Township falters at home in latest loss to Warwick, 3-0

Staring down their fourth game in as many days, the Manheim Township Blue Streaks hosted the Warwick Warriors on Thursday afternoon in a crucial matchup for both teams’ league playoff hopes. The Warriors got the best of the Blue Streaks in both prior meetings this season.

Gavin Glass, the trusty Township senior, got the start on the mound for Township on this afternoon. The Warriors came to play early in the 1st as the top of their lineup plated a run before an out was recorded. A single for Adomnik and full-count walk for Stuhltrager gave Warwick two early baserunners. C. Martin’s line drive single to center field scored Adomnik and set up an early 1-0 Warriors lead. Following the action in the 1st, Glass kept the Warriors at bay over the next few innings.

Similar to yesterday afternoon, Township’s offense could not get anything going in the first few innings. The Blue Streaks would not produce a hit until the fifth inning with Tyler Mulholland reaching base on an infield single and the team only managed a handful of baserunners early on with Ryan Brader walking in the 1st, Ben Connors reaching on an error in the 2nd, and Cole Stoltzfus reaching on a dropped third strike in the 4th. 

Warwick would go on to pick up two more runs in the top of the 6th off a trio of singles. C. Martin and S. Martin would reach on singles and score on a Johnsen single to left field that ended up being mishandled. Now trailing 3-0, the Blue Streaks continued to struggle to move men around the bases. Brader again reached base, this time on a single, in the 6th, but ended up thrown out on a steal attempt at 2nd that thwarted the moderate Township momentum. Alex Miller, a lefty sophomore for the Blue Streaks, would come on in relief of Glass in the top of the 7th and preserve the three-run deficit into the bottom of the 7th.

Stoltzfus led off the bottom of the 7th by reaching base on an infield error before a fielder’s choice on Connors’ ground ball kept just one runner on the bases. Another fielder’s choice on a liner directly at the pitcher off the bat of Mulholland and a fly out ended the game and sent the Warriors home with another victory at Westfield Insurance Park.

Township, now 10-6 on the season (8-5 in Section I), sits in third place in the division with two more Section I games to play. A road game at the now section champion Hempfield looms on Friday afternoon.