SOFTBALL: Kennard-Dale reaches end of line

Posted: May 24, 2013 in Softball
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By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

NEW OXFORD — Kennard-Dale softball coach Greg Coulton knew that history wasn’t on his team’s side going into Thursday’s District 3-AAA quarterfinal battle with Greencastle-Antrim.

The Blue Devils have owned Coulton’s team over the past few meetings, winning by the 10-run mercy-rule in the last two contests.

But on any given day, especially in these playoffs, it’s become apparent that any team can beat another. Thursday at New Oxford High School, the Rams nearly proved that theory again.

Trailing by a run in the top of the sixth, K-D scored the tying run on a throwing error, a miscue which also sent the potential go-ahead run to third base. Greencastle pitcher Elizabeth Ward, however, halted any further damage with an inning-ending strikeout.

Ward retired the side in the seventh before her sister, Penn State-bound Mary Ward, ripped a one-out single up the middle that scored pinch-runner Brooke Zeger from second to send Greencastle to a thrilling 2-1 victory.

The Blue Devils (17-6) advanced to Tuesday’s district semifinals against Donegal, an 11-1 winner over Susquehanna Township.

The Rams’ season ended with a 14-7 mark, that included a York-Adams Division III title.

“That’s softball,” Coulton said. “It’s the district playoffs (and they’re) a good team.”

K-D starter Julia D’Arrigo surrendered a leadoff single to Mackenzie Gayman to start the seventh. Zeger was then summoned as a pinch-runner and advanced to second on a steal when No. 9 hitter Haleigh Regal struck out.

That swipe of the base opened up first for Ward, a slick-hitting speedster who recently signed her letter of intent to play for the Nittany Lions next year. Coulton, however, never thought about pitching around one of the Blue Devils’ best hitters.

“No,” he said. “Not really.”

Seconds later, Ward smacked a liner past D’Arrigo and into center field for the game-winner.

While that decision may get second-guessed, Coulton focused on things his team didn’t do as a the main culprit in the loss.

“Not to take anything away from them, but that’s nothing (pitching-wise) that we haven’t seen all year,” he said. “We should have been feasting off her and we were just swinging at too many high pitches, pitches out of the strike zone, whereas Tuesday night (in a 14-4 drubbing of Shippensburg) we did not do that.”

The Rams didn’t help themselves by going just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. K-D had runners on second and third with one out in the third inning, but came up empty when Coulton sent Julia Peters from third on an infield grounder. Peters, who didn’t immediately break for home on contact, was out at the plate by several feet.

“That was a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t play there,” Coulton said. “But it was worth taking the chance, because I knew this was going to be one of those games. Get ‘em on, move ‘em around, and take a chance. You got to.”

G-A grabbed the early lead in the second inning. Ashlynn Schaffer singled and scored when Jennifer Patton blasted a double off the fence in left-center.

The Blue Devils, however, squandered a golden opportunity in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead. A single and double to start the frame put runners on second and third with no outs. D’Arrigo, however, displayed the skills of a magician by getting out of it unscathed with a popout, a strikeout and a groundout. That sent the game into the seventh inning still knotted at 1-1.

“We told her that she can’t be Desi Joines,” Coulton said of the program’s last standout pitcher. “You just be Julia D’Arrigo and she’s had a heck of a year also. If she can keep her walks down, she can be very, very effective.”

D’Arrigo allowed eight hits over six-plus inning. She struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. Sara Driggers and Sarah Baldwin each had two hits to pace the Rams.

G-A starter Elizabeth Ward yielded seven hits and struck out five over seven innings to earn the victory.

OTHER SOFTBALL

PEQUEA VALLEY 2, DELONE CATHOLIC 1: At Memorial Field, Delone Catholic’s season came to an end with a District 3-AA quarterfinal loss.

Freshman Cassie Rickrode pitched well in defeat, hurling a complete-game six-hitter. She struck out five and walked two. Her sixth-inning RBI single also accounted for Delone’s only run.

Unfortunately, Pequea Valley’s Amanda Houck pitched a little better, allowing just four hits. She struck out five and walked three.

