Lights too bright for Blue Streaks in first Section 1 showdown at Ephrata

Under the lights for the first time in 2025, the Manheim Township Blue Streaks traveled up to Ephrata to face the Mountaineers, the newest members of Section I this season. Township last conquered the Mounts at War Memorial Field last May in the League Semifinals, 2-1, en route to their 2024 League title.

Jacob Carrasco, leading off for MT, took the first pitch of the night off his elbow to give Township their first baserunner of the evening, however a quick three outs behind him retired the Blue Streaks in the top of the 1st. Tyler Shirk, on the mound Township, surrendered two walks in the bottom of the 1st, but managed to keep the score knotted at 0-0 through 1. Both starters worked 1-2-3 innings in the 2nd with Shirk chalking up three of his nine K’s in the bottom half.

Ephrata broke through in the 3rd with four consecutive hits to break the scoreless tie. The fourth of four singles brought home three runs and left the Mountaineers ahead 3-0 after 3 innings. Jack Kenneff and Alex Miller tallied Township’s first hits on the night in the top of the 4th. With runners on the corners and two outs, the Blue Streaks couldn’t plate either runner to tighten the score.

A leadoff double for Ephrata in the bottom of the 4th led to their fourth run scoring two batters later on a fielder’s choice. Down 4-0, Township again was quietly set down in the 5th. A 1-out single from Alex Derderian in the 6th got things going as a 2-out Kenneff pop fly was lost in the lights and brought in the first run for the Blue Streaks. Another single from Miller put another runner on base with two outs, but an infield fly out ended the top of the 6th.

Shirk continued to mow through the Ephrata lineup as he recorded nine strikeouts over his six complete innings, but the Township offense couldn’t find the runs to even up the game in the 7th. A deep fly out to left-center field from Lincoln Stoltzfus, a hard ground out for Connor Delvecchio, and short ground out for Dio Acosta ended the night for the Blue Streaks.

The loss puts Township at 5-4 on the season with two of those losses coming in Section 1 play. MT will get a visit from McCaskey on Wednesday afternoon as the halfway point of the season nears.