While I was away...

Hello everyone, I'm back. I know you missed me, didn't you. You did. Right? Anywho, I realize now that I took my vacation at the worst possible time in terms of high school sports playoffs, but it was a planned family trip with my in-laws and, let's face it, when your wife tells you that you are going on vacation with her family, you don't argue. Well, you could argue, but you'd just end up packing the car anyway – except you'd have your wife's footprint somewhere you don't want it. Bad times. Anyone who is married knows where I'm coming from.

So I'm back now, and I missed all of the district playoffs. My apologies to anyone waiting for that coverage, but I will try and get it done the best I can for this week's Chronicle, especially considering that I wasn't at any of these games. In the meantime, I'll be posting season recaps over the next couple of days here on the Bears Den for every EAHS spring sports team.

In the meantime, though, let's catch up with the teams who saw district playoff action this past week and a half...

Baseball

(Nick Reginella and the Bears couldn't keep up with L-S' bats.)

The Bears earned the top seed in the District Three Class AAA playoffs after winning the Section Two title and going 14-5 in the regular season. However, E-town's run at a state berth ended last night in Ephrata as the top-seeded Bears lost to No. 9 Lampeter-Strasburg 14-4.

L-S struck for three runs in the top of the first inning off of E-town starter Preston Faith, but the Bears came right back in the home half, scoring twice to trim the deficit to 3-2. In the second inning, however, the Pioneers, who missed the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, broke the game wide open. L-S touched Faith up for seven runs to take a commanding 10-2 lead in the second, highlighted by Mark Thiboldeaux's home run.

E-town was never able to recover from the second, managing only single runs in the third and fifth innings. Erick Baker, Shane Long and Andrew Weller all had RBIs for E-town (16-7).

The 10-run loss was the largest margin of defeat of the season for the Bears.

Softball

(Becca Bigler hit a two-run homer in E-town's first district game, but it wasn't enough.)
Coming off a thrilling 6-5 win over Solanco in the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship game, E-town saw its season come to an end in the first round of the District Three Class AAAA playoffs on Wednesday, as the ninth-seeded Bears fell to No. 8 Cedar Crest 6-2 at Manetas Park in Denver.

The Bears jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Becca Bigler smashed a two-run home run off of Falcon starter Jen Garloff, Bigler's fourth homer of the year. But Garloff shut E-town down from there, keeping the Bears scoreless over the final six innings.

E-town had several scoring opportunities in the game, but couldn't cash in. The Bears had runners at second and third with no outs in both the fifth and sixth innings, but came away both times without scoring. Meanwhile, the Bears' 2-0 lead held up until the sixth inning.

Cedar Crest scored once in the fifth off of Jillian Ditzler to trim the Bears' lead to 2-1. Ditzler went five innings and allowed one run on one hit.

The Falcons completed their comeback in the sixth, as they scored five times off of Tricia Stone to take the lead for good. Cedar Crest's sixth-inning rally was capped by Garloff, who helped her own cause by hitting a grand slam. She also struck out 11.

The loss snapped E-town's eight-game winning streak and ended E-town's season two games short of a state berth. The Bears won 17 games this season, however, and a league title – which is an impressive campaign by any standards.

OK, that's all for now. Back later with looks at girls soccer and track and field and their endeavors at districts.

Eurich has a nice season for Gettysburg

Kelly Eurich, a sophomore at Gettysburg College and a graduate of Elizabethtown Area High School, recently wrapped up her season for the Bullets' women's tennis team.

Eurich did well this year, playing No. 2 and No. 3 singles and finishing with a 12-5 record. At No. 3, she was 9-2 and won her last eight regular season matches. She also teamed with Ali Moyer to make up Gettysburg's top doubles team. They went 12-5 as the Bullets went 11-6 as a team, their highest win total in 10 years.

Eurich is majoring in health sciences and is the daughter of Chris and Sue Eurich.

Lady Bears strike gold

*Before I head off to recharge my batteries on vacation, here's a little something on the softball league championship to hold you over. I shall return Thursday. Until then, stay classy Elizabethtown.

