SOUTH LEBANON – Fundamentals lead to execution.
Execution leads to consisency.
Consistency leads to wins.
Wins lead to playoffs.
The process is really quite simple. All you have to do is remember to start at the beginning and try not to get the steps mixed up along the way.
On a blustery Wednesday evening at Cedar Crest High School, the Falcon baseball team remained on track by never straying too far from the basics, during a 3-0 non-league triumph over Elizabethtown. Cedar Crest received another strong pitching outing from senior stopper Daulton Reinhart, who was backed by steady defense and a situational offense that produced single runs in three different at-bats.
With the result, Cedar Crest improved to 7-3 on the spring. Elizabethtown slipped to 2-6 overall.
“I thought we played a fantastic game,” said Cedar Crest first-year head coach Matt Knox. “We talked about what baseball is all about – throwing the ball, catching the ball and hitting the ball. Those are the basics of baseball, and we did all of those today.
“We have a really good team,” continued Knox. “When you concentrate on the basics, you’re going to be in a lot of games. All I really want them (his players) to focus on is playing a good clean game.”
Reinhart, a hard slinging southpaw, was in control the whole way. He went the distance on a two-hitter, fanned seven and issued a couple of free passes.
Reinhart retired the Bears in order in four of the seven innings he pitched, and worked out of both difficulties he encountered.
He used strikeouts to wiggle out of a two-on, nobody-out dilemma in the top of the third inning. Then as he was approaching 100 pitches in the top of the seventh, Reinhart induced a game-ending ground ball, after E-town batters had reached base on a two-out walk and an error.
“He was absolutely competitive on the mound,” said Knox of Reinhart. “His pitch count was a little elevated, but he pitched to contact and did exactly what he was supposed to do out there.
“He’s been throwing the ball well,” Knox added. “More than anything, that was a complete game. We have competitive pitchers. I have confidence in all of them. We have a routine for our pitchers and we try to keep them on schedule.”
The Falcons broke out on top in the bottom of the second inning. Dylan Beard and Nolan Groff singled ahead of Braden Boyd’s run-producing hit that gave the home side a 1-0 edge.
“We’ve been playing well,” said Knox. “There have been some ups and downs and a hiccup along the way, but for the most part, we’ve been playing well. This was a team win. Any time you get a chance to come out here and play as a team, it’s a great day.”
Cedar Crest increased its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. A pair of Bear errors turned Joey Peters’ lead-off single into an unearned run.
“With this senior leadership, the expectation coming into the season was to play competitive games,” said Knox. “The goal is going to be to make the playoffs. We can’t jump ahead. You can’t ever look ahead. The overall goal is going to be to make the playoffs, but you have to do that one game at a time.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Luke Hostetter became the third straight Falcon to begin an at-bat with a hit. His lead-off double preceded a Groff grounder and Boyd’s second RBI of the contest.
“On that one run we scored, Groff hit behind the runner and then Braden Boyd hit behind the runner,” said Knox. “You won’t get a much more situational at-bat than that. That was a team at-bat. Situational batting is something we’ve been doing a much better job at.”
