Township falters in L-L League Semifinals, drops first game all season to Manheim Central, 3-2

After advancing to the Lancaster-Lebanon League Semifinals with a 3-0 no-hit victory over Annville-Cleona on Saturday, the Manheim Township Blue Streaks (20-0) were set to face off against the Section III champion Manheim Central Barons (18-1) at War Memorial Field in Ephrata on Tuesday night. The winner of this one would advance to face Lampeter-Strasburg in the league championship game on Thursday evening.

Serving as the away team (per a coin toss) in this neutral-site matchup, the Blue Streaks were first to bat in the 1st. Colin Fitzgerald nabbed a 2-out walk, but Township’s bats were held in check early. Blue Streaks’ starting pitcher, Ben Shenosky, needed only 8 pitches to retire the first three Baron batters. Dylan King gave Township their first hit of the night with a double to the fence in left-center field before the Streaks were ended in the 2nd. Another scoreless half inning from Shenosky on the mound left the game in a 0-0 tie through 2.

With only 1 out in the top of the 3rd, Kyle Musser landed on 2nd with a double of his own to left-center field. Township’s momentum was lost during the next AB with Musser being picked off and the Blue Streaks being retired four pitches later. Manheim Central capitalized on an early HBP and infield single in the bottom of the 3rd to plate the first run of the night. Shenosky buckled down to get out of the 3rd without any further damage as Central still had men left on base. Now trailing 1-0, Township’s 3/4/5 hitters went down in order in the top of the 4th. The Barons struck once more on Shenosky in the 4th thanks to a pair of singles and a fielding error in the infield. The 2-0 Central lead wouldn’t hold up for long, however.

Ryan Flury reached base on a 1-out fielding error on Central’s third baseman before being courtesy run for by Chris Hixson. A SAC bunt off the bat of JT Weaver moved Hixson to 2nd before Michael Heckman put the Blue Streaks on the board with a bloop single to right field to score Hixson. Heckman landed on 2nd on an overthrow to home plate on the previous play. Three pitches into the very next at-bat, Musser opened up on a single to right field to plate Heckman and knot the game at 2-2. A Drew Sassaman single was tallied before the half inning was up, but Township’s 2-out rally was halted at just two runs.

Shenosky was chased with the game tied in the bottom half of the 5th with 2 outs and runners on the corners. Fitzgerald entered from third base to pitch for the Blue Streaks before the Barons retook the lead on a bloop single to right on his 1st pitch of the night. Still with runners on 1st and 2nd, Fitzgerald struck out the very next batter to get the Streaks out of the 5th only trailing 3-2.

A fairly quiet top of the 6th for the Blue Streaks saw only one runner reach base on a walk. Fitzgerald held steady on the mound with a healthy dose of 90+ mph fastballs to quiet the Baron’s offense and hold the score at 3-2 heading into Township’s final half inning. A ground out, strikeout, and fly out in the top of the 7th unfortunately eliminated the Blue Streaks from L-L League playoff contention and ultimately ended their perfect season and 20-game winning streak.

The 3-2 loss to Manheim Central means the Blue Streaks will next be in action as part of the District III playoffs that begin on May 24th. Township sits as the #1 seed in 6A and will receive a bye in the first round. Next game date/time/opponent TBD.