BY JEFF FALK
ANNVILLE – There’s not much difference between the Annville-Cleona and Elco baseball teams.
Both are built on pitching and defense.
Both are good clubs enjoying successful seasons.
And both believe if given a playoff opportunity, they can make some noise.
On a cloudy Friday evening at Annville-Cleona High School, the difference between the two locals was that the Little Dutchmen’s key players stepping up. Senior Cameron Hoch’s soft liner to left field with no outs in the bottom of the tenth inning lifted Annville-Cleona to a 2-1 decision over Elco, in one of the better played high school contests this spring.
Cole Waldhausen opened the home half of the tenth inning with a single and made it to second on an Elco throwing error, just ahead of Hoch’s walk-off single. The Raiders’ had forced extra frames with a run in the top of the seventh, on a controversial, two-out, infield single from seven-hole hitter Dane Miller.
“I think it was the extra innings,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Scott Shyda of the contest’s ever increasing intensity. “I’ve been on both ends of these. You hate to play ten innings and not come out on the right end of things. When you’ve got a pitchers’ duel going like that, it takes one thing to be the difference.
“I have a lot of respect for Elco baseball,” continued Shyda. “They’ve been tough since I’ve been coaching. But I was disappointed we didn’t put the game away.”
“As far as I’m concerned, both teams are pretty evenly matched,” said Elco head coach Chris Weidner. “The score reflects that. In the 19 years I’ve been coaching, there’s never not been an intense battle with Annville-Cleona. It’s good for Lebanon County baseball.
“It was a great high school baseball game,” Weidner continued. “We just came out on the wrong end. If I wouldn’t have high blood pressure from coaching it, it would’ve been a great game to watch.”
With the win, Annville-Cleona improved to 8-3 overall, 6-3 in Section Four of the Lancaster-Lebanon League and solidified its post-season chances. The Little Dutchmen were seated fifth in the latest District Three Class AAA power rankings.
After beginning the season 5-0, Elco is 3-4 over its last seven outings and now stands at 8-4 overall and 5-4 in Section Three of the L-L. The Raiders were situated sixth in the latest District Three Class AAAA power rankings.
“We got the first two guys on,” said Shyda of his side’s winning rally. “My initial thought was, ‘put the bunt down’. But that’s giving up an out and I’m sure they would’ve walked Mitch (Long). So we took our chances with Cameron and he dropped it right behind third base. It’s what we needed. Their pitchers were tough too. They kept us at bay.
“It’s an important game for a lot of reasons,” added Shyda. “Every game is important. We only play 19. We know how good Elco is. We want to play well. Any time you beat a team that good it’s a positive.”
“I told them (his players) I know it stings right now, but we’re going to use this as motivation,” said Weidner. “That’s an intense thing when you see a walk-off. We’re going to get one of those before the season’s over.
“What it came down to was a couple of their kids stepped up in big situations,” Weidner added. “We didn’t do much early. We struggled. But (Eli) Setlock pitched well.”
Setlock entered the top of the seventh protecting a 1-0 edge, but the first two Elco hitters in the frame – Clay Hain and Cole Miller – reached on a single and an error. Joey Ginder’s two-out single loaded the bases for Elco.
Then D. Miller hit a ball to shortstop that ended up being a bang-bang play at first. But the first-base umpire did not make any call at all on the play, instead choosing to confer with his partner behind the plate.
Following a brief conference, D. Miller was ruled safe and the resulting run tied the score.
“I thought we played excellent,” said Shyda. “I was extremely pleased with how our guys hung in there. I was happy with both of our pitchers (Setlock and reliever Brandon Uhrich). We needed both of their performances.
“Pitching and defense have been strengths over the last week or so,” Shyda continued. “Elco is tough. Elco is always tough. That was a big win for us.”
“The ball skipped,” said Weidner of the play. “We were fortunate there. I’ve never seen a no-call before. But it gave us an opportunity.
“(Reliever) Cole (Miller) did a really nice job too and they (the Little Dutchmen) scraped a couple of extra hits,” added Weidner. “But my kids had some fight in them. They showed me something today.”
Elco starter Hain was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Setlock when the dangerous M.Long stepped to the plate with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the sixth. M. Long drove a Hain offering over the right field fence for his fourth dinger of the spring, and a 1-0 Annville-Cleona lead.
