Recap

After a flat opening to the season on Wednesday against Warwick, Manheim Township Varsity was looking to turn things around on Friday afternoon as they hosted another Section 1 rival, the Hempfield Black Knights. Connor Vucovich took the mound for the Blue Streaks for the first time in his junior season. Hempfield put up a fight in the top of the first with a leadoff single and walk, but Vucovich was able to get out of the jam without any damage.

Township’s bats were relatively quiet once again as they looked to get on the board early in this one. Colin Yablonski picked up a 2-out walk in the 1st, but wasn’t able to advance. Hempfield had baserunners again in the 2nd inning and scored a man from 2nd on a wild pitch that was lost behind the plate. Facing a 1-0 deficit, Township went quietly in the 2nd after Kyle Musser reached base on an infield error by the Hempfield 2nd baseman.

The flood gates opened up in the top of the 3rd as Hempfield loaded the bases on consecutive singles and a walk with only one out. A double off the wall in left field drove two runs in before a follow up single resulted in another Hempfield run. Will Greiner replaced Vucovich on the mound before Hempfield added two more runs in the inning.

The Blue Streaks remained hitless until we reached the 5th inning when Drew Sassaman lined a single into centerfield. As all other Township runners in this game, he was stranded on base. Kyle Donton was brought in to relieve Greiner in the 4th inning and he finish out the game on the mound for the Blue Streaks. Hempfield struck for 3 more runs over the remaining innings on a balk, solo homerun, and SAC fly to win this Section 1 showdown 9-0.

Other notable highlights: Freshman Ryan Flury picked up his first Varsity hit in the bottom of the 7th as he was brought in to pinch hit. His single past the 2nd baseman was followed up by a looping single into center field by Dylan King before the final out was recorded.