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 3/30 4:15 pm | Governor Mifflin at Cedar Crest | 0 2 | Nonleague |
| 3/31 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Warwick | 1 0 | League |
| 4/05 4:15 pm | McCaskey at Cedar Crest | 1 5 | League |
| 4/07 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Hempfield | 10 0 | League |
| 4/09 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Manheim Township | 7 12 | League |
| 4/13 4:15 pm | Penn Manor at Cedar Crest | 1 7 | League |
| 4/14 4:15 pm | Ephrata at Cedar Crest | 6 2 | Nonleague |
| 4/16 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Lampeter-Strasburg | 8 5 | Nonleague |
| 4/19 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Solanco | 9 10 | Nonleague |
| 4/21 4:15 pm | Elizabethtown at Cedar Crest | Nonleague | |
| 4/22 6:00 pm | Cedar Crest at Palmyra | Nonleague | |
| 4/23 4:15 pm | Conestoga Valley at Cedar Crest | Nonleague | |
| 4/26 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 4/28 4:15 pm | Warwick at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 4/30 6:30 pm | Cedar Crest at McCaskey | League | |
| 5/03 4:15 pm | Hempfield at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 5/05 4:15 pm | Manheim Township at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 5/07 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Penn Manor | League |
| AAAAAA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1 | Manheim Township | 10- | 0- | 0 | 0.830504 | 1.000000 | 0.623341 | 12.20 | 115.10 | 0.00 | 69.55 |
| 2 | Wilson (3) | 9- | 1- | 0 | 0.784524 | 0.935345 | 0.600188 | 10.85 | 95.70 | 0.75 | 63.75 |
| 3 | Cedar Cliff | 6- | 2- | 0 | 0.727073 | 0.822222 | 0.610780 | 7.40 | 102.55 | 1.60 | 65.35 |
| 4 | Central Dauphin | 6- | 3- | 0 | 0.706135 | 0.764398 | 0.634925 | 7.30 | 108.35 | 2.25 | 62.30 |
| 5 | Governor Mifflin | 7- | 3- | 0 | 0.704789 | 0.783654 | 0.608398 | 8.15 | 102.15 | 2.25 | 65.75 |
| 6 | Dallastown | 7- | 2- | 0 | 0.702791 | 0.847716 | 0.525660 | 8.35 | 86.55 | 1.50 | 78.10 |
| 7 | Cumberland Valley | 7- | 3- | 0 | 0.698570 | 0.777273 | 0.602379 | 8.55 | 93.70 | 2.45 | 61.85 |
| 8 | Cedar Crest | 6- | 3- | 0 | 0.695237 | 0.751269 | 0.626752 | 7.40 | 107.30 | 2.45 | 63.90 |
| 9 | Warwick | 7- | 4- | 0 | 0.689855 | 0.729258 | 0.641697 | 8.35 | 116.50 | 3.10 | 65.05 |
| 10 | Carlisle | 6- | 3- | 0 | 0.648431 | 0.730159 | 0.548541 | 6.90 | 86.45 | 2.55 | 71.15 |
| 11 | Central York | 7- | 5- | 0 | 0.627773 | 0.673387 | 0.572022 | 8.35 | 89.55 | 4.05 | 67.00 |
| 12 | J P McCaskey | 5- | 5- | 0 | 0.614634 | 0.613402 | 0.616140 | 5.95 | 113.00 | 3.75 | 70.40 |
| 13 | Hempfield (3) | 4- | 6- | 0 | 0.596442 | 0.520833 | 0.688852 | 5.00 | 124.20 | 4.60 | 56.10 |
| 14 | Red Lion | 3- | 4- | 0 | 0.539295 | 0.532847 | 0.547176 | 3.65 | 86.70 | 3.20 | 71.75 |
| 15 | Lebanon | 3- | 7- | 0 | 0.487401 | 0.375000 | 0.624780 | 3.45 | 106.65 | 5.75 | 64.05 |
| 16 | Chambersburg Area | 2- | 8- | 0 | 0.476905 | 0.287356 | 0.708576 | 2.50 | 121.45 | 6.20 | 49.95 |
| 17 | Penn Manor | 2- | 8- | 0 | 0.466461 | 0.282353 | 0.691481 | 2.40 | 131.90 | 6.10 | 58.85 |
| 18 | Harrisburg | 2- | 2- | 0 | 0.454603 | 0.487179 | 0.414786 | 1.90 | 43.20 | 2.00 | 60.95 |
| 19 | Reading | 0- | 7- | 0 | 0.306284 | 0.000000 | 0.680630 | 0.00 | 101.55 | 6.25 | 47.65 |
| 20 | York County School of Technology | 2- | 7- | 0 | 0.296452 | 0.198895 | 0.415688 | 1.80 | 49.55 | 7.25 | 69.65 |
| 21 | William Penn | 0- | 7- | 0 | 0.277108 | 0.000000 | 0.615795 | 0.00 | 80.70 | 5.65 | 50.35 |
| 22 | Central Dauphin East | 0- | 6- | 0 | 0.265530 | 0.000000 | 0.590066 | 0.00 | 89.10 | 5.00 | 61.90 |
| League | Overall | |||||||
| W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | |
| Manheim Township | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | 115 | 36 |
| Cedar Crest | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 7 | 3 | 0.700 | 55 | 18 |
| Warwick | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 7 | 4 | 0.636 | 61 | 18 |
| Hempfield | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 5 | 6 | 0.455 | 62 | 29 |
| McCaskey | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 5 | 4 | 0.556 | 42 | 35 |
| Penn Manor | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 3 | 7 | 0.300 | 36 | 30 |
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