The Braves walked onto the tennis court with confidence.

When their L-L League match with Lancaster Catholic had come to a close, they had improved their record to 7-1 (5-1 league). The Braves swept the doubles matches in a 6-1 victory on the road.

The familiar twosome of Wade Stoltzfus and Cole Stoltzfus managed to save off John Martin and Steve Billis 8-5.

Hayden Winey and Cole McEvoy won 8-2 at number two doubles while Bailey Scott and Jackson Hershey posted an 8-4 victory.

Winey and Cole Stoltzfus would each win their singles matches in straight sets - Winey 6-2 6-1 at number two singles and Stoltzfus 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. Joel Peifer also earned a team point, posting 6-3, 6-3 victories at number one singles.

BASEBALL

The sport of baseball is played in the spring to the enjoyment of sports fans and families, not to mention players and coaches.

The sport of baseball is played on various levels - professional or amateur, high school or instructional leagues.

The sport of baseball is a strange one. As in other sports, it has the "any given day" factor.

The Pequea Valley Braves baseball team was coming off a game in which they had pounded Lancaster Mennonite six days earlier by a 13-5 score, banging out 10 hits (3 for extra bases).

The Braves hosted Lancaster-Lebanon League opponent Annville-Cleona on Tuesday, April 11. The game of baseball presented its mysterious twist where the same offense was held to four relatively harmless base hits as the Dutchmen defeated the Braves 5-1.

Jayden Stoltzfus scored the lone Pequea Valley run after slugging a double. He scored in the bottom of the first inning aided by an Annville error.

The Dutchmen came back and tied it in the fourth inning before adding three more runs in the sixth en route to the 5-1 win.

Trevor Vollmer, Peyton Temple and Myles Furlong each had a single for the Braves. Noah Morcom had two hits and two runs batted in for Annville.

Furlong hurled six innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out two.

The Braves rallied for two runs in their final at bat on Wednesday, April 12, defeating Northern Lebanon 5-4 at Kinzers. The victory improved the Braves' record to 6-3.

Freshman pitcher Logan Zynn, who relieved Stephen Smucker in the seventh inning, was the recipient of the walk-off rally, thus earning the win. He allowed one unearned run in the top of the seventh, giving the Vikings a 4-3 short-lived lead.

Smucker, who helped his own cause with a 2-hit, 2 RBI day at the plate, went six innings, striking out six. Temple slugged a double on a 3-for-3 afternoon, also crossing the plate twice. Elijah Smucker went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

SOFTBALL

With a six-run third inning, the Northern Lebanon Vikings battled past the Braves in L-L League softball action on Wednesday, April 12. The visiting Braves had taken a brief 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Maddy Clark had two of Pequea's four base hits. Sarah Arment and freshman Izzy Graham each singled. Graham also walked twice and stole four bases, putting herself in scoring position. She crossed the plate twice on the day.

The Braves, who were coming off a 10-6 loss at Annville-Cleona on Monday, April 10, fell to 3-3 on the year.

Graham, the impressive rookie, had two doubles and scored two runs in the A-C game. Olivia Clark, Victoria Smoker and Maddy Clark each drove in a run as did Carissa Mulder and senior Shania Smoker.