Our baseball guru, Dave Byrne, put together this L-L League baseball playoff preview capsule for your reading pleasure …
LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
WHEN: Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday.
WHERE: Ephrata’s War Memorial Field, Wenger Field in Fredericksburg and Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster.
SCHEDULE: Saturday at War Memorial Field — Manheim Township vs. Donegal, 10 a.m.; Lancaster Catholic vs. Ephrata, 1 p.m.; Elizabethtown vs. Lancaster Mennonite, 4 p.m. Saturday at Wenger Field — Northern Lebanon vs. Hempfield at noon. Tuesday (tentatively) at War Memorial Field — semifinals at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Clipper Magazine Stadium — championship, 7 p.m.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Township (18-1) ran away from the field in Section 1 to win its third section title in a row. … Section 2 champ E-town (13-6) won six of its last eight games to take its first title since 2001. … Northern Lebanon (15-4) won its second Section 3 title in three years. … Lancaster Catholic (14-5) bested runner-up Lancaster Mennonite (12-7) on the last day of the schedule to claim its third overall Section 4 title and first since 2001. … Hempfield (15-4) was runner-up to Township. … Ephrata (11-7) finished behind E-town, and Donegal (13-7) placed behind Northern Lebanon.
LAST YEAR: Solanco shocked Township, the pre-tournament favorite, in the semifinals and went on to win the L-L League and District 3 Quad-A championships.
NEXT STEP: The District 3 Tournament, scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 20.
NOTABLE: Hempfield has won a league-best seven titles. E-town is next with four while Township has won three. Northern Lebanon, twice, and Ephrata, once, have also raised the trophy in triumph. Donegal, Catholic and Mennonite are looking for their first league baseball titles. … Six undefeated pitchers will put their records on the line in the tournament: E-town’s Erick Baker is a league-best 6-0. Township’s Pat Kelley and Northern Lebanon’s Ryan Scheaffer are 5-0. Hempfield’s Mike Schusko is 4-0, while Township’s Andrew Peiffer and Mennonite’s Justin Sauder are 3-0.