Call them the team of destiny. Call them the Comeback Kids. Whatever you want to call the Elizabethtown Area High School softball team, make sure you include the words “Lancaster-Lebanon League champions.”

The Bears capped their thrilling run through the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs by rallying from a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to beat Solanco 6-5 and win the first league title in program history.

“This team, they just never quit. They’ve got the heart of a lion,” said E-town head coach Gary Wylde. “We talked and said we were going to go out and give it our best shot (before the seventh inning).”

And their best shot was exactly what the Bears came up with in their final at bat.

The inning started when Jen Dunkelberger reached on a dropped fly ball. Emily Wylde followed with an infield single and Abby Fuhrman followed that with a single of her own to load the bases with no outs. Fuhrman’s hit also marked the end of the line for Solanco starter Mallory Ruteledge, who allowed only three hits (two of those infield singles) for the first six innings.

“She pitched one heck of a game,” Wylde said. “She was just incredible tonight.”

With the bases loaded, Solanco coach Brett Miller brought in Morgan Mastriana. Mastriana walked the first hitter she faced, Leigh Miller, to force in E-town’s first run. After a strikeout, Mandi Shearer hit an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-2 and keep the bases loaded for the top of the E-town order.

E-town’s leadoff hitter, Anna Libby, then stung a line drive down the right field line that cleared the bases. As Libby reached third on her triple, she turned to look for the ball, which was being thrown in to the plate from the outfield. The throw got over catcher Morgan Jackson’s head, and Libby immediately broke for home, scoring on a head-first dive to put E-town ahead 6-5.

“I knew if we got to the top of the order, we could make it interesting,” said Wylde. “Anna Libby hits the ball as hard as anyone I’ve seen.”

“I honestly was in shock when it happened, too,” Libby said. “Coming up in a pressure situation, I’ve always loved that (and) I always thrive on that. And that’s exactly what you want to do. It was like a dream come true. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that moment.”

Before E-town’s seventh inning, though, the game belonged to the Golden Mares. Solanco jumped ahead of the Bears early as Steph Graver knocked in Janelle Krantz with an RBI triple in the first inning. Solanco added to the lead in the third when Ashley Stump reached on an infield single with one out. She moved to second on a wild pitch and scoring on an RBI triple by Krantz. Solanco added a third run in the inning on an infield single by Mallory Renard.

The Mares made it 4-0 off of E-town starter Tricia Stone in the fifth on an RBI triple from Ashley Stump with no outs. Wylde then decided to bring in Jillian Ditzler, and the senior did a tremendous job, allowing only one unearned run on no hits over the final three frames.

“Jillian is probably one of the most competitive kids I know. When you think of a true pitcher, Jillian Ditzler is a true pitcher,” said Wylde. “She’s just a bulldog on the mound.”

When Dizler first came into the game, the Bears trailed by five. But when she walked out to the circle for the bottom of the seventh, she had a one-run lead to protect. Ditzler set the first two batters down in order and got Krantz to pop up to Bigler to end the game – giving E-town a win over its biggest rival and its first league championship.

“(Solanco is) a first-class organization and I just want to give them a lot of credit. They’re a great team,” Wylde said. “We really have tremendous respect for that Solanco program. We knew it was going to be a battle. I’m speechless just to beat such a quality program.”

In fact, E-town beat three quality programs en route to the league crown. They rode the solid pitching of Stone in the first round, beating Pequea Valley 1-0; they then scored six times in the seventh inning against Warwick in the semifinals to beat the Warriors 5-3 and worked their late-inning magic again against Solanco.And the majority of the Elizabethtown players and coaches said it came down to one thing – heart.

“Our team has so much heart, we never let down,” said Libby. “Our team is just so strong. And that’s what it was – a team game tonight.”

Wylde and Ditzler echoed Libby’s sentiments.

“This is amazing,” Wylde said, clutching the league trophy. “The way we did it kind of describes our season. I think I learned something about these girls ... that they have tremendous heart. They don’t like to lose.”

