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6 years ago
Little Dutchmen’s Spring Melody Ends on Sour Note

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 BY JEFF FALK

 ANNVILLE – It’s a short ride north along Route 934 across 422, from Annville-Cleona High School to Lebanon Valley College. But somehow, somewhere, the Little Dutchmen softball team got loss on the way.

 Because this was not the same Annville-Cleona team we had seen all year long.

 On a sunny Friday evening on LVC’s softball diamond, the Little Dutchmen’s solid season came to a head, with a very un-Dutchmen-like 10-1 loss to Brandywine Heights, in the semifinal round of the District Three Class AA postseason tournament. Plagued by physical and mental mistakes throughout, Annville-Cleona got off to a slow start, before things really got away from it.

 The Little Dutchmen managed no hits against Brandywine Heights starter Jess Davidheiser, they were guilty of six errors and they uncorked seven wild pitches.

 The loss ended second-seeded Annville-Cleona’s season at 12-8. It was the second time in as many years that the Little Dutchmen’s campaign was ended by Brandywine Heights.

 Annville-Cleona is now 41-27 overall in the District Three playoffs.

 The result earned the third-seeded Bullets, now 14-9, a trip to the PIAA postseason and a Tuesday date with Susquenita for the District Three Class AA championship.

 “I don’t want it to define this season,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Nicki Starry. “They (her players) worked so hard all year. I hope they hold their heads up high.

 “This group of young ladies has an amazing strength to them,” continued Starry. “You don’t get that often in high school sports. They were able to grow so far, so fast. Drama is not part of what we do. Softball is what we do. I hope that’s what will take them far in life.”

 The contest was competitive over the first four innings. But Brandywine Heights posted eight runs over its final three at-bats to pull away.

 Actually, it was in the bottom of the fourth inning when Annville-Cleona pulled to within 2-1 of the lead.

 Following a Grace Renninger walk and Arianna Clay being hit by a pitch, Katie Shaak walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Alyssa Ulrich scored Renninger.

  “I thought their pitcher (Davidheiser) did a really good job,” said Starry. “She did a good job of moving the ball around. She had a good riser. They (the Bullets) played solid defense. Every time we put a ball in play, they made a good play. They (her players) tend to let their emotions get the best of them. My hope is that they’ll look forward to those situations.

 “You could see we were trying to put the ball in play at first,” Starry continued. “One error led to two errors, and then there was a lack of communication. For us, that’s been something we’ve been working on all season. But they (her players) fought. They fought hard.”

 The outcome was decided in the top of the fifth inning. That’s when the Bullets sent ten batters to the dish and scored five times to open up a 7-1 lead.

 The big blow was Davidheiser’s grand slam homer over the right field fence. The Little Dutchmen did their part with two free passes, three wild pitches and an error.

 “Grace (Renninger) came out strong,” said Starry of her starter. “She’s been working on cutting down on her walks. We made some errors and they led to some runs. We were doing the best we could to put band-aids on things.

 “Our bats didn’t really wake up today,” added Starry. “We didn’t get our bunts down. We definitely made some errors that changed the course of the game. And once the wheels fell off, we couldn’t put them back on.”

 With blood in the water, Brandywine Heights tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning to make it 9-1. Amanada Geisinger collected an RBI for the Bullets, as did teammate Jadyn Richards in the top of the seventh.

 “I thanked our seniors,” said Starry of her post-game message to the troops. “They’ve been such a big part of what we’ve tried to build. I told them not to hang their heads. They (the seniors) taught them (the underclassmen) how to fight. They taught them how to play ball.”

 The Bullets established a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, without the benefit of a hit. Alexis Didinger walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, was sacrificed to third and scored on another wild pitch.

  In the top of the fourth inning, it became 2-0 Bullets, as Davidheiser manufactured another run without a hit.

 “I was very impressed with our progress throughout the season,” said Starry. “Our bats came to life. They’re (her players) such close friends. They grew up together. I was just the guide.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Annville-Cleona Softball Results

 
 
Date Opponents Outcomes  
3/27
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Lancaster Mennonite		 10
0		  
3/28
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Tulpehocken		 10
0		  
3/29
4:15 pm		 Lancaster Catholic
at Annville-Cleona		 6
0		  
4/01
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Lebanon Catholic		 19
0		  
4/03
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Columbia		 18
3		  
4/04
4:15 pm		 Pequea Valley
at Annville-Cleona		 5
4		  
4/08
4:15 pm		 Donegal
at Annville-Cleona		 10
4		  
4/10
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Elco		    
4/12
4:15 pm		 Garden Spot
at Annville-Cleona		 6
0		  
4/15
7:30 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Manheim Central		 1
11		  
4/17
4:15 pm		 Cocalico
at Annville-Cleona		 6
8		  
4/18
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Octorara		 6
0		  
4/22
4:15 pm		 Northern Lebanon
at Annville-Cleona		 13
1		  
4/24
4:15 pm		 Lancaster Mennonite
at Annville-Cleona		 2
11		  
4/25
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Lancaster Catholic		 9
0		  
4/27
10:00 am		 Conrad Weiser
at Annville-Cleona		 3
2		  
4/27
12:00 pm		 Cedar Crest
at Annville-Cleona		 3
5		  
4/29
4:15 pm		 Lebanon Catholic
at Annville-Cleona		 3
19		  
5/01
4:15 pm		 Columbia
at Annville-Cleona		 0
7		  
5/03
4:15 pm		 Annville-Cleona
at Pequea Valley		 15
8		  
5/24
4:30 pm		 Brandywine Heights
at Annville-Cleona		 10
1		  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNVILLE-CLEONA Chronolgical History

