If the saying "It is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all" is true, then it is fair to wonder if it is also true for a high school baseball team that getting to play but just missing the postseason is better then not playing at all??

The Bears put that imaginary theory to the test by winning eight of their final 12 games, including their final two to finish with a 10-10 mark. The late season push vaulted E-town up to 18th in the District 3-5A rankings but left the Bears a mere 0.005414 out of the 16-team playoff field.

Elizabethtown's penultimate victory came opposite Garden Spot on the 13th and required four innings. Tanner Breault and Josh Kreider sparked the offense with a combined eight RBIs while Jake Black enjoyed the easy day on the mound.

Black pitched 3.2 innings and gave up two hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Braden Cummings needed four pitches to close things out and invoke the 15-run rule. Breault went 3-3 including a third inning grand slam that pushed his RBI total to five. Breault added a one run single in his first at-bat of the third which is also where Kreider picked up one of his three RBIs on a fielder's choice. Kreider's other two RBIs came on a second inning homer that put E-town up 5-0.

The bats were not as lively one day later, but Elizabethtown still managed a 5-2 victory over Shippensburg. Kreider needed just 85 pitches to cover all seven innings, allowing two earned runs while walking none and striking out eight. Kreider also helped his own cause with another two-run shot, this one giving E-town a 5-0 cushion heading into Shippensburg's final at-bats. Those insurance runs came in handy as the Greyhounds plated two in their half of the frame, setting the final at 5-2. Jake Black also drove in two runs despite finishing with no hits. Black was the beneficiary of a Shippensburg error in the fifth that plated two runs and stretched the lead to 3-0.

GIRLS' LACROSSE

The girl's lacrosse season officially ended on May 12th when the Lady Bears traveled to Ephrata for a make-up affair that went to the Lady Mountaineers, 11-5. Hailey Mertz and Aiesha Rios netted two scores each while Lizzy Carter tacked on the final goal. Jordyn Gutshall moved into second place on the team's all-time saves list with a final game tally of 11 saves.

TRACK

As far as annual trips go, the one from Elizabethtown to Landisville is not all that exciting, but the track and field team enjoys the trip every year. The reason, the L-L Championship Meet which is held at Hempfield High School and took place on May 14th and 15th.

Behind seven medal winning performances the Lady Bears finished sixth in the final team standings, just four points behind fifth place Cocalico. Madeline Quinn and Carly Sedun were at the forefront, collecting two medals each. Quinn did her work in the 1600m and 3200m, taking silver in both races behind McCaskey's Arielle Breuninger. Sedun made her mark in the field, collecting silver medals for her work in the shot put and discus. Sedun had company on the L-L discus podium in Francine Ohlson who enjoyed a fifth-place finish. Zoey Myers finished out the medal winning in the field, snatching bronze in the javelin. Genevieve McDonald just missed qualifying for the finals in the 200m, instead missing on a tiebreaker after finishing her prelim race with the same time as Donegal's Faith Garber. McDonald was able to pick up a medal in the 400m relay with help from Adyson Haak, Olivia Anson and Lilly Heistand who finished seventh. The Lady Bears final L-L medal came from the 1600m relay team of Jordan DiRisio, Haak, McDonald and Liah Drager who finished eighth.

Over on the boy's side, Ethan Jones posted the top finish with a seventh place in the high jump. Jones added an 11th place in the discus but neither met the district qualifying standard needed to advance, bringing the season to a close on the boy's side.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

The 2021 season was by no means easy for the boys' volleyball team. The Bears were forced to endure COVID pauses that forced them to play nine games in one 12 days stretch and another five games in a seven day stretch. Despite all the obstacles the Bears closed out the regular season with five straight wins, finishing 10-9 and just outside the District 3-3A playoff field.

"This can all be summarized by simply saying that this was a 'Team of Heart' led by a very special senior and supported by his whole team," said head coach Lamar Fahnestock, "I am proud of each member of this team."

Elizabethtown may not have made the District 3 cut but they did earn a berth in the L-L playoffs that opened on May 14th. Unfortunately, the reward was a spot opposite Warwick, the 13-1 Section One champ, for their quarterfinal tilt. The result was a 3-0 Warrior victory that ended the Bears season. Rudy Woitas finished with four kills while Dylan Shephard had eight assists.

Elizabethtown's final regular season win came on the 12th when the Bears topped Lancaster Mennonite 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-20). Shephard dished out 34 assists, Woitas tallied 16 kills and Josh McCoy had two blocks.

SOFTBALL

It was dejà vu all over again for the E-town softball team. Last Wednesday, and for the second straight time the Lady Bears topped Warwick in the L-L semifinals, earning a spot opposite Lampeter-Strasburg in the championship game. Kristin Geesey allowed three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks to secure the win. Jess Zimmerman provided the offense early while Sophia Finch tacked on a few insurance runs late. Zimmerman got things rolling with a two-run triple in the first that help E-town jump out to a 4-0 lead while Finch smacked a two-run shot in the sixth to give Geesey extra cushion.

The final push to the L-L playoffs saw the Lady Bears top Garden Spot, Manheim Central and Mechanicsburg by a combined 23-3 with the bulk of the damage coming in the 14-1 win over Central on the 13th. Geesey got the easy five innings win while Zimmerman and Finch came through again. Both rapped out three hits with Finch collecting five RBIs and Zimmerman three to give Geesey all the room she needed.

One day later the Lady Bears slipped by Mechanicsburg 2-0 with Geesey picking up another win. Julie Zook drove across the go ahead run in the fourth while Megan Gray doubled the lead with a seventh inning bunt single.

E-town's 7-2 victory over Garden Spot came on the 12th with Geesey in the circle. The senior surrendered five hits and two walks to go with seven strikeouts for the complete game win. Zimmerman enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI day while Gray provided backup with a one-hit, two-RBI game.