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York Dispatch Staff Report

York Dispatch Staff Report

Taylor Rohrbaugh put on a show for some softball fans in Berks County on Tuesday afternoon.

Rohrbaugh pitched a four-hit shutout and also slugged three doubles in the Panthers’ 5-0 non-league victory over Wilson in West Lawn.

The game ended after six innings because of rain.

Rohrbaugh struck out five and walked one. She also had an RBI at the plate.

Ally Dziwis added three hits, including a double, and one RBI for Central. Jordyn Miller doubled and drove in two runs, while Kelsey Wisner had two hits and one RBI.

Central, the York-Adams Division I champion, improved to 18-2 overall. Wilson fell to 11-6.

The Panthers were ranked No. 3 in the latest District 3-AAAA power rankings, while Wilson was at No. 11.

By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

DALLASTOWN — If there’s one girl who could relate to the predicament that Dallastown freshman pitcher Jaelynn Harbold found herself in Thursday afternoon, it would be Central York’s Taylor Rohrbaugh.

With the loss of standout pitcher Kelsey Collins to an arm injury, the Wildcats were forced to send out Harbold against the Panthers in a York-Adams League Division I softball showdown. It was almost identical to the situation that Rohrbaugh found herself in a few years ago when Central lost its standout pitcher, Lauren Walker, to injury.

The Panthers suffered through a four-game losing streak that season. The Wildcats can now empathize.

Central scored four runs on six hits in the first inning and added seven more in the seventh off Harbold. That was plenty for Rohrbaugh, the Panther ace, who recorded 15 groundball outs en route to an 11-1 victory.

The triumph wrapped up the division title for the Panthers, who improved to 16-2 overall and 10-2 in the division. The Wildcats fell to 12-5 overall and finished 9-4 in the division. Central will wrap its division season Monday at South Western.

“I totally understand,” Rohrbaugh said, talking about Harbold. “I was that girl. I know what it feels like.”

While the Panthers managed to get six hits from their first seven batters, most of them were groundballs that found their way into the outfield. Harbold settled down after that and allowed just four hits over five scoreless innings to keep her team close.

After the home team broke the shutout on Amanda Jones’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers tacked on run after run in the seventh to put the game and the division out of reach for the Wildcats.

“I always say that hits are contagious,” said Rohrbaugh, who also finished with five hits in five at-bats offensively. “We have all the confidence in the world and the hits were just contagious and you just keep going from there.”

It was sweet revenge for Rohrbaugh and company after the Wildcats claimed an impressive 10-0 victory over them a few weeks ago. Dallastown hit Rohrbaugh hard in that game and she admittedly did some homework to make adjustments in the rematch.

“This is a game we really wanted,” she said. “I came and watched other (Dallastown) games and I took notes about how other pitchers pitched them and I used that in my scouting report.”

Rohrbaugh dazzled on the mound by keeping the ball low in the strike zone. That resulted in the unusually high number of groundouts, six of which were come-backers to the mound.

“I have all my confidence in the world in this team,” Rohrbaugh said. “It was a great win.”

While Harbold didn’t quite have the debut she may have dreamed of, Dallastown coach Jeff Deardorff didn’t want to put too much pressure on his first-year pitcher.

“I just told her to relax,” he said. “Relax and go out there and have fun.”

Kayla Resh, Kelsey Shifflett, Kelsey Wisner and Ally Dziwis each collected two hits as part of a 17-hit attack by the Panthers. Jones was the lone Dallastown player with more than a single hit. The shortstop finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

OTHER SOFTBALL

YORK TECH 16, BIG LERVILLE 1: At Spry, the Spartans rolled to a mercy-rule victory in a game that lasted just 21/2 innings. Dani Aikins had three hits, including a double, for Tech. Alexis Boie and Ashley Tolley also doubled for the winners. Lindsay McWilliams got the win, allowing just three hits with three strikeouts and zero walks. Tech was helped by 10 walks allowed by Biglerville.