Pequea Valley scored both its runs in the third inning.

Delone, which came in seeded No. 2, finished the season at 18-2. Seventh-seeded Pequea Valley improved to 14-7.

– Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com.

BASEBALL: Prego pitches West York to win

Posted: May 24, 2013 in Baseball
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By DICK VANOLINDA 505-5407 / @ydsports

DILLSBURG — West York pitcher Joe Prego was pretty much running on fumes by the seventh inning of Thursday’s District 3-AAA quarterfinal against Shippensburg.

Prego, though, was determined to finish what he started.

The senior right-hander gave up two runs and three hits in the final inning, but he stayed on the mound to earn the victory.

Prego’s pitching, combined with some clutch hits, a piece of daring base running and excellent defense, pushed the Bulldogs past Shippensburg, 5-3, and into the district semifinals.

West York will take on Greencastle-Antrim on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

Prego yielded 11 hits, but forced Shippensburg to strand eight runners. He struck out four and walked two.

“I was running out of gas (in the seventh),” Prego said. “I really didn’t have my best stuff today, (no one-two-three innings), but it doesn’t matter because I can rely on my defense. Our guys in the outfield (Chase James, Brandon Rauhauser and Brett Kinneman), we call them the three deer. The infielders make all the plays, and then there’s Cole Bixler behind the plate.”

The Bulldogs committed just one error, and that came in the seventh. They made a number of key plays, including one by Bixler that saved a run. That came in the fourth when Shippensburg’s Andrew Koser tried to score from third when a throw short hopped Bixler and rolled to the screen near the West York dugout on the third-base side. Bixler alertly retrieved the ball and fired it to Prego, who covered the plate. Prego tagged out a sliding Koser. The play allowed the Bulldogs to maintain their slim 1-0 lead.

“We reversed roles, I was blocking the plate,” Prego said.

Prego’s team opened the scoring in the third when Brandon Wetzel’s two-out single to center scored James from second base. James opened the inning by drawing a walk and moved to second on Rauhauser’s sacrifice bunt.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the fourth. Designated hitter Logan Stover started things by drawing a walk, and Sam Eyler entered as a courtesy runner for Stover. Eyler took second on Bixler’s sacrifice bunt and raced to third on Brett Kinneman’s deep fly to center field.

Eyler took a sizeable lead off third, and then, broke for the plate with Carson Fries at bat. Eyler’s gamble paid off as he completed the steal of home by crossing the plate before a Shippensburg player could apply a tag.

Fries kept the inning alive with a single, and following a walk to Andrew Copeland, Chase James drilled a two-out RBI single.

James, the No. 9-hitter, added another single in the seventh to complete an impressive line for the day: two at bats, two runs, two hits, one RBI.

“My success has come in swinging early in the at-bat,” said James who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in Monday’s 4-3 triumph over Northeastern. “As a team, we usually come through in the clutch (with hits).”

Bulldogs’ head coach Roger Czerwinski moved James down in the order to the nine hole three weeks ago.

“I like our No. 9 hitter to have speed, although it’s not like Brandon Rauhauser (the former nine hitter) doesn’t have speed,” Czerwinski said.. “But, in that leadoff role, he (James) didn’t feel comfortable.”

James and Brandon Kinneman delivered hits in the seventh. (Kinneman’s was a RBI single). Both runs the Bulldogs scored were unearned because of a two-out error.

West York needed the insurance runs in the seventh to hold off Shippensburg, which shaved a 5-1 deficit to 5-3 with two runs in its last at bat.

“Give credit to them sticking it to us in the seventh inning,” Czerwinski said. “That’s a quality team.”

James and Fries each had two hits for the Bulldogs, and Justin Pyne and Brady Barnhart produced two hits for the Greyhounds.

West York will carry a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday’s contest.

“This next game (the district semifinal) is the game we lost last year,” Czerwinski said. “Their (Greencastle’s) record is similar to ours.”

West York is 16-7, and Greencastle is 13-7.

