BY JEFF FALK

SOUTH LEBANON – It is now time to consult the all-knowing Magic Eight-Ball for insight into the Cedar Crest softball season.

Have the Falcons had a successful season? Better not tell you now.

Is there still time left for Cedar Crest to make it one?  Signs point to yes.

Do the Falcons have to make it to the District Three postseason for it to be considered a success? Reply hazy, try again.

If Cedar Crest is to qualify for the playoffs, what needs to happen? Concentrate and ask again.

On Wednesday afternoon at Cedar Crest Middle School, the Falcons took a definitive step in that direction,with a 3-2 come-from-behind, extra-inning victory over Conestoga Valley. Cedar Crest won it on Anna DeBellis’ walk-off single that scored Maddie Gable, with one out in the eighth frame.

After being asked to sacrifice earlier in the count, DeBellis lined an Alexia Trott offering up the middle to provide the Falcons with the decisive run. Gable started the rally with a one-out single, then moved to second on Ashley Maulfair’s safety.

“She’s been swinging a hot bat,” said Cedar Crest head coach Eric Edwards of DeBellis. “We had the bunt on first pitch, but she fouled it off. I had confidence she would get a good swing on the ball, and she did.

“We didn’t play our best game, by any means,” Edwards continued. “I think we were a little sluggish at the start. We’ve been sluggish at the beginning of games, which makes it tough. But at the end, we did what we had to do to get the job done.”

With the crossover win, Cedar Crest improved to 7-6 overall and 6-5 in Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The Falcons were sitting in the 20th position in the latest PIAA District Three power rankings.

The result made Conestoga Valley 3-10 on the  spring and 2-8 in Section Two of the L-L.

“When you word it that way, I’d say no,” said Edwards, when asked if the Falcons need to qualify for districts to make 2016 a success. “Getting to districts would be a great accomplishment for the program. I think it’s been five years since we’ve been in. But there’s a lot of ways to measure the success of your season.

“I don’t put numbers on it, because then you start worrying about what everybody else is doing,” Edwards continued. “And then you don’t concentrate on what you’re supposed to be doing. We can only control what we’re doing. We want to win them. We want to win them one at a time.”

With the score tied, Cedar Crest established a 2-1 edge, after two outs had been recorded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gable also started that uprising, with a single, and came all the way around to score on Cassie Flocken’s long double.

But the Falcons relinquished that edge in the top of the seventh, also after two outs had been made. A key Cedar Crest error paved the way for Morgan Handwergen’s game-tying hit.

“We’ve struggled offensively, putting up runs,” said Edwards. “It’s not that we’re not hitting the ball. But our hits have been scattered. We have to play small ball. But Maddie’s (Gable) going to keep us in games (from the mound).

“We’ve had our ups and downs, defensively,” added Edwards. “But we played much better tonight.”

Buckskin starter Trott sat down the first nine Falcon batters she faced.

But Crest lead-off hitter Emma Spang broke up her no-hit bid with a ringing triple to left field to open the bottom of the fourth inning. Bailey Perry-McClintic plated Spang with the run that knotted the score at one.

“She threw well,” said Edwards of Trott. “She threw strikes, and we had trouble getting going. It wasn’t until Emma came around the second time and got that triple that we got our first hit. I don’t know if we were seeing it very well early on.

“That’s been our M.O.,” Edwards added. “We seem to wait until the fourth or fifth or sixth inning to get going. To play with the lead is what we want to do. We haven’t been able to get it going.”

Gable recorded the win, partly by scattering seven hits and partly by simply hanging in there. The seasoned right-hander fanned ten, walked two and fielded her position.

Gable yielded a two-out, unearned run in the top of the third that gave Conestoga Valley a 1-0 lead. A pair of Falcon errors figured into the scoring.

“I thought Maddie did well,” and Edwards. “They (the Buckskins) definitely had some good hitters. I don’t know that she threw her best game. But she’s been sharp for us this season. Any time she’s on the mound, we’re going to be in it.”

All nine of the Falcons’ hits came over the last five frames.

“We were sitting at 6-6,” said Edwards. “This was an important game. If we want to get to districts, we had to have this one. We lost the last two. We wanted to get something positive going.

“I think it’s (the postseason) attainable,” concluded Edwards. “We have seven games left. We’ve proven we can compete with anyone. That’s (the playoffs) the ultimate goal. That’s what we’re shooting for.”

Outlook good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Section One Standings

TEAM	LEAGUE	OVERALL
Penn Manor	10-1	12-2
Hempfield	10-1	10-3
Warwick	6-4	7-6
Cedar Crest	6-5	7-6
Manheim Twp.	3-7	5-9
McCaskey	1-9	1-11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section Two Standings

TEAM	LEAGUE	OVERALL
Elizabethtown	8-3	11-4
Solanco	7-3	9-4
Garden Spot	7-3	9-4
Conestoga Valley	2-8	3-10
Ephrata	2-8	3-10
Lebanon	0-10	0-12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

District Three

 Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating
1	Chambersburg	10-	1-	0	0.788117
2	Exeter Township	11-	2-	0	0.787178
3	Central York	15-	0-	0	0.779013
4	Lower Dauphin	12-	1-	0	0.777809
5	Penn Manor	10-	2-	0	0.761873
6	Central Dauphin	10-	3-	0	0.751310
7	Elizabethtown	11-	3-	0	0.749479
8	Hempfield	9-	3-	0	0.740628
9	Dallastown	10-	2-	0	0.740537
10	Mechanicsburg	12-	3-	0	0.721197
11	Wilson	8-	5-	0	0.711003
12	Waynesboro	8-	4-	0	0.710922
13	Solanco	10-	4-	0	0.700765
14	Governor Mifflin	8-	6-	0	0.668351
15	Warwick	7-	6-	0	0.667684
16	Central Dauphin East	7-	4-	0	0.666186
17	Cumberland Valley	6-	6-	0	0.663815
18	Shippensburg	6-	4-	0	0.663183
19	Muhlenberg	7-	6-	0	0.633886
20	Cedar Crest	6-	6-	0	0.629291
21	Daniel Boone	6-	7-	0	0.620858
22	Manheim Township	6-	8-	0	0.616779
23	Palmyra	6-	6-	0	0.611251
24	Red Land	4-	7-	0	0.586251
25	Cedar Cliff	4-	8-	0	0.583204
26	Reading	7-	7-	0	0.569871
27	South Western	4-	6-	0	0.556841
28	Conestoga Valley	4-	10-	0	0.517294
29	Ephrata	3-	10-	0	0.480631
30	New Oxford	3-	8-	0	0.465104
31	York County School Of Technology	6-	6-	0	0.438359
32	Hershey	3-	11-	0	0.429835
33	Carlisle	1-	12-	0	0.397695
34	J P McCaskey	1-	11-	0	0.396003
35	Cocalico	3-	10-	0	0.360784
36	Harrisburg	1-	11-	0	0.356613
37	Red Lion	0-	12-	0	0.305506
38	Lebanon	0-	12-	0	0.289668