Ditzler said that winning such an exciting game gives E-town a full tank of momentum heading into the District Three playoffs.

“I think this gives us more momentum than if we would have won 10-0 or something because we battled back the whole time,” she said. “We jsut ahve a lot of heart and we never give up, and that teaches us that we can do it.”

So, yes, the Lady Bears have heart. And now, they have gold medals to wear over the hearts that earned them.

Lady Bears headed to league finals

(Jen Dunkelberger is a huge reason why the Bears are playing in the league finals tonight).

The EAHS girls softball beat Warwick 8-3 last night, coming back twice on the Warriors to pull away late in the game and advance to the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship game tonight, where a familiar foe awaits – Solanco.

Jen Dunkelberger was everywhere for the Bears last night. Her bunt in the fourth set up E-town's first run. She also scored E-town's second run in the sixth by drawing a walk, stealing second, moving to third on a groundout and scoring on a pitch in the dirt by executing a perfect headfirst slide. She then turned a double play in the bottom of the sixth to end the inning. Oh, she added an RBI single in the top of the seventh to extend E-town's lead to 4-2. Pretty busy night for her.

Emily Wylde also came up huge, driving in four runs, including a three-RBI double in the seventh that broke the game open.

E-town and Solanco split their two games this season, with the Mares winning 6-2 back on April 9, and E-town winning 4-2 on May 5, the last game of the regular season. That loss to the Bears likely cost the Mares a No. 1 seed in next week's District Three playoffs.

Game time is set for tonight, 7 p.m. at Garrett Field in Willow Street.

Baseball, softball district brackets

Very quickly, before I head out to Ephrata and Willow Street for tonight's baseball and softball playoff games, here is a glimpse at the Bears' district playoff brackets. Full brackets can be downloaded here.


(Andrew Weller and the Bears are the No. 1 seed in District Three Class AAA).
BASEBALL:
The Bears are the No. 1 seed in the District Three Class AAA brackets. They will begin districts on Monday, May 19. They will play the winner of No. 16 Donegal and No. 17 James Buchanan. Those two teams will play on Friday, May 16 at Northern High School at 6:30 p.m.

In the second round, should they get that far, E-town will play the winner of No. 8 New Oxford and No. 9 Lampeter-Strasburg.

Here are the dates for the tournament:
First round: May 19.
Quarterfinals: May 22.
Semifinals: Tuesday, May 27.
Finals: Thursday, May 29.

*Note: I will be on vacation from Monday, May 19 through Wednesday, May 21, so I'll miss the first game of district. I know, I know, what the heck am I thinking. Sorry.


(Tricia Stone and the Bears will play Cedar Crest on Tuesday).
Softball
Unlike the baseball team, the EAHS softball team is in Class AAAA in District Three, where they are the No. 9 seed.

In the first round, the Bears will play No. 8 Cedar Crest at Manetas Park in Denver on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. (Again, I'll be on vacation...I know, slacker).

From there, E-town will likely get No. 1 Governor Mifflin on Thursday, May 22 (barring a 16-1 upset). Here are the softball district dates.

First round: Tuesday, May 20.
Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 22.
Semifinals: Tuesday, May 27.
Finals: Thursday, May 29.

In case of rain, the rain dates are scheduled for the next day of each round. (May 21 for the first round, May 23 for the quarters and so on).

That's all for now, I'm off to Ephrata.

Cheers.

Blame it on the rain (UPDATED 2 P.M.)

(If Britney Spears was in E-town today, she'd need that umbrella she's holding for a different purpose).

The rain continues to pour down and, as expect, today's Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinal games have been postponed.

So, here is an UPDATED schedule of all of the EAHS games that are now slated for tomorrow, for your convenience. I know, I'm so good to you.

(inhale)

Softball
The Bears were originally slated to play Warwick today in the Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinals.

E-town will now play Warwick tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Garrett Park in Willow Street in the L-L Semifinals.

Girls Soccer
E-town had a District Three play-in game originally scheduled for tonight.

The Bears will now play Governor Mifflin tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. in EAHS' Thompson Stadium.