Note: The Bulldogs’ coaches and players are inviting their fans to attend Monday morning’s practice (10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) at Sunset Lane Park. Light refreshments will be available.

OTHER BASEBALL

DALLASTOWN 7, WAYNESBORO 0: At Dillsburg, the Wildcats dominated the Indians in a District 3-AAAA quarterfinal contest.

The game was called in the seventh inning because of rain. The outcome was official.

The 14th-seeded Wildcats (13-8) now advance to Tuesday’s semifinals, when they will face No. 15 seed Exeter (16-7). Exeter beat No. 10 seed Chambersburg on Thursday, 4-1. The site and time for Tuesday’s semifinal has yet to be announced.

Chambersburg finished at 14-8, while No. 6 seed Waynesboro finished at 17-4-1.

Tyler Butcher pitched a complete game, four-hitter for Dallastown. He struck out four and didn’t walk any.

Tanner Forry had three hits, including a double, to lead Dallastown’s 15-hit attack. Zach Luman, Nick Sutton, Kevin Ludwig, Tom Golden and Brandon Yurek each added two hits for the winners. Luman tripled and Golden doubled. Ludwig had two RBIs.

YORK CATHOLIC 11, HIGH POINT 1: At Mechanicsburg, the Fighting Irish rolled into the District 3-A championship game.

In two district games, the Irish have now outscored their opponents, 28-3.

York Catholic will now face either Lancaster County Christian or Newport in the district finals on Wednesday at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Lancaster Country Christian was leading Newport 7-4 in the other semifinal when that game was suspended by rain. It will be resumed from the point of the suspension at 4 p.m. Friday at Creekview Park in Mechanicsburg.

In the first game at Creekview on Thursday, the No. 2 seed Irish (12-8) had no trouble with No. 3 seed High Point (14-3). The game was ended in the bottom of the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Erich Hartman went the distance on the mound to get the win, allowing just three hits. He struck out six and walked four. He also had two hits at the plate.

York Catholic was helped by eight walks and three errors from High Point. York also stole six bases.

Doug Mills had two hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases for the winners, while Jake Krevetski scored three runs. Matt McKim had a two-run single and Pat Clement had an RBI double.

– Reach Dick VanOlinda at dvanolinda@yorkdispatch.com.

Posted: May 24, 2013 in Girls' Lacrosse
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By JOHN WALK 505-5406 / @yorksportsguy

Some of them were crying as Coach Kelly Wetzel hung silver medals around their necks Thursday evening.

For the most part, though, the girls on the top-seeded Kennard-Dale lacrosse team had smiles on their faces following a 14-10 loss to No. 7 seed Manheim Township in the District 3 championship at Hersheypark Stadium.

Making their first appearance in the district title game, the Rams proved they could more than hang with a Blue Streaks program that has now won all five district titles since the tournament began in 2009. Manheim Township (20-4) also improved to 20-0 in the district tournament.

Kennard-Dale’s four-goal margin of defeat was the smallest in the district title game since Penn Manor lost to Manheim Township

Kennard-Dale’s Nicole Black moves the ball against Manheim Township during the District 3 lacrosse championship.
MORE PHOTOS (Bill Kalina)

by a goal in 2009.

“They (Manheim Township) have been playing (lacrosse) since they came out of the womb,” Kennard-Dale senior attack Nicole Black said. “They play year-round together. They’re awesome. I’m so proud of my team for just staying with them the whole game.”

Black helped the Rams (22-2) get started when she assisted teammate Lyndsey Duty for the first score of the game to put Kennard-Dale up, 1-0, 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the contest. But the Rams soon lost the lead and wouldn’t regain it until Black (two goals, four assists) scored her team’s final goal with 13:58 remaining in the second half to give Kennard-Dale a 10-9 edge.

“(I’m thinking) ‘There is a lot of time (left), there’s a lot that can happen,’” Black said of the go-ahead goal. “I think we let it get in our heads. I think we just kind of gave it to them a little bit. We got those two (yellow) cards. We started getting frustrated with each other because we were tired running around trying to guard three girls at once.”

