Recap
Only 24 hours after securing their 10th win to start the season, Manheim Township was back on the road in Elizabethtown to make up a game moved from last Friday against the E-town Bears. Like yesterday at Conestoga Valley, the Blue Streaks were on the board early and often to eventually coast to another victory.
Township used a pair of singles from Drew Sassaman and Colin Fitzgerald in the top of the 1st to get some early runners on base. Walks to Evan Clark and Ryan Jones eased the first Township run across the plate with only 1 out. A bases-loaded SAC fly from the starting pitcher, Dylan King, gave the Blue Streaks a 2-0 lead before he stepped on the mound.
Looking for his second win of the season, King (3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 5 K) stepped to the mound and held the Bears in check for most of the afternoon. After walking the first two batters in the 1st, King bounced back with back-to-back strikeouts and a fly out to Clark in right field to prevent any damage. King faced 5 batters in the 2nd inning and only 3 batters in the 3rd while keeping E-town completely off the scoreboard.
Township blew open their lead in the top of the 2nd after a Michael Heckman walk and Kyle Musser single quickly turned into runs on an E-town fielding error and Fitzgerald RBI single to center field. Clark picked up a hit to load the bases for the Blue Streaks before Sassaman scored on a wild pitch and Jones reached safely on a fielder’s choice (with no outs recorded on the play). To clarify… Jones safely reached first base after hitting a grounder to the first baseman who did not touch 1st base or tag the runner. A bases-clearing single from King made it 8-0 after 2 and the Blue Streaks were off and running.
In the 3rd, Township padded their lead after a leadoff double from Heckman, HBP to Musser, and RBI single from Sassaman made it 9-0. Two wild pitches in Clark’s next AB scored two more Township runners from third and it was 11-0 as we entered the 4th inning. King was lifted in favor of JT Weaver after E-town managed to load the bases with no outs in the inning and bring two runners across the plate. Weaver pitched a quiet rest of the 4th and the Blue Streaks escaped the half inning thanks to a 6-3 double play from Heckman to Fisher Druck.
The Blue Streaks tacked on 2 additional runs in the 5th to guarantee this one would end after 5 innings as Weaver and Caden Brubaker collected the final 3 outs on the mound.