It was M. Long’s 20th RBI of the year.
“He started fast and hasn’t slowed down at all,” said Shyda of M. Long. “It doesn’t matter who’s pitching. He’s hit everyone. He’s been very consistent all year.”
“There were a couple of spots where we talked about putting him on,” said Weidner of M. Long. “Big players come up big in big spots. He’s one of their (the Little Dutchmen’s) best players, if not their best player. I’ve seen him do that before.”
Entering the top of the seventh, Setlock had given up only one hit – Hunter Witter’s one-out single in the second. After that, Setlock sat down Elco’s next 14 hitters in-a-row.
He surrendered a total of four hits, whiffed six and did not issue a free pass. Uhrich was credited with the win.
“He had a rough start the last time out,” said Shyda of Setlock. “You could tell early on he had it today. He was tough to hit. Throwing strikes is the key for him. He had no control issues. He’s tough out there and we need him. That’s the kind of performance we expect from him.”
“He was throwing a lot of fastballs,” said Weidner of Setlock. “He was working up and down. We swung through too many fastballs. At least if you put the ball in play you can run into something. He pumped the zone.
“But by the same token, Clay Hain did as well,” added Weidner. “It was a well-pitched game on both sides.”
Hain was just as efficient and effective. The only other hit he yielded was Setlock’s double to lead off the bottom of the first.
Over his six innings of work, Hain struck out five and walked two.
“I think I’m more pleased with the way we played the last three games,” said Shyda. “I’m happy with 8-3, but I’m more happy with three good games in-a-row. Every single one of these is significant. And it doesn’t get easier.”
“It seems like Lancaster Catholic is running away with it over there,” said Weidner of the Section Four race. “They (the Little Dutchmen) definitely have a shot to slot that number-two spot. Setlock pitched well today and they’ve got other pitchers. Maybe we can help them out too, and hopefully scratch ourselves into the playoffs.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
2017 Annville-Cleona Baseball Results
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
OUTCOMES |
|
|
| 03/24 |
@Lancaster County Christian
|
4:15 PM |
W 7-1 |
|
|
| 03/29 |
@Pine Grove
|
4:15 PM |
W 6-0 |
|
|
| 03/31 |
@Halifax
|
4:15 PM |
— |
|
|
| 04/03 * |
@Pequea Valley
|
4:15 PM |
L 7-8 |
|
|
| 04/05 * |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
L 2-12 |
|
|
| 04/10 * |
@Columbia
|
4:15 PM |
W 7-0 |
|
|
| 04/11 * |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
4:15 PM |
W 7-2 |
|
|
| 04/12 * |
Lebanon Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
W 12-0 |
|
|
| 04/13 |
@Garden Spot
|
4:15 PM |
L 1-11 |
|
|
| 04/17 |
Northern Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
W 9-4 |
|
|
| 04/19 |
@Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
W 12-0 |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 04/21 |
Elco
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 04/24 |
@Manheim Central
|
4:15 PM |
Manheim Central High School |
|
| 04/26 |
Cocalico
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 04/27 * |
Pequea Valley
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 05/01 * |
Lancaster Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 05/03 * |
@Lancaster Mennonite
|
4:15 PM |
Lancaster Mennonite High School |
|
| 05/05 * |
Columbia
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 05/08 * |
@Lebanon Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
Lebanon Catholic School |