 in District Three Playoffs

 
0-1 L Oley Valley 5-10 1984 2A quarterfinal
0-2 L Delone Catholic 0-4 1989 2A first round
1-2 W Upper Dauphin 19-5 1990 2A first round
1-3 L Kutztown 0-6 1990 2A quarterfinal
2-3 W Muhlenberg 10-1 1991 2A first round
3-3 W Biglerville 8-7 1991 2A quarterfinal
3-4 L Lancaster Mennonite 8-2 1991 2A semifinal
4-4 W Fairfield 5-0 1992 2A first round
5-4 W Kutztown 7-4 1992 2A quarterfinal
6-4 W Kennard-Dale 5-4 1992 2A semifinal
7-4 W Daniel Boone 2-0 1992 2A championship
8-4 W East Pennsboro 13-3 (5) 1993 2A first round
8-5 L Fleetwood 2-6 1993 2A quarterfinal
8-6 L Biglerville 1-2 1994 2A first round
9-6 W Christian School of York 15-0 (5) 1995 2A first round
10-6 W Fleetwood 7-3 1995 2A quarterfinal
11-6 W Oley Valley 2-0 1995 2A semifinal
12-6 W Kutztown 2-0 1995 2A championship
13-6 W Littlestown 15-0 (4) 1996 2A first round
14-6 W Fleetwood 5-1 1996 2A quarterfinal
15-6 W Kutztown 5-3 1996 2A semifinal
16-6 W ELCO 3-2 1996 2A championship
17-6 W Eastern York 9-2 1997 2A first round
17-7 L Oley Valley 1-2 1997 2A quarterfinal
18-7 W Lebanon Catholic 9-0 1998 2A first round
19-7 W Upper Dauphin 3-2 (10) 1998 2A quarterfinal
20-7 W Greencastle-Antrim 2-0 1998 2A semifinal
21-7 W Northern Lebanon 2-0 (10) 1998 2A championship
22-7 W East Pennsboro 3-2 1999 2A first round
23-7 W Hamburg 2-1 (8) 1999 2A quarterfinal
23-8 L Kennard-Dale 1-3 1999 2A semifinal
24-8 W Eastern York 3-1 1999 2A third place
25-8 W Hershey 5-4 2000 2A first round
25-9 L Kutztown 0-10 2000 2A quarterfinal
26-9 W East Pennsboro 20-5 2001 2A first round
27-9 W Eastern York 7-4 2001 2A quarterfinal
27-10 L Fleetwood 0-8 2001 2A semifinal
27-11 L Donegal 2-9 2001 2A third place
28-11 W Boiling Springs 9-1 2002 2A first round
29-11 W Susquenita 5-3 2002 2A quarterfinal
29-12 L Fleetwood 4-7 2002 2A semifinal
29-13 L Daniel Boone 2-3 (11) 2002 2A third place
30-13 W Eastern York 5-0 2003 2A first round
30-14 L Muhlenberg 0-5 2003 2A quarterfinal
30-15 L Brandywine Heights 0-6 2004 2A first round
30-16 L Brandywine Heights 3-4 2005 2A quarterfinal
31-16 W Fairfield 17-7 2006 2A quarterfinal
32-16 W Trinity 7-5 2006 2A semifinal
33-16 W Oley Valley 2-1 2006 2A championship
34-16 W Delone Catholic 9-6 2007 2A first round
34-17 L Brandywine Heights 0-3 2007 2A quarterfinal
35-17 W Oley Valley 2-0 2009 2A first round
35-18 L Kutztown 4-11 2009 2A quarterfinal
36-18 W Upper Dauphin 5-2 2010 2A quarterfinal
36-19 L Brandywine Heights 2-3 2010 2A semifinal
37-19 W Littlestown 4-0 2011 2A quarterfinal
38-19 W Columbia 8-3 2011 2A semifinal
38-20 L Brandywine Heights 6-7 (9) 2011 2A championship
39-20 W Delone Catholic 12-1 2012 2A quarterfinal
40-20 W Brandywine Heights 6-3 2012 2A semifinal
40-21 L Kutztown 0-5 2012 2A championship
40-22 L Susquenita 5-15 2013 2A quarterfinal
40-23 L Delone Catholic 0-8 2014 2A quarterfinal
40-24 L Brandywine Heights 1-4 2015 2A quarterfinal
40-25 L Pequea Valley 0-2 2016 2A quarterfinal
41-25 W Pequea Valley 5-0 2018 3A quarterfinal
41-26 L Brandywine Heights 2-14 (5) 2018 3A semifinal

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Section Four Standings

 
 
  League Overall
  W L PCT W L PCT RS RA
Lancaster Catholic 12 5 70.59 16 9 64.00 162 69
Pequea Valley 12 5 70.59 13 9 59.09 167 107
Annville-Cleona 10 6 62.50 12 8 60.00 150 67
Lancaster Mennonite 5 12 29.41 6 13 31.58 103 154
Columbia 2 15 11.76 4 15 21.05 101 148
Lebanon Catholic 0 17 0.00 0 18 0.00 31 249
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

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