DOVER 7, NORTH EASTERN 1: At Manchester, Dover’s Lexi Gohn pitched a complete game and helped her own cause with two hits and two RBIs. Gohn, who struck out four and walked two, checked Northeastern on four hits. Natalie Cutright went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Dover, and Alyssa Lawton was 2-for-4. Allie Sweitzer had two hits for Northeastern.

SUSQUEHANNOCK 7, SPRING GROVE 2: At Spring Grove, Sara Lynch pitched a one-hitter to beat the York-Adams Division II champion. Emily Fodel, Jordan McGee and Mallory Lebo combined to go 7-for-11 for the Warriors with three runs scored and two RBIs. Hayley Norton homered for Spring Grove’s only hit. Susquehannock improved to 9-7 overall and 5-6 in the division. Spring Grove fell to 13-7 overall and 10-3 in the division.

HANOVER 10, YORK CATHOLIC 9: At Hanover, Emily Albright went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Hawkettes. Ashley Lawson added three hits for Hanover and also got the win on the mound, while Sara Durika added two hits. For York Catholic, Carrie Fix slugged two homers and a double. Hanover led 10-1 after two innings and then withstood a furious York Catholic rally.

WILSON 9, RED LION 4: At West Lawn, the Lions dropped the non-league contest to fall to 10-6 on the season. Brittany Smith (3-for-3, two RBIs), JayeLynn Reed (2-for-4, two RBIs) and Marissa Kramer (2-for-3) led the Bulldogs (10-4).

PALMYRA 10, WEST YORK 0: At West York, Kelsie Weaver doubled for West York’s only hit in a non-league game that was ended after five innings because of the mercy rule.

– Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com.

York Dispatch Staff Report

Kayla Resh pitched a one-hit shutout to lead Central York to a 10-0 non-league victory over visiting Eastern York on Wednesday afternoon.

The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Resh struck out 10, walked one and allowed one single.

Jordyn Miller (2-for-3, triple, two RBIs), Kyla Caruso (3-for-4, double, two RBIs) and Taylor Rohrbaugh (double) led Central’s offense.

The Panthers improved to 15-2 overall, while Eastern fell to 10-7.

Central will travel to Dallastown at 4:15 p.m. Thursday for a York-Adams Division I showdown. Central leads the division at 9-2, while Dallastown is second at 9-3.

OTHER SOFTBALL

SPRING GROVE 11, YORK SUBURBAN 1: At Suburban, the Rockets broke open the York-Adams Division II game with a seven-run fifth. Hayley Norton led the Rockets, going 4-for-4, including a triple and three doubles. Alex Botts (two hits), Jenna Jacoby (three hits, double) and Jen Linaburg (double) also excelled for the Rockets. Jacoby also pitched a complete game, striking out five and walking two. The game ended after six innings because of the 10-run mercy rule. For the Trojans, Sara Golden went 2-for-3. Spring Grove improved to 10-2 in the division and 13-6 overall. The Rockets have already clinched the division title.

York Dispatch Staff Report

The Central York softball team didn’t play on Tuesday afternoon, but still took over sole possession of first place in York-Adams Division I.

That’s because Central’s two main rivals — Dallastown and Red Lion — each suffered home losses.

The Wildcats dropped a 9-3 decision against visiting New Oxford, while Red Lion lost to visiting South Western, 9-8.

Central (14-2 overall) leads the division at 9-2, followed by Dallastown (12-4 overall) at 9-3 and Red Lion (10-5 overall) at 8-4.

At Dallastown, Nicole Ayers pitched a complete-game four-hitter for New Oxford. She struck out 10 and walked seven. Sarah Groft had two hits, including a three-run homer, for the Colonials, while Ayers had two hits and two RBIs. Sarah Smith also had two hits for the Colonials. Jenna Eckenrode was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Wildcats.

