BY JEFF FALK
LEBANON – It’s one thing to get better. It’s a whole other thing to get well against your rival.
Shoot, the Cedars didn’t even know the Falcons were ailing.
On a warm Monday evening at Coleman Memorial Park, the Cedar Crest baseball team righted its wayward course with a 12-2 thumping of Lebanon High. Behind the consistent pitching of senior right-hander Logan Horn, the Falcons got off to a fast start, then pulled away from the Cedars late.
The Lancaster-Lebanon Section One-Two crossover outcome was Cedar Crest’s third victory in its last four outings, after beginning the season 0-3. The Falcons, the reigning Section One champions, improved to 3-4 on the spring and 2-4 in the section.
Lebanon dropped to 1-8 on the year and 0-6 in Section Two.
“This is about getting back on track and moving forward,” said Cedar Crest head coach Josh Brown. “It’s a great crosstown rivalry, but it’s about progressing. If we play like we did today, we’re going to be OK.
“So far, we’re on task, because of three of the last four,” continued Brown. “A lot of the games we lost were close. I think we’re on track. We’re going to battle. But those Section One teams are tough.”
“I think the rivalry with Cedar Crest has changed to a positive rivalry,” said Lebanon head coach Fred Gonzalez. “We always want to beat Cedar Crest, and they always want to beat us. They always want us. But today there was a mutual respect between the players and the coaches. There’s no animosity.
“For me, it’s another game,” Gonzalez continued. “Sometimes you push yourself to do too much. Today we were relaxed. It was a good game for us. We’re still showing progress, it just wasn’t in the win column.”