Baseball
No change here so far, just a reminder. E-town will face Hempfield tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the L-L League Semifinals at Ephrata's War Memorial Field.

Lacrosse
The Bears were originally slated to have a home game tomorrow night at Thompson Field. However, the girls soccer District Playoff game has been moved to that spot. So...

E-town Lax will have its game tomorrow at Elizabethtown College. The JV will start at 4 p.m. and the varsity will play at 5:30 p.m.

So to recap:
Schedule for Tuesday, May 13
EAHS Softball, vs. Warwick, 7:30 p.m., @ Garrett Park, Willow Street. (L-L semis)
EAHS Baseball, vs. Hempfield, 5 p.m., @ War Memorial Field, Ephrata. (L-L semis)
EAHS Girls Soccer, vs. Governor Mifflin, 7 p.m., @ Thompson Stadium, E-town. (District Three play-in round).
EAHS Lacrosse, vs. Hempfield, JV @ 4 p.m., varsity @ 5:30 p.m., @ E-town College. (regular season games).

Anyone know where I can get a good clone?

(exhale).

Rain, rain, go away

Mother Nature is announcing her presence today, and, in the process, making life extremely difficult for me.

Today's rain has already forced the postponement of the scheduled District Three girls soccer playoff game between E-town and Governor Mifflin.

That game is now scheduled for tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Thompson Stadium in Elizabethtown.

Also, the Bears' softball team is slated to play Warwick in the Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Garrett Park in Willow Street. As of right now, that game is still on as scheduled, but I have a hunch they might not be able to play. When I hear word on that, I'll be sure to post it.

That said, there is still one playoff game tonight, as the boys volleyball team will take on Hempfield at 6 p.m. at Hempfield in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.

11 Bears qualify for Districts

11 members of the Elizabethtown Area High School track and field team have qualified for the District Three meet this weekend at Shippensburg.

Here is a list of E-town's qualifiers along with the events they will be competing in this weekend:

GIRLS:
Bailey Davis – 200M
Kirsten Hayes – shot put
Audrey Bamford – 100M hurdles, high jump, long jump.

BOYS:
Jordan Hallman: 100M, 200M, 4x400 relay
Greg Crawford: 4x400 relay
John Romain – 4x400 relay
Josh McMaster – 400M, 4x400 relay
Larrian Payne – high jump.
Dustin Horning – 1600M
Shane Rosenberry – Shot Put.

Congrats to these 11.

Winning day for E-town

Here's a quick update on the EAHS baseball and softball games that went down today.

SOFTBALL:

E-town got a stellar outing from Tricia Stone and beat Pequea Valley today 1-0. Stone was in command throughout, keeping PV's hitters busy by throwing a lot of strikes and forcing them to swing. The defense behind her was excellent, making a few spectacular plays - especially catcher Anna Libby's play on a bunt attempt late in the game.

Becca Bigler knocked in the only run of the game in the top of the sixth on a single up the middle off of PV starter Jess High to score Anna Libby.

The Bears will Warwick on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at Garrett Park in Willow Street. More on this matchup on Monday.

BASEBALL:
The Bears' bats went crazy as they destroyed Lancaster Mennonite 12-1 today in five innings. Mennonite scored one in the top of the first off of E-town starter Erick Baker, but the Bears came back with a 5-spot in the bottom of the inning, as the first five hitters all reached base, jumpstarting E-town's offense.

Baker only needed to go four innings thanks to the run support, which means he'll be more fresh later in the postseason. Everyone in E-town's lineup hit the ball well tonight.

The Bears will play on Tuesday night at War Memorial Field in Ephrata against Hempfield, which beat Northern Lebanon today. I believe the game is at 5 p.m., but I'll post that on Monday when I'm 100 percent sure. E-town beat Hempfield the only time they played each other this season.

One more win for the baseball and softball teams, and they'll be in the L-L League finals.

OK, I'm going to watch some NBA playoffs and relax after buzzing around Lancaster County all day today watching these games.

Until Monday, cheers.