The Rams had trouble containing Manheim Township’s lone senior starter, Molly Hendrick, a University of North Carolina recruit. Hendrick (seven goals, two assists) put the game away with two goals in the last 8:24 to seal the win.

“She’s got a quick first step,” Black, a La Salle recruit, said of Hendrick. “She’s got that first step off the draw. She’s an animal. She’s a tank.”

While Black, Duty (two goals) and Morgan Day (four goals) again led the Kennard-Dale attack, the Rams were missing a breakout performance from a role player, like they had received throughout the district tournament.

Still, Wetzel isn’t disappointed in his team’s performance.

“We were tired. (We had) two physical games (this week),” he said. “It’s the end of the season. This is our 24th game.”

Manheim Township outshot Kennard-Dale, 28-15. Rams’ senior goalie Alana Pietra had a fantastic game with 15 saves, including nine stops in the first half.

“I knew it was gonna be a tough one,” Pietra said. “I had to keep my head up no matter what. We’re going to states next week so that’s just awesome.”

States: The Rams will now prepare for the PIAA tournament for the second time in program history. They’ll face the District 11 champion on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

Parkland and Southern Lehigh will compete in the District 11 championship Friday night.

– Reach John Walk at jwalk@yorkdispatch.com.

York Tech’s Henderson learns triple jump quickly

Posted: May 23, 2013 in Track and Field
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By DICK VanOLINDA/505-5047/@ydsports

Two weeks ago, York Tech’s head track and field coach, Bradley Snell, told triple jumper Ronald Henderson to close his eyes and visualize the perfect jump.

Henderson did more than visualize a perfect jump. He executed one last Friday at the District 3 Track and Field Championships.

The Spartans’ senior hopped, stepped and jumped 47 feet, 3/4 of an inch — almost two feet farther than his previous record of 45-31/2.

His reward? A gold medal.

“It felt good when I landed,” Henderson said. “As soon as I got up, I knew I scored a big number. I could also tell it was a good one because of the reaction of my coaches.”

Henderson consistently jumped 44 and 45 feet during the regular season despite taking off behind, instead of from, the board.

“He never hit the board all year and was giving up a foot,” Snell said. “At districts when the jumper from Carlisle (Isa Paschall) went 46, I thought I would like to see him (Henderson) go for it. I wasn’t worrying about him fouling.”

Henderson did just as his coach hoped, hitting the board and responding with a championship performance.

“My coaches (Joe Marks and Karl Oswald work with Henderson on his jumping), tell me to go for the board,” he said. “Monday, in practice, I hit the board every time.”

Henderson’s jumps are especially impressive considering this is his first season as a triple jumper. He was on the team two years ago, but didn’t compete in the triple jump.

Because of “family issues,” he didn’t go out for track and field last year.

How did he get involved with the triple jump in his final high school season?

“Coach Marks. He can pick a jumper out anywhere,” Henderson said.

Marks, a York Tech graduate and retired teacher who at one time held the York-Adams triple jump record (44-3), said that Henderson is the best triple jumper he’s ever coached.

“He has the ability to go off both feet, and he has great spring,” Marks said. “To do what he’s done in his first year as a triple jumper, is incredible.”

The Spartans’ standout is seeded second behind Garnet Valley’s Wellington Zaza for the PIAA State Class AAA championship, which is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Shippensburg University.

Henderson is aiming to go where no York-Adams triple jumper has ever gone before.

“I want a 50,” he said. “If I get a 50, you’ll see me running across the field.”

Henderson’s coaches and many of his teammates, including Cody Lehr who qualified for states in the 400 meters with a time of 49.96 seconds, will be at Shippensburg. So will his mother, Tinisha, who usually isn’t to able to attend dual meets because of a work commitment.

“She took the day off (on Friday),” Henderson said. “She’s my No. 1 supporter. I’m glad Cody gets to go and compete, too. His parents treat me like their son.”

Henderson, who lives in the west end of York City, recently ran into another outstanding triple jumper who grew up in the city: York High graduate and current Penn State student/athlete Jarred Posey. Posey recorded a 48-2 3/4 triple jump in his senior year with the Bearcats.