|
| 05/09 |
Tulpehocken
|
7:00 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
OUTCOMES |
|
|
| 03/29 |
@Wyomissing
|
4:15 PM |
W 17-0 |
|
|
| 03/30 |
@Conrad Weiser
|
4:15 PM |
W 7-1 |
|
|
| 04/01 |
@Hamburg
|
12:00 PM |
W 4-1 |
|
|
| 04/03 * |
@Cocalico
|
4:15 PM |
W 9-6 |
|
|
| 04/05 * |
@Northern Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
W 14-5 |
|
|
| 04/07 |
Garden Spot
|
4:15 PM |
L 1-16 |
|
|
| 04/10 * |
Manheim Central
|
4:15 PM |
L 4-9 |
|
|
| 04/12 * |
Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
W 6-4 |
|
|
| 04/13 |
Columbia
|
4:15 PM |
W 10-0 |
|
|
| 04/17 |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
L 4-8 |
|
|
| 04/19 |
Lebanon Catholic
|
4:15 PM |
W 21-1 |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 04/21 |
@Annville-Cleona
|
4:15 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 04/24 |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
4:15 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 04/26 |
@Pequea Valley
|
4:15 PM |
Pequea Valley High School |
|
| 04/28 * |
Cocalico
|
4:15 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 05/01 * |
Northern Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 05/03 |
@Garden Spot
|
4:15 PM |
Garden Spot High School |
|
| 05/05 * |
@Manheim Central
|
4:15 PM |
Manheim Central High School |
|
| 05/06 |
@Tulpehocken
|
4:15 PM |
Tulpehocken High School |
|
| 05/08 * |
@Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
Lebanon High School |
|
PIAA District Three
Class AAA Power Rankings
| AAA |
School |
W |
L |
T |
Rating |
|
|
| 1 |
Susquenita |
8- |
1- |
0 |
0.735797 |
|
|
| 2 |
Lancaster Catholic |
8- |
1- |
0 |
0.718381 |
|
|
| 3 |
Oley Valley |
8- |
2- |
0 |
0.673907 |
|
|
| 4 |
Brandywine Heights |
6- |
2- |
0 |
0.589499 |
|
|
| 5 |
Annville Cleona |
7- |
3- |
0 |
0.580777 |
|
|
| 6 |
Trinity |
4- |
3- |
0 |
0.570706 |
|
|
| 7 |
Lancaster Mennonite |
5- |
5- |
0 |
0.509161 |
|
|
| 8 |
Upper Dauphin |
5- |
4- |
0 |
0.452875 |
|
|
| 9 |
Pequea Valley |
4- |
7- |
0 |
0.436444 |
|
|
| 10 |
Biglerville |
3- |
5- |
0 |
0.422350 |
|
|
| 11 |
Delone Catholic |
4- |
6- |
0 |
0.421083 |
|
|
| 12 |
Schuylkill Valley |
4- |
8- |
0 |
0.406125 |
|
|
| 13 |
Hanover |
2- |
8- |
0 |
0.323492 |
|
|
| 14 |
Tulpehocken |
1- |
9- |
0 |
0.290047 |
|
|
PIAA District Three
Class AAAA Power Rankings
| AAAA |
School |
W |
L |
T |
Rating |
|
|
| 1 |
West Perry |
8- |
1- |
0 |
0.732594 |
|
|
| 2 |
Susquehannock |
10- |
1- |
0 |
0.728766 |
|
|
| 3 |
James Buchanan |
7- |
2- |
0 |
0.686802 |
|
|
| 4 |
Bishop McDevitt |
6- |
3- |
0 |
0.661050 |
|
|
| 5 |
Berks Catholic |
7- |
2- |
0 |
0.632168 |
|
|
| 6 |
Eastern Lebanon County |
8- |
3- |
0 |
0.626524 |
|
|
| 7 |
Middletown |
6- |
3- |
0 |
0.626343 |
|
|
| 8 |
East Pennsboro |
5- |
3- |
0 |
0.617002 |
|
|
| 9 |
Kennard Dale |
8- |
3- |
0 |
0.609224 |
|
|
| 10 |
Big Spring |
6- |
4- |
0 |
0.606498 |
|
|
| 11 |
West York |
5- |
6- |
0 |
0.570189 |
|
|
| 12 |
Northern Lebanon |
6- |
6- |
0 |
0.543876 |
|
|
| 13 |
Littlestown |
4- |
6- |
0 |
0.467860 |
|
|
| 14 |
Bermudian Springs |
3- |
5- |
1 |
0.467417 |
|
|
| 15 |
Eastern York |
3- |
7- |
0 |
0.413262 |
|
|
| 16 |
Boiling Springs |
1- |
5- |
0 |
0.407744 |
|
|
| 17 |
Hamburg |
3- |
8- |
0 |
0.403955 |
|
|
| 18 |
Susquehanna Township |
2- |
7- |
0 |
0.400807 |
|
|
| 19 |
Wyomissing |
3- |
6- |
0 |
0.377219 |
|
|
| 20 |
Shippensburg |
1- |
6- |
0 |
0.371446 |
|
|
| 21 |
York Suburban |
1- |
8- |
0 |
0.352564 |
|
|
| 22 |
Conrad Weiser |
1- |
9- |
0 |
0.340545 |
|
|
Lancaster-Lebanon League
Section Three Standings
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