Boys Volleyball joins the party

What a turnaround season it has been for the EAHS boys volleyball team.

After going 4-10 last year, the Bears rebounded to finish 6-6 in Section Two and clinch a spot in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs. That's the good news. The bad news is that they will play Hempfield in the first round on Monday night at 6 p.m. The Black Knights are the top ranked team in the district and have a powerful group year in and year out.

But E-town will go to war with them and won't let Hempfield out of the gym easily. The Bears also still have a shot to make it to districts, but it's pretty complicated.

Essentially, E-town is ranked just behind Conestoga Valley and Manheim Central for the fourth district berth. E-town needs CV to lose and Central to win in leagues, to force a tie between the Bears and the Buckskins, who would then play a one-game playoff for the final district berth.

We'll see what happens. Plenty more on the boys volleyball game in this week's Chronicle.

Offical Girls Soccer District Brackets

The official girls soccer District Three Class AAA bracket has been released today, and, as expected E-town will open up on Monday night at 7 p.m. at home against Governor Mifflin in the play-in round.

The first round of the bracket will be held on Wednesday, May 14, and fifth-seeded Warwick awaits the winner of E-town/Mifflin.

Here are the other play-in matchups (home team is listed first):
#16 Ephrata vs. #17 Spring Grove (winner gets #1 Cumberland Valley)
#8 Hershey vs. #25 Garden Spot
#9 Conestoga Valley vs. #24 Kennard Dale (Hershey/Spot winner will play CV/KD winner)
#13 Lower Dauphin vs. #20 Twin Valley (winner gets #4 Manheim Township)
#12 E-town vs. #21 Governor Mifflin (winner gets #5 Warwick)
#15 Chambersburg vs. #18 Susquehannock (winner gets #2 Central Dauphin)
#7 Penn Manor vs. #26 Susquehanna Township
#10 Cedar Cliff vs. #23 Cocalico (winner of PM/ST plays winner of CC/Cocalico)
#14 Mechanicsburg vs. #19 Waynesboro (winner gets #3 Hempfield).
#11 Dallastown vs. #22 Central York (winner gets #6 Wilson).

Again, all of those games will be played on Monday, May 12. The first round will be held on Wednesday, May 14. Quarterfinals will be Saturday, May 17. Semifinals will be Tuesday, May 20. And the finals will be held at Hersheypark Stadium on Friday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.

This and that

(Freshman Audrey Bamford will be a Bear to watch at this weekend's Lancaster-Lebanon League Track and Field meet. Photo by Chris Bradley).

Here are a few tidbits I wanted to throw out on a gray Thursday afternoon.

Girls Soccer:
For all intents and purposes, it appears that the Lady Bears will begin play in the District Three tournament on Monday night at home against Governor Mifflin. This is NOT official yet – first round pairings will be released tomorrow. But looking at the latest D3 power rankings, it looks like that will be E-town's matchup for its first district game.

The Mustangs are currently the 21st-ranked team, with a record of 7-7-3. E-town is 12th at 13-3-1. These two teams also matched up in districts last year, with E-town winning 2-1. More on this game in the days to follow (if indeed that is the matchup).

While we're talking about girls soccer, here are a few notes on E-town's loss to CV on Tuesday night in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.
• I was impressed by CV's defensive discipline. They limited E-town's amazing ability to possess the ball and put together strings of passes. They also did a good job of against Courtney Peffley and Katie Leverentz (E-town's top 2 scorers), keeping them away from the action as much as possible.
• Memo to whoever makes CV's uniforms: red numbers on a dark blue jersey are extremely difficult to read. Throw in an outline or something.
• I'll tell you, although CV did an excellent job forcing the Bears away from the playing style they are accustomed to, E-town did a great job of playing hard. This is a good group that never gives up and never, ever stops going hard. In particular, Dani Faller plays with her foot on the gas at ALL times in the middle of the field. She was out for the overtimes due to an injury, and her presence was missed. She is definitely a full-throttle player.
• CV may have been organized on defense, but they weren't very aggressive in the midfield. E-town routinely beat them to 50/50 balls.
• I think the loss to CV is just a setback for this E-town team. They are a talented bunch, and have what it takes to do well in districts and possibly get to states. If only they could avoid those pesky overtime games.
• Here's a scary thought: E-town has only TWO seniors on this team – LJ Funck and Erin Kurtz. Funck has been the team's rock on defense for years and will be tough to replace next year, but the Bears will be scary good next year as well.

