The softball season can be interesting enough without Covid-19. That, however, is what forced a marathon end-of-season for Solanco, playing six games in eight days. The most important of those came last Wednesday when they hosted Manheim Township. League playoffs were off the docket for both squads but an opportunity for improved seeding in districts was at stake for Solanco as Township was seeded sixth in 6A. Solanco is a 5A school.

And when the final runs circled the bags, it was Solanco surviving a seventh inning rally and pulling off an 11-10 thriller.

"It puts our losses to Penn Manor and Warwick in perspective," said head coach Brett Miller, "and why we were doing certain things, all in preparation for this game. The girls were extremely motivated."

Tied at 1-1 early, Solanco led 4-3 before battling back from 5-3 and 7-3 deficits. They finally gained some breathing room, plating seven in the sixth inning and then surviving Township's seventh inning rally.

Big hits were aplenty. Kendall Janssen smacked a solo homer in the third and Solanco's lone senior, Jade Eshleman, added a three-run blast in the fourth, pushing the lead to 4-3.

The Streaks, however, rallied with two in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings for the biggest lead of the night. Solanco countered, sending 12 to the plate and scoring seven runs on four hits, three walks and three errors.

"Anna Sexton's bases loaded, two RBI single gave us the lead," Miller recalled. "And then Township came back. They had the tying run on third with one out. Anna came in to relieve Marlee who threw very well and kept them off-stride. She forced a soft liner to Kendall who caught the fly and fired over to third for the double play."

Game over.

"One game at a time, one play at a time," said Miller. "We're improving."

What early on looked to be a blowout in the making turned into a 10-9 thriller that went sideways on Friday, May 7 in a Section Two clash against visiting Elizabethtown.

Solanco gave up three runs in the first and six in the second to quickly fall behind 9-1. A bottom of the second rally, all with two outs, gave them new life. Taryn Britigan and Emily Sims connected for back-to-back base hits. Holly Grube followed with a two-run double and Becca Foulk circled the bags for a two-run homer that cut the lead to 9-5.

Grube, who started in the circle, gave way to Haupt who started the third inning and finished with eight strikeouts while yielding four hits. One of those hits, however, was a fourth inning triple that eventually scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch.

Solanco made things interesting in the bottom of the fourth, closing the gap to 10-9. Britigan walked, Sims singled and Grube plated the first run of the inning on a base hit. One out later, Eshleman crushed a three-run triple, closing the scoring for both teams.

The day before, Solanco collected its fourth shutout of the year, a 19-0, three-inning victory in Lebanon. Everyone batted and scored in the first inning for a 9-0 lead. The visitors finished with seven hits on the day, taking advantage of 16 walks to put the mercy rule in effect.

Grube had the hot bat, collecting three hits and five RBIs. Mia Grinestaff added four RBIs on one hit, a triple, in three at bats.

Their marathon play continued with last Monday's 18-5 loss to Section One leader Warwick. "We scored against a quality pitcher," said Miller. "They're a good hitting team."

Tied at 1-1 in the first, Warwick, with 17 hits on the day, including four home runs, gained some breathing room with five runs in the second and then pulled away with six runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

The going didn't get easier Tuesday when Solanco traveled to Penn Manor, the second-place team in Section One and, for the first time this season, was shut out 11-0.

"We're a young team and we're gaining experience," said Miller. "We have to develop and overall, we are. We are more consistent in each position, but we still don't have a consistent lineup. And our pitchers need pitches. Haupt threw well against Warwick and Anna Sexton was back in the lineup. Individually, we're making some tough plays."

Despite the loss to Penn Manor, Solanco loaded the bases in their last at bat. "We gave ourselves the opportunity to score," said Miller. "We need to maintain consistency. The girls are working hard and we're looking to keep improving."

BASEBALL

Solanco's playoff season continues as every game now plays a significant role in their attempt to qualify for leagues and districts. Friday, May 7 they took another step in the right direction, hanging a 9-8 loss on Elizabethtown.

In a back-and-forth battle from the start, the Mules took a 2-0 lead in the first. Austin Wenger singled, Nate Harnish reached on a fielder's choice, and both scored on a Nate Miller double.

They picked up another run in the second when Wenger singled in Ronnie Fulton. Wenger went 2-3 with two singles, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.

The Bears, however, roared back with four in the bottom of the second and held the lead for the majority of the game. E-town led 4-3, then 5-3, then 5-4 and 6-4 and 6-5 before two runs in the bottom of the sixth made it 8-5.

"It wasn't looking good," said Fish. "The rain was falling, and field conditions were getting worse by the minute. But we rallied, battling in the seventh to save our season."

Wenger started with a leadoff walk, and Seth Harnish singled to center field. Brother Nate followed with another single to right, setting the stage for Nate Miller.

"Nate took a fastball deep over the fence for what turned out to be a game winning, seventh inning, three run homer," said Fish in excitement. "What an awesome moment for Nate and the team. It was the moment of our season."

Miller went 3-3 with a double, single, sac fly and the three-run homer, good for six RBI's in all.

On the hill, Ethan Clary earned the win in relief. He struck out four, including the side in the seventh.

"Ethan got out of a jam in the sixth to keep things close and pitched that pressure packed seventh," said Fish. "Seth Harnish started and got the no decision. He battled. It was not an easy day to pitch or field with a steady rain throughout.

"This is a game none of us will soon forget," he added. "It was a heroic day by Mr. Miller!"

In non-league play Tuesday, Solanco dropped a 6-3 decision against Exeter despite holding a 3-1 lead.

TRACK

The track teams wrapped up the regular season on a positive note last Monday on the road. The girls' team earned their first win of the year with a solid 97-53 win over Lebanon while the boys improved to 4-3 with an 82-68 result.

"It was a great dual meet," said head coach Jen McDowell. "The girls' 4x400 relay was an exciting one, coming from behind in the third leg to pull off the win."

That relay featured Alana Brown, Jadan Forren, Halle Brown and Kara Peace.

Solanco also claimed the 4x800 (Emma Baxter, Christine Wagner, Brown and Brown) and the 4x100 (Faith Roth, Sophia Stoltzfus, Haylee Byers and Carly Rose) for a 15-point sweep.

Individually, Katie Urbine was the top point-getter with firsts in the 100, 200, long and pole vault. Greta Plechner won the 300 hurdles, was second in the high and third in the pole vault. Wagner took the 3200, Baxter was tops in the mile, Rose won the 110 hurdles and Peace led a sweep in the 400 with H. Brown and Forren taking second and third.

Other field highlights included Hannah Wood with seconds in the shot, discus and javelin.

The boys' meet was a bit closer and came down to the javelin.

"We swept the javelin with Lance Workman, Brian Coleman and Connor Smith," said McDowell. "And we got big jumps from Elijah Reimold (first) and Josiah Forren (second) in the long jump. Plus, almost all the distance runners had PR's."

Reimold completed a hat trick with wins in the triple and high jumps while Trent McDowell added a double, claiming both hurdle events.

The boys also won the 4x400 (Ian Althoff, Liam Findley, Aidan Wood and Forren) and the 4x100 (Jimmy Morales, Kendal, Wood and Riley Ford). Althoff won the open 400 and Wyatt Tomison was the 3200 winner.