“We played some (youth) football together with the Wellington Panthers,” Henderson said. “I met him at a park, and he asked me how I did (at the district meet).”

Henderson hopes to follow Posey’s lead and continue his career in college, but he doesn’t know where yet.

“I’m hoping to get some offers after the state meet,” he said.”

– Reach Dick VanO linda at dvanolin da@yorkdispatch.com.

Dimm turns out lights on Central volleyball team

Posted: May 23, 2013 in Boys' Volleyball
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By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

DALLASTOWN — Having two or three of the best players on the court at anytime is usually a good omen for a high school boys’ volleyball team.

Wednesday night was an exception to that rule when Central York battled Hempfield in a District 3-AAA semifinal at Dallastown High School.

While the Panthers rode the trio of hitters Alex Klunk, Royce Clemens, and Ryan Gardner to 41 kills, the Black Knights trumped them with the best player on the court in Garret Dimm.

Dimm was a terror on the Central defense throughout. He blasted an amazing 30 kills to go with a block and three aces to lead his team to a 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22 victory.

Top-seeded Hempfield (17-0) will face No. 2 seeded Central Dauphin (14-2) in the finals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. back at Dallastown. The Panthers (13-3) will battle Chambersburg (14-2) in the third-place match at Central York High School at 6 p.m. Friday. All four teams have already clinched berths in the PIAA state tournament. Central Dauphin defeated Chambersburg in the other semifinal, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23.

“He played very, very well tonight,” said Central coach Brad Livingston of Dimm.

Even that may be an understatement. Whenever Hempfield needed a point, the ball found its way to Dimm time and time again. Despite a double-block in his face almost every time he attacked the ball, Dimm somehow found ways to put balls on the ground, no matter where he stood on the court.

Clemens did his best to try to match Dimm point-for-point, something that was evident in Game 4 when those two seemed to play a game of trying to one-up the other.

“We’ve seen that before,” Livingston said. “We went back and forth with them about four weeks ago for 49-47. So we’ve seen that before and hopefully we’ll see it again. I’m sure we’ll play them again this year.”

Dimm’s outstanding play notwithstanding, the Panthers had their chances in Games 1, 3 and 4 to squeeze out victories.

Central led for the better part of the first game until Hempfield took the lead at 20-19 after a Panther hitting error. A Klunk kill on the next point tied the game, but the Knights responded by scoring the next three points to gain control.

In Game 3, Central rallied from a 16-13 deficit to close to within 22-21 late, but couldn’t string together enough consecutive points. That was also the case in Game 4, when the Panthers rallied from a 9-3 deficit to get to within 21-20.

“I think this is very hard for two (top) teams to go against each other,” Livingston said. “And that goes for the first game (Central Dauphin vs. Chambersburg) tonight. Four of the top teams in the state played here tonight.

“The bottom line here is that it’s a lot of pressure and emotion that you have to deal with. I thought that we came back and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end, but we just weren’t quick enough to do it today.”

While the Panthers left the Dallastown gym upset, Livingston gave them only a little bit of advice heading into Friday’s consolation match against the defending PIAA Class AAA state champions.

“Get over it by (Thursday) morning,” Livingston told his team.

Clemens led the Panthers with 19 kills, to go with five blocks, three digs and two assists, while Klunk (12 kills) and Gardner (10 kills) also paced the attack. Setter Dylan Hose dished out 47 assists.

Central finished with 21 blocks as a team, with Clemens and Jason Gardner tallying five apiece.

– Reach Ryan Vander sloot at sports@yorkdis patch.com.

Northeastern in District 3-AA volleyball finals

Posted: May 23, 2013 in Boys' Volleyball
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By JOHN WALK 505-5406 / @yorksportsguy

His team down two points in the opening game of a District 3-AA boys’ volleyball semifinal, Northeastern coach Matt Wilson called a timeout to get his top-seeded Bobcats back on track.

“I got to make some changes right now,” Wilson said during the timeout, while staring at his junior setter, Matt Hollinger.

