The Lampeter-Strasburg High School (L-S) softball team pulled out a comeback victory.

Trailing the girls' soccer team for most of the year and tied entering the final week, the softball squad captured the inaugural Pioneer Cup.

"We were all pretty excited," junior softball player Paige Baxter said. "We put in a lot of time to go to the other teams' games and support them. It was fun for us."

Started by L-S tech education teacher and assistant baseball coach Todd Garber, the Pioneer Cup is a competition where athletics teams earn points by attending each other's games and participating in Varsity Club events.

Todd said the goals of the Pioneer Cup are to "build overall school spirit and encourage support and unity across all athletic teams, develop team camaraderie and foster strong relationships with and among teams, and promote good sportsmanship."

Players scanned a QR code at sporting events, listed the team they are on, selected the event they were attending, and took a photograph that proved they were there.

L-S softball won a $1,000 prize, which was donated by Vitality Vending Company to be used for team apparel or team bonding activities. The softball squad held an internal poll and decided to purchase backpacks for storing uniforms and equipment.

"We tried to stay as a team when we would go to these games," junior softball player Aubree Morrow said. "The whole team would go to a baseball game. The whole team would go to lacrosse. We went by a majority opinion to decide where we wanted to go that day."

Paige added, "We used it as team bonding experience instead of going out and paying for a dinner. We would just go to a baseball game, talk, and have fun and cheer on the team."

Aubree noticed that more students attended softball games because of the Pioneer Cup competition. "Having the QR code up at our games really inspired people to come to watch so they could earn points for their team as well as support their friends," she said.

The idea for the Pioneer Cup came from Todd's daughters, Jules and Hanna, former L-S softball players, who ran a similar activity at their respective colleges. "I'm not aware of any high schools doing the format," said Todd. "We adjusted it for high school. The administration was supportive, and everyone helped to get it off and running."

Todd got help from L-S business teacher Steve Spealman, who set up the QR code system, and senior softball player Alaina Brenneman, who put up posters and made announcements to spread the word. "It really took off right away where everyone was participating," Todd said.

He is considering a few tweaks for next year, including naming a winner for both the first half of the year and the second half to create more interest throughout the year, as well as awarding points for winning championships and performing community service.

All L-S High School student-athletes, including those on junior varsity teams, are eligible to join the Varsity Club and can contact Todd at the beginning of the year to do so. In addition to taking part in pickleball and dodgeball tournaments during flex period, members of the Varsity Club hold an annual chicken barbecue, run a concession stand at the powder puff game, and help with the hall of fame banquet. This year, the club organized a ceremony for seniors, where each one received a plaque. "That was a really fun activity that we got to do," Aubree said.

Todd, Paige, and Aubree agreed the first Pioneer Cup competition was a big success. "We know that basketball and football are heavily attended sports," said Todd. "We wanted to really target other sports that maybe aren't as supported in past years. I think it was a success that way."

Paige stated, "It promoted school spirit. We're really big on sports at L-S, and cheering each other on is a big part of who we are. We always have big crowds come out to our games to support us because we always have good sports teams. I think it's school pride that brings us together as a school district."

"I think it went really well because it promoted being a team," Aubree said. "We saw a lot of teams go together to these sporting events, and they would all scan the QR code. We heard people talk about it in school, how they wanted to go to the game, and they would encourage their teammates to scan the QR code to make sure they did win the money. But unfortunately, they didn't. Because we did."