Track and Field
The L-L meet is tomorrow (although the weather report doesn't look promising). Things get underway at Hempfield at 4 p.m. and continue Saturday at 10 a.m.

On the girls side, expect big things from Audrey Bamford in the high hurdles, high jump and the long jump. She'll qualify for districts in at least one of those events, and possibly all three of them.

Here is a list of the E-town girls that are in the top six on the L-L League Honor Roll, as of Sunday, May 4.

100: 6. Ann Romanuaskas, 12.6 (leader at 12.1).
100 Hurdles: 3. Audrey Bamford, 15.4 (leader at 15.2).
400 Relay: 5. Bailey Davis, Theta Cleis, Chelin Gallagher and Amanda Hershey, 52.3 (leaders at 50.3).
Shot Put: 5. Kirsten Hayes, 37-3-1/2 (leader at 39-5).
Long Jump: 3. Audrey Bamford, 16-10-1/2 (leader at 17-9-1/2).
High Jump: 5. Audrey Bamford, 5-3 (leader at 5-6).

For the boys, here is the L-L Honor Roll (again, as of May 4). Expect big things from Jordan Hallman, Dustin Horning, Larrian Payne, Josh McMaster.

100: 2. (four-way tie) Jordan Hallman, 10.8 (leader at 10.6).
200: 3. Jordan Hallman, 22.2 (leader at 21.9).
1,600: 2. Dustin Horning, 4:28.7 (leader at 4:19.03).
1,600 Relay: 3. John Romain, Greg Crawford, Josh McMaster, Jordan Hallman, 3:27.32 (leaders at 3:20.05).
High Jump: 5. Larrian Payne, 6-4-1/4 (leader at 6-11).


One last thing. I really have no qualms with giving one of my "competitors" a plug when they write a good piece. Ed Gruver of the Intelligencer put out a nice story today on Erick Baker and the EAHS baseball team. Here's a link.

Nice story by Ed on a great kid.

That's all for now, E-town. Until next time, stay classy.

Cheers.

E-town Athletic Hall of Fame

Hello out there in cyberspace. I wanted to try something a little different today, and that is to stir up a conversation with you, my awesome readers. I know the comments section of the blog hasn't really caught fire too much (except during basketball season when a few people chimed in to let me know how much of an idiot I am...good times), but I figured this topic might elicit a few responses from you.

As you all probably know, EASD started an Athletic Wall of Honor last year, inducting its inaugural class at halftime of an EAHS football game in October. The members of that inaugural class were: Randy Lokey, Eric Clair, Jane Hoover, the 1957 football team, Dr. Troy Thompson and Phil Daubert. All of these people were very deserving of the honor, but let's look at who you think should get in in the future. Remember, inductees can be players, coaches, teams, or supporters of the athletic department.

Now, I've only been here for four years, so I'm not exactly an encyclopedia of E-town sports history, but here are a few names I can come up with off of the top of my head that deserve consideration.

Andy Breault: outstanding quarterback, still holds most of the passing records at Kutztown University.

Tom Miller: the only state champion in E-town wrestling history.

The 1975 Field Hockey team: won states, still the only championship in program history.

Bill Frantz: One of the most successful football coaches in E-town history. From 1958 to 1968, Frantz had a 68-39-3 record, including a 9-1 mark in '65.

Jack Cassebaum: Most of us already know Jack. A tremendous coach (52-32-5) record and remains one of the biggest supporters of E-town athletics around.

Charlie Jackson: considered the "founding father" of Elizabethtown wrestling.

OK, that's enough from me. I want to hear what you guys think. So, who should be in the Wall of Honor?