Hollinger stayed on the bench when play resumed before re-entering when No. 5 Schuylkill Valley went up by four points, 14-10. That turned out to be Northeastern’s largest deficit Wednesday night at Central York High School.

“I wasn’t playing up to my expectations,” Hollinger said. “I just wasn’t making plays out on the block, so I got taken out.”

With Hollinger back out on the court in Game 1, the Bobcats responded by going on an 11-7 run to take a one-point advantage, marking their first lead of the contest. Northeastern wouldn’t look back from there, beating Schuylkill Valley in three games, 25-21, 25-8, 25-13.

“Miscommunication and being out of position for the most part,” Hollinger said of the Bobcats’ issues in Game 1. “All the middle would do is tip under the block. I wasn’t under the block in Game 1. Once I got under the block, I was tipping balls.”

Hollinger finished with 19 digs. Teammates Stephen Braswell (14 kills, eight digs) and Reese Devilbiss (10 kills, eight digs) also paced Northeastern.

Although the Bobcats (17-1) advanced to the District 3-AA title game for the first time in two years, they sounded more like a team that lost.

“We were just slow from the very start,” Devilbiss said. “We were slow the whole night. This isn’t how we play. I don’t know what happened. We need to pick it up going into states. I don’t know what to say about it. This is just bad right now.”

Wilson had similar comments.

“Tonight’s one of those nights where we survive into next week no matter what,” Wilson said. “But the game isn’t just to limp into states. You want to be going full-speed. I just felt we needed a bit of a jolt (in the first game). I don’t know if we got that or not (after the timeout). I think we need to get some peoples’ attention that at some point here we gotta play better. We’re struggling right now, no doubt.”

Championship: Northeastern’s opponent in the district title game on Friday at Dallastown High School will be No. 2 Manheim Central (19-2). The Barons defeated No. 3 Lancaster Mennonite (16-4) in four games in the first contest of the night at Central, 20-25, 36-34, 29-27, 25-19.

Friday’s title game will begin at 6 p.m.

The Bobcats, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AA by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, last faced Manheim Central, which is ranked No. 5 in the state by the PVCA, in the District 3-AA third-place game a year ago, beating the Barons in three games. Friday’s match-up is also a rematch of the 2009 District 3-AA title game, which Northeastern won in five games.

“They returned just about everybody (from last year), but everybody has gotten better, too,” Wilson said. “We watched them tonight. They’re probably the best team right now in District 3-AA. We got our work cut out for us.”

He said his club will need to make some improvements if they want to win the program’s fourth district crown in five years and 13th district title overall.

“Our next-round opponent is going to be doing some similar things that’s not all traditional,” Wilson said. “We’re struggling a little bit with some of the non-traditional things that are taking place. We need to be ready and able to handle that.”

– Reach John Walk at jwalk@yorkdispatch.com.

District 3 baseball sites, times set for Thursday

Posted: May 22, 2013 in Baseball
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The six York-Adams League teams that are still alive in the District 3 Baseball Tournament have learned the sites and times for their upcoming games.

In Class AAAA, No. 8 seed Spring Grove (15-7) will battle No. 16 seed McCaskey (13-8) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Penn Manor High School in a quarterfinal contest.

In another AAAA quarterfinal, No. 14 seed Dallastown (12-8) will battle No. 6 seed Waynesboro (17-3-1) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Northern York High School.

West York will also play at Northern York on Thursday in a District 3-AAA quarterfinal. The eighth-seeded Bulldogs (15-7) will battle No. 16 seed Shippensburg (12-9) at 4 p.m. Thursday.

In another AAA quarterfinal, No. 3 seed Littlestown (17-3) will face No. 11 seed Hamburg (17-6) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Lampeter-Strasburg High School.

In a Class AA semifinal, No. 1 seed Delone Catholic (16-4) will take on No. 4 seed Tulpehocken (13-8) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Ephrata High School.

In a Class A semifinal, No. 2 seed York Catholic (11-8) will battle No. 3 seed High Point (14-2) at Creekview Park in Mechanicsburg at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Go here for the complete District 3 baseball brackets.

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