King lets quiet offense off the hook, goes the distance in shutout win vs Penn Manor, 3-0

After a Senior Night rainout on Monday evening, the Penn Manor Comets returned to Westfield Insurance Park on Tuesday afternoon to face the Blue Streaks for the second time this season. In their first meeting, Township got the best of the Comets, 8-2, at Comet Field in Millersville.

The storms Monday evening not only brought rain to the area, but also humidity. With a real feel of 86 degrees at game time, this afternoon’s game was a balmy affair. Fast 1-2-3 innings from both teams in the 1st set the tone for the rest of the game – we were headed for a full-on pitcher’s duel.

Township’s starter, Dylan King (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 K), chalked up 5 strikeouts over the first 3 innings including striking out the side in the 2nd. The first hit on the day for either team came off the bat of Michael Heckman in the bottom of the 3rd, but the Blue Streaks struggled to move him into scoring position. A pair of walks for the Comets in the 4th gave them life with no outs, but three consecutive fly outs ended any chance to break the 0-0 tie.

It took Township until the 5th inning to work a little magic on offense. A 1-out single for Ryan Flury and walk to JT Weaver gave the Blue Streaks a chance for some runs for the first time all day. With 2 outs, Kyle Musser popped a fly ball into the ionosphere above shallow left field that the Comets’ left fielder dropped on the catch attempt. The hang time on the pop up allowed courtesy runner Chris Hixson to score and Weaver landed safely on 3rd. A single up the middle from Drew Sassaman and overthrow from the infielder allowed both Weaver and Musser to score and make it 3-0 MT through 5.

With only 70 pitches to his name heading into the 6th, King made quick work of Penn Manor again now that he held the lead. He needed only 7 pitches to grab two ground outs and his 6th strikeout on the game. Township bats went silent again in the bottom of the 6th as they were set down in order.

King returned to the mound in the 7th to finish off his complete-game shutout for the rescheduled Senior Night. A quick fly out and strikeout of the first two Comet batters set King up for his 8th and final strikeout to close it out. 3-0 Blue Streaks.

Manheim Township (17-0) will travel to Cedar Crest on Wednesday afternoon to try and tie the best start to a season in Blue Streaks history and also lay claim to their first Section One title since 2010.