L-L baseball playoff brackets

(The Bears will take on Lancaster Mennonite in the first round on Saturday)

Here are your Lancaster-Lebanon League baseball playoff brackets.

QUARTERFINALS (Saturday, May 10)
Games at War Memorial Field
10 a.m. – Manheim Township (15-1, Section One champs) vs. Donegal (12-4, Section Three runner up).
1 p.m. – Lancaster Catholic (11-4, Section Four champs) vs. Ephrata (10-6, Section Two runner up).
4 p.m – E-town (11-5, Section Two champs) vs. Lancaster Mennonite (10-6, Section Four runner up).
Game at Wenger Field
Noon – Northern Lebanon (13-3, Section Three champs) vs. Hempfield (12-4, Section One runner up).

SEMIFINALS (Tuesday, May 13)
Game locations and times not determined yet.
E-town/Mennonite winner vs. Northern Lebanon/Hempfield winner.
Catholic/Ephrata winner vs. Township/Donegal winner.

FINALS (Thursday, May 15)
To be held at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster at 7 p.m.

Softball L-L Playoff Brackets

(Jillian Ditzler and the Bears draw Pequea Valley in Saturday's first round).

Here are the Lancaster-Lebanon League softball playoff brackets. All of the games will be held at Garret Park in Willow Street.

QUARTERFINALS (Saturday, May 10)
10 a.m. – Warwick (14-2, Section One champs) vs. Manheim Central (12-4, Section Three runner up).
Noon – Donegal (16-0, Section Three champs) vs. Hempfield (13-3, Section One runner up).
2 p.m. – Pequea Valley (14-2, Section Four champs) vs. E-town (13-3, Section Two runner up).

4 p.m. – Solanco (14-2, Section Two champs) vs. Annville-Cleona (9-7, Section Four runner up).

SEMIFINALS (Monday, May 12)
5:30 p.m. – Solanco/AC winner vs. Donegal/Hempfield winner.
7:30 p.m. – PV/E-town winner vs. Warwick/MC winner.

FINALS (Wednesday, May 14)
At Garret Park, 7 p.m.

Girls Soccer L-L Playoff Brackets

(Kristin Markham and the Bears get underway in the L-L playoffs tonight)

Tonight, the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls soccer playoffs will get underway. Below are the schedules of all of the games, with E-town's in bold.

L-L QUARTERFINALS (TONIGHT)
Games at Penn Manor High School
Hempfield (10-1-1, Section One champs) vs. Donegal (12-1-1, Section Three runner up), 5:30 p.m.
E-town (11-2-1, Section Two champs) vs. Conestoga Valley (8-3-1, Section One co-runner up), 7:30.

Games at Pequea Valley
Penn Manor (8-3-1, Section One co-runner up) vs. Ephrata (11-3-0, Section Two runner-up), 5:30 p.m.
Lancaster Mennonite (13-1-0, Section Three Champs), vs. Manheim Township (6-5-1, Section One fourth place), 7:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS (Thursday, May 8)
Both games at Manheim Central (games will be at 5:30 and 7:30...not sure who plays when yet, but will post that when I get it).
Hempfield/Donegal winner vs. E-town/CV winner
Penn Manor/Ephrata winner vs. Mennonite/Township winner

FINALS (Saturday, May 10)
Finals will be held at Manheim Central at 7 p.m. (unless that time conflicts with a prom.)

So there you have it. I'll have more tomorrow, when things will be a little clearer after tonight's games.

Girls Soccer repeats in Section Two

(Courtney Peffley led the Bears with 14 goals in the regular season).

Well, the EAHS girls soccer team made it pretty interesting down the stretch, but in the end, the Bears are the Section Two champions for the second straight year, beating Manheim Central 1-0 on Thursday to clinch the crown.

After E-town lost to L-S last Tuesday, the Bears' section title hopes weren't as clear as they were when they beat Ephrata on Friday, April 25. But in the end, E-town had one less loss that Ephrata or L-S, beating both of them by just one point in the standings. E-town was 11-2-1 in section play, while both Ephrata and L-S were 11-3.