At Red Lion, a dramatic six-run seventh-inning rally led South Western. Down to their last out with a runner on second, the Mustangs used five singles and two walks to score the six runs and take a 9-8 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, South Western’s Jordan Chell snared a line drive and doubled off a runner to help pitcher Kyle Toomey preserve the one-run lead. Toomey went the distance to get the win. Chell finished 3-for-3, while Heather Dell went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Taylor Gould (three hits), Megan Chapman (two hits, triple) and Alexa Taylor (two hits) led Red Lion.

OTHER SOFTBALL

WEST YORK 7, LIT TLESTOWN 6: At West York, Kayla Michael had three hits, including a pair of triples, and drove in four runs to power the Bulldogs. Emma Raymond delivered the game-tying and game-winning RBIs for the Bulldogs. Sarah Godfrey went the distance to get the win on the mound, allowing just two earned runs. She struck out four and walked none. West York won despite committing eight errors. Emily Lanahan had two hits and two RBIs for Littlestown. In the top of the seventh, West York left fielder Claire Flohr made a running catch to save extra bases and help preserve West York’s 7-6 lead.

HANOVER 14, YORK TECH 4: At Hanover, the Hawkettes pounded out 16 hits in the Division IV game. Emily Albright and Kendra Klunk collected three hits apiece for Hanover, which scored seven runs in the second inning. Dani Aikins slugged a two-run homer for York Tech, which managed just four hits off Hawkettes’ pitcher Ashley Lawson. Lawson struck out seven and walked three.

DELONE CATHOLIC 11, YORK CATHOLIC 1: At York, Cassie Rickrode pitched a complete-game seven-hitter for Delone. She struck out eight and walked one. Rickrode also had two hits, including a triple. Liz Lynch and Carrie Fix each had two hits for the Irish. York Catholic outhit Delone, 7-5, but was hurt by eight walks and six errors. The game was ended after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule. Delone improved to 14-0 overall and 12-0 in York-Adams Division IV. The Squirettes have clinched the division title.

SUSQUEHANNOCK 8, DOVER 7: At Glen Rock, Sara Lynch picked up the victory, striking out seven and walking three. Megan Green got the save, with one strikeout and one walk. Jordan McGee doubled for the winners. Lexi Gohn pitched a complete game in the loss. She also homered. Natalie Cutright went 3-for-3 with a walk for Dover.

WRIGHTSVILLE — There aren’t many softball teams in the York-Adams League that can get consistent contributions from players up and down the lineup.

Over the first part of the 2013 season, that certainly applied to the Eastern York Golden Knights. Coach Brad Rohrbaugh’s team had its regular standouts at the top of the lineup, but the bottom was a different story.

Then came this week.

The Knights have seemed to find a magical elixir that cured those woes.

Eastern earned come-from-behind wins on Tuesday over York Tech and on Wednesday against Littlestown. Eastern rallied from a 15-8 deficit after five innings vs. Tech, and then prevailed with a walk-off victory over the Bolts on an RBI single in the seventh.

Thursday afternoon, Rohrbaugh’s club did it one more time against Division III-leading Kennard-Dale. The Knights sent 10 batters to the plate in a six-run second inning and handed the Rams their first loss in divisional play with a 7-4 triumph.

Eastern improved to 9-2 in the league (9-6 overall) with the victory. The Rams fell to 9-1 in divisional play and 9-5 overall.

“It was a huge game for us,” Rohrbaugh said. “The girls are finally coming together as a unit. If you look at tonight’s scorebook, you’ll see that the top of the order through the bottom of the order brought runs across.”

Katie Sollenberger, the team’s No. 6 hitter, clubbed two singles, while Leanne Lagowski, who follows Sollenberger in the lineup, drove in two runs with a big triple in the second frame.

While the Knights took advantage of opportunities in the second, the same couldn’t be said for the Rams. K-D managed to score just one run in the first off Eastern starter Sierra Arnold despite have the bases loaded with just one out.

“We all know how that feels,” Rohrbaugh said. “It takes a lot of wind out of you. Especially when it happens in the first inning.”

