Donegal baseball continues to gain momentum as the season cruises into its final weeks, recently picking up wins over Pequea Valley and Lancaster Catholic after a loss to Solanco.

On Wednesday the 21st, the Tribe topped Pequea Valley 6-3 after trailing 3-0 early on. Five hits and a pair of three-run innings brought Donegal back into the contest.

Relief pitcher Caden Evans earned the win, throwing for four and a third innings, allowing zero runs on two hits, and striking out one.

Smart base running earned the Indians six stolen bases, with Josh Schwartz blazing the way with two successful steals.

AJ Small gathered two hits, an RBI, and scored once to lead the day at the plate. Hits were also supplied by Landon Baughman, Xavier Cannon, and Micah Brown.

April 20th held a thrilling, come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Lancaster Catholic. It took just three hits to get the job done, despite Lancaster's collective five hits and 3-0 lead until Donegal got on the scoreboard in the fifth.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Baughman doubled, and scored on Colin Eckinger's single.

Still trailing by two, Donegal's biggest offensive surge took place in their final at bat when a Crusader error and a pair of walks put Jaden Fabian, Baughman, and Eckinger on base.

Ian Brown stepped in to pinch run for Fabian and scored on a single by Small. Baughman capitalized on another error to score the tying run, and heads-up base running from Eckinger scored the go-ahead run after tagging up on a caught fly ball.

After capturing the lead, the Indian defense got the job done during their final turn in the field and retired the side in order.

"We maximized our opportunities in the last inning. Great to see our guys be clutch in a big moment against a good team," praised head coach Jeff Hartman.

Seizing the win on the mound was Nicholas Eichelberger who threw all seven innings scattering five hits and three runs while striking out one.

The previous weekend the Tribe suffered a hard fought 9-4 loss to Solanco, but managed to collect six hits.

Cannon drove home one of his two RBIs with a crushed triple to center field, scoring Small in the Indians final at bat. A wild pitch followed by a double off the bat of Owen Fisher brought the Indians' run count to four before the Mules' defense closed the inning.

Eckinger finished the day with two hits and Fisher's day at the plate included a hit, an RBI, and a walk.

"Owen Fisher took advantage of an opportunity with a solid day at the plate," pointed out Hartman.

Despite being saddled with the loss, Indian pitcher Jaden Fabian had an impressive day on the mound, allowing seven runs and six hits in his four and a third innings of work and striking out seven batters.

"Best outing of the year by Jaden. He pitched great through some adversity," added Hartman.

TRACK

As schedules continue to shift, an impromptu track meet between the Indians and a shorthanded Dayspring Christian squad, which produced a double Donegal win, was held Monday the 19th.

For the boys, the 72-42 victory featured a sweep in the throwing events with Zach Nissley topping both javelin and shot put, and Owen Kling claiming the discus.

Sprinting to victory, Noah Hinkle took first in the 200m, Logan Fry the 400m, Brock Overlander the 800m, and Hunter Gehman the 1600m.

Donegal captured one of the jumping events with Jackson Dearborn winning the high.

Samuel Rothstein, Fry, Overland, and Gehman secured one of the two relay races, taking the 4x800 in 8:47.5.

With Dayspring unable to fill all the events, the Donegal girls achieved a lopsided 127-9 victory with many Donegal athletes competing against one another, yet they still managed to excel to new heights.

Hadley Shoaf had a standout day winning the 800m, while freshmen Baily Shoaf and Ashley Garcia competed alongside Amanda Fry and Emma Myers for a 4x800 relay performance win. The foursome set out with the goal of registering a time under the 11-minute mark and succeeded with a time of 10:57.2.

Freshman Hannah Slobozien claimed the best long jump Donegal has seen this season (14-2.5) after only competing in the event three times, and sophomore Anna Brubaker's 4-10 high jump was a personal best and tied for the seventh best in program history.

"I was proud of their ability to compete with each other as well as being intrinsically motivated enough to still push themselves," commented head coach Bryce Sadler.

TENNIS

The Indians wrapped up a 4-3 win over Pequea Valley on the 21st. The contest began on the 19th but had to be completed two days later. The win featured singles victories from Jacob Erb, Evan Stehman, and Akilan Murugesan. The successes allowed Stehman and Erb to both maintain their undefeated status and each improved to 11-0, while pairing up for the days only doubles victory as well.

The night before, the Indians overcame Annville-Cleona 5-2.

Again, it was Erb, Stehman, and Murugesan who battled to singles victory as well as pairing for doubles wins.

Murugesan and Erb stifled their doubles opponents 8-2, and Stehman joined up with Luke Yunginger for an 8-6 triumph.

SOFTBALL

A 10-3 win at Pequea Valley on April 21st marked Donegal's sixth consecutive win and brings the Lady Indians' record to 8-2.

Sophomore Cara Biesecker has been in the circle to earn all six of those wins, taking down Pequea Valley after allowing five hits, three runs, and striking out six.

The win featured 11 Donegal hits with Madeline Gohn and Emma Garber each supplying two. Gohn and Biesecker led the team in RBIs with two apiece.

On Monday, the club overcame early scoring by Lancaster Catholic to take the contest 6-2 at home.

Donegal racked up nine hits to bring in their six runs. Garber led with three hits and one RBI, and Natalie Colwell had two hits and one RBI.

Biesecker once again pitched all seven innings, giving up five hits and two runs, and striking out one.

On April 15th, the crew, with an impressive 22 hits, secured a 16-7 win over Octorara.

Colwell had a standout day at the plate capping her day with a grand slam in the top of the sixth and finishing with four hits and five RBIs.

Garber also produced a homer as part of her three hit, two RBI day, and Bella Mackison drove home three runs while collecting four hits that included three doubles.

The remainder of Donegal's slew of hits came from Biesecker (2), Aysha Gibbs (2), Madeline Gohn (2) Paige Miller (2) and one apiece from Kara Heidlauf, Aaliyah Cannon, and Esther Myers.

Biesecker struck out six to lead the defense from the circle.

SIGNING DAY

Four Donegal athletes took part in the National Letter of Intent Signing Day on April 14. Madeline Gohn (Messiah College, softball), Logan Fry (York College of PA, cross country), Michael Linebarger (Hood College, soccer), and Sean Haines (Alvernia University, soccer) will all continue their academic and athletic careers in the fall.