trevor Vollmer (1-for-1) also drove in a run.

Wednesday's 15-2 win at Columbia, which was shortened due to the mercy rule, featured two home runs by Estevez.

The left-handed batter hit his first two home runs of the year - both to right-center field.

"I think they both landed at the same spot," Langley laughed.

Furlong was the starting pitcher and also went 4-for-4 at the dish. He went four innings to pick up the win.

"It was his first start of the season," Langley pointed out. "He has pitched in relief for us in some games."

In the final frame, Langley brought Smucker out from behind the plate to pitch with Estevez putting on the catching gear.

The Braves improved to 5-10 on the year.

"Today was our best hitting game of the year," Langley added. "We had 13 hits."