The visitors had plenty of chances against Arnold throughout the game, a fact that disappointed K-D coach Greg Coulton. The Rams collected 10 hits in the loss but were just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

“Too many swings and misses,” Coulton said. “Our hitting wasn’t disciplined and we didn’t run the bases well either. We have to be more disciplined at the plate.”

After K-D pitcher Julia D’Arrigo retired the first batter of the second, the home team did its damage with seven of their eight base hits for the contest to take the lead for good.

The damage could have been worse had it not been for a couple of outstanding plays by the K-D defense. Center fielder Nicole McCleary threw out a runner trying to score on a single and another runner at third trying to advance the extra base on a single.

D’Arrigo settled down after that and allowed just a run-scoring single to Sollenberger in the sixth. She struck out five and walked five.

Arnold somehow managed to keep the Rams at bay despite giving them a slew of opportunities. In addition to the 10 hits allowed, she walked two, while her defense was charged with two errors.

The loss, while obviously satisfying for Rohrbaugh’s club, however, won’t mean a lot unless they continue their hot play into next week. The Knights have big games against Central York and Bermudian Springs before paying the Rams a visit next Thursday in what could be the game that decides the Division III title.

“We had a big win last night (against Littlestown),” Rohrbaugh said. “And that set the tone for today’s game. We have Central on Monday and that’s huge. I love the competition and I love our schedule. I think our girls are coming to their peak at just the right time.”

OTHER SOFTBALL:

FAIRFIELD 6, YORK CATHOLIC 4 (9 INNINGS): At York Catholic, Meagan Leckemby hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to secure the victory for the Green Knights. For the Irish, Carrie Fix pitched a complete game, while striking out 11 and walking four.

YORK TECH 24, BIGLERVILLE 8: At Biglerville, the Spartans jumped out to a 16-0 lead after the top of the first and went to capture the victory. Abby Polakoff, Dani Aikens, Cheyenne Fulcher, Toni Warms and Alex Boie each connected for a double. Tech picked up its first victory on the season.

– Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com.

York Dispatch Staff Report

By JOHN WALK 505-5406 / @yorksportsguy

RED LION — Kelsey Collins or not, the Red Lion softball team figured it had to keep executing the fundamentals that have made the Lions so successful this season to beat Dallastown on Wednesday afternoon.

“Since I’ve taken over here, this is my third year now, we’ve always been able to hit,” Red Lion coach Troy Eveler said. “We struggled more with our defense. We had some miscues today but we’ve gotten better at our defense than how we used to be.”

The host Lions got plenty of offense, made quite a few outstanding defensive plays and got just enough pitching to beat Dallastown, 16-10, on Wednesday. It avenged a 7-6 loss to Dallastown earlier in the year.

“At the beginning of the game I was like ‘It’s just gonna be like last game. Back and forth,’” said Kelsey Clever, one of five Red Lion seniors. “(Dallastown) ended up winning by one (the last game). It motivated us to come out and play harder this time.”

With the win, Red Lion (8-2 division, 10-3 overall) moved into a three-way tie for first place in York-Adams Division I with Dallastown (8-2, 11-3) and Central York (8-2, 11-2).

Dallastown, meanwhile, has now lost back-to-back league games after starting the year 8-0 in league competition. To make matters worse, Collins is currently dealing with an injury to her right triceps.

Collins, who led Dallastown to the District 3-AAAA title game last season, didn’t see action Wednesday. She instead sat in the dugout with her right throwing elbow being supported in a sling. She’ll undergo a magnetic resonance image (MRI) Thursday to determine if there is a tear to her triceps.

“She’s had pain in her arm for quite awhile and thought it would go away, so she’s just gonna go and get it checked out,” Dallastown coach Jeff Deardorff said.

With Collins out, Red Lion took advantage by collecting 16 runs on 15 hits and two walks off of Dallastown junior pitcher Kayla Merriman, who tossed six innings. The Wildcats’ five errors didn’t help their cause, though, as six of Red Lion’s runs were unearned because of defensive miscues.