The Bears rounded out the regular season by dropping a 2-1 decision to Hershey on Friday, but the game really didn't matter, since E-town's section and league playoff standings were already in tact. In E-town's last 34 regular season games over the last two seasons, the Bears have only lost six games. Wow.

Here is E-town's current goal-tally sheet. (Note: these are from my calculations and, as we all know by now, I'm an idiot. So please, correct me if I'm wrong – but I don't think I am).
Courtney Peffley: 14
Katie Leverentz: 12
Dani Faller: 3
Kristen Lowe: 3
LJ Funck: 3
Kristin Markham: 3
Meghan Gore: 2
Carly Rosenberger: 1
Erin Kurtz: 1
Rachael Heckman: 1

E-town has scored 43 goals and allowed 15 all season long. Amazingly, they have played in EIGHT overtime games this year – including three double-overtime games. They are 4-3-1 in those games, which means the only games E-town has lost this year have come on sudden-death overtime goals.

Their league playoffs begin on Tuesday night against Section One runner-up Conestoga Valley. The game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. at Penn Manor High School. They will follow Hempfield-Donegal, which starts at 5:30 p.m.

CV went 8-3-1 in Section One this year, finishing two games behind Hempfield. But the Buckskins are the defending L-L Champions, so they know what it takes to win this tournament. For the Bears, they are looking to take the next step in the postseason. They had a phenomenal regular season last year, going 14-3, but lost to Manheim Township in the first round of leagues and fell to Central Dauphin in the second round of districts. This year's team is happy to be section champs, but they want to be playing on Saturday in the finals.

After Tuesday, the L-L semis are set for Thursday night at Manheim Central, with the finals also at Central on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Here's a quick look at CV. As I wrote earlier, the Bucks went 8-3-1 in Section One, finishing in second place behind Hempfield. They scored 24 goals and allowed just eight. E-town scored 37 and allowed 11 in section games. So both teams play stingy defense.

CV's offense is paced by players like Morgan Gerz and Sharee McCarty. On defense, backs Meredith Hayden, Lindsey Herr, Katie Neiss and Brit Simmons form a solid line in front of keeper Amanda McGowan.

I expect a very close game here between the two defensive stalwarts, with E-town winning by a one-goal margin. But I guess only time will tell, and we'll find out Tuesday.

EAHS Baseball wins section

(Photo by Chris Bradley: Andrew Weller and the Bears have won four straight).

So, I go out of town for three days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), and when I get back, BAM, E-town has itself two section champions, one league qualifier AND a district qualifier. Sheesh, talk about picking the wrong time to go on a mini-vacation here. Looks like I was spending a little too much time doing this and not enough time doing this.

Anyway, I'm back now – just in time for all of the L-L playoff action (plenty more on that later). Here's what I missed while I was away.

The EAHS baseball team clinched the Section Two title on Friday with a 13-3 win over Garden Spot. Erick Baker was the winning pitcher for E-town, and also hit a homerun.

In the second time through the Section Two games, E-town's bats have been extremely hot, scoring 9, 11, 13 and 13 runs in their last four section games – all E-town wins. The Bears are now 14-4 overall and 11-4 in league play, good for a three game lead over Ephrata right now. They have one more section game, today at Solanco, and will begin the L-L playoffs later this week. They were scheduled to finish the regular season on Wednesday, May 7, but that game has been canceled.

The L-L quarterfinals will be this Saturday, May 10. The semis are then Tuesday, May 13, and the finals are Thursday, May 15 at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster.

As soon as I get a bracket together for this thing, I'll have it posted here, as well as a preview on the Bears' first round game.

Congrats to E-town on a fantastic regular season. The Bears have battled through injuries and are finally getting healthy as a team right now and are very, very dangerous. They've already proven that they can beat some of the best teams in the league, taking down Donegal, Manheim Township and Hempfield already this season. They can hit with anyone, and they can pitch with anyone. It should be very interesting starting on Saturday, depending on who they draw, of course.

Stay tuned.