“We have to regroup and keep playing hard and keep scoring a lot of runs and play a little bit better defense,” Deardorff said. “Red Lion hit the ball hard but we gave them some plays, too.”

Red Lion, which returned all eight starting position players and two starting pitchers this season, took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning before Dallastown struck back with a six-run second inning. Red Lion kept attacking, though, scoring two runs in the second inning and another in the third before a nine-run fourth inning put them ahead for good, 13-6.

All but one Red Lion batter got a hit and five had multiple hits, led by Clever (3-for-3, two RBIs, four runs scored) and Ali Posey (3-for-5, RBI, three runs scored). Clever, a shortstop, and Posey, a left fielder, also combined for eight put-outs in the field, including two diving grabs by Posey.

“We’re always confident,” Eveler said. “Once we got our defense straightened out, we feel like we can compete with anybody if we play good defense. We can hit, knock on wood.”

Pitcher Katie Schultz got the win for Red Lion despite allowing 13 hits and walking five with one strikeout in seven innings of work.

SOFTBALL

EASTERN YORK 6, LIT TLESTOWN 5: At Wrightsville, Grace Divet’s single in the bottom of the seventh drove home Sierra Arnold from second to break a 6-6 tie and clinch the York-Adams Division III victory for the Golden Knights. Divet, Arnold and Lauren Reichard were each 2-for-4. Teammate Lauren Miller hit a double. For the Thunderbolts, Katlin Yealy went 3-for-4, including a double, while Nicole Snider went 2-for-4 with a double. Vicky Skillman hit a two-run homer in the second and also doubled. Eastern improved to 8-2 in the division and 8-6 overall. The Golden Knights face division leader Kennard-Dale on Thursday in Wrightsville.

NORTHEASTERN 7, YORK SUBURBAN 5: At Manchester, the Bobcats trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth, when they plated three runs to take the lead for good. Caitlyn Reinoehl led the Bobcats by hitting a triple and picking up two RBIs. Katelynn Reed hit a double and also picked up two RBIs for Northeastern, while pitcher Maddie Renard picked up the complete-game victory on the mound, striking out a season-high seven. For the Trojans, Emmy Turybury went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while teammates Britt Dalton and Jenn Lloyd each went 2-for-4.

CENTRAL YORK 13, NEW OXFORD 5: At New Oxford, Taylor Rohrbaugh belted three doubles, drove in four runs and scored two runs, while also getting the win on the mound for Central. Rohrbaugh pitched a complete game, striking out 10, walking three and allowing four earned runs. Sarah Groft tripled twice, scored two runs and drove in two runs for New Oxford. Central improved to 11-2 overall and 8-2 in York-Adams Division I.

SPRING GROVE 9, DOVER 5: At Spring Grove, the Rockets trailed 5-4 going into the fourth, when Hayley Norton connected for a two-run homer off the left-field foul pole to give her team the lead for good. Norton also connected for a solo homer in the first and picked up four RBIs for the game. Teammate Nikki Filbey went 1-for-1, including two runs scored. For the Eagles, Alyssa Lawnton went 4-for-5, while Jordan Baum and Megan Goodman each went 2-for-4. Spring Grove improved to 8-2 in York-Adams Division II and 10-4 overall.

YORK CATHOLIC 13, YORK TECH 2 (FIVE IN NINGS): At Spry, York Catholic put together two four-run innings and a three-run inning en route to the Division IV victory. Liz Lynch delivered three hits, including two triples, for the Fighting Irish, and Arianna Sindelar supplied two hits. Alexis Boie and Tori Warns had doubles for York Tech. Amanda Summers earned the victory for York Catholic. Summers, who allowed five hits, struck out two and walked two.

SUSQUEHANNOCK 24, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 12: At York Springs, Lily Yoakum and Madi Shockey each cracked two homers and drove in five runs for the Warriors. Each Warriors starter had at least one hit. Morgan Williams had four hits and six RBIs for Bermudian, which has given up 62 runs in its last two games.

– Reach John Walk at jwalk@yorkdispatch.com.