BY JEFF FALK
SOUTH LEBANON – They say you’ve got to make hay when the sun shines. Well, for most of this spring, the climate in Falconland has been most cloudy and overcast.
But the hometown guys have never turned their attention away from the horizon. And yesterday the skies brightened just a bit.
Behind a strong outing from junior right-hander Logan Horn and an overall efficient effort, the Cedar Crest baseball team took a positive step forward on Thursday afternoon, with a 4-1 home triumph over Conestoga Valley. With Horn in control the whole way, the Falcons offered a little bit of small ball and a steady defensive effort as means of support.
The Falcons entered the Section One-Two crossover tilt having lost four of their last five, including a 15-0 debacle at the hands of Manheim Township a night earlier. The result made Cedar Crest 3-5 on the year and 2-4 in Section One.
Conestoga Valley plummeted to 1-7 on the season and 1-5 in Section Two.
“It’s not easy to bounce back,” said Cedar Crest head coach Josh Brown. “That was a tough loss for us yesterday. But we have been playing better.
“Overall, we played a good baseball game,” added Brown. “The kids are positive. It’s a good group of kids. They’re bonding themselves. They’re doing the right things mentally. They’re coming to play. That’s important for this year, and building for the future.”
“Getting back on track was definitely the most important thing about today,” said Horn. “We had a little bit of a hang-over from yesterday. It was 15-0 to Township, and it was ugly.”
Horn may have tired as he went along, but he still completed his outing with just 75 pitches. He yielded a total of four hits, but three of those came in the sixth and seventh innings.
At one point, he retired eight Buckskins in-a-row.Ten of the 21 outs Horn recorded came via the pop fly, while he struck out five and didn’t issue a free pass.
Conestoga Valley touched Horn for its lone run in the top of the sixth, when the Buckskins’ first two batters reached with singles. But by then, Cedar Crest was sitting on a 4-0 cushion.
“He had a great outing today,” said Brown of Horn. “This was his second great outing of the year. He works hard, and his mind is clear, which is a good thing for a pitcher to have.
“Him and Chad (Ryland) are my go-to guys,” Brown continued. “His mechanics are solid. His balance is good. Today his curve-ball and change-up were working well. He didn’t have the same pop on the ball, but it helped that they (the Buckskins) were swinging at first-pitch strikes.”
“I felt good,” said Horn. “I was just trying to focus on mechanics, throwing strikes and letting my defense do the work. I definitely wanted to get ahead in the count, stay ahead and don’t get down. I wanted to locate my pitches and change speeds.
“I just wanted to get them to pop out, ground out, or get an out anyway I could,” continued Horn. “This was my third start of the season, and at Warwick I felt really good. This was the best I pitched in awhile. Against Palmyra, my arm was a little sore and I didn’t throw as well. I located a little better at Warwick.”
The Falcons wasted little time getting to work.
Three of the first four Falcons – Horn, Joseph Carpenter and Ethan Stickler – to open the home half of the first inning singled. And Nate Cavic gave Cedar Crest a 1-0 lead with an RBI-grounder.
“Just because of the score, I wanted to lay the bunts down,” said Brown. “I think we got two runs across because of bunts. It was a little small ball that helped us today. When you’re not hitting, it can help.”
Cedar Crest doubled its lead in the bottom of the fourth frame, without the benefit of a hit. The Falcons scored their second run on a double play, after Cavic drew a lead-off walk and was sacrificed by Nate Trovinger.
“No, that was not one of our better games,” said Brown. “But we got the win. We’ve been playing good baseball, until yesterday. These cross-over games are important. We’ve got to get back to .500. The kids persona was a little better today.
“We need to pitch better and play better defense,” continued Brown. “Just do a couple more little things better. Today we pitched.”
“Batting-wise, my role is to get lead-off hits, and just get on base,” said Horn. “Pitching-wise, my job is to throw strikes. And fielding-wise, I just want to make the plays.”
The Falcons were at it again in the fifth inning, courtesy of a Luke Hains’ HBP and a Horn sacrifice. Kyle Poorman stroked a one-out RBI-single for the Falcons, then later came around to score on a Buckskin throwing error.
“One of the keys for us is closing out close games,” said Horn. “We lost two or three games by one run. We’ve got to work on ending them. We can’t let teams stick around.”
“At points, I am pleased with the progress,” said Brown. “We are getting better. It’s obvious. You throw that one (the loss to Manheim Township) out the door and move on. We can beat these Section One teams. We just have to finish those one-run games. We’ll get there.
“Of course we can get to districts,” added Brown. “Pitching is the one thing we’ve got to be consistent with. If we can throw strikes, we can win.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
2017 Cedar Crest Baseball Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
OUTCOMES |
|
|
| 03/29 |
@Northern Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
L 4-10 |
|
|
| 04/03 * |
@Warwick
|
4:15 PM |
W 7-3 |
|
|
| 04/05 * |
McCaskey
|
4:15 PM |
L 5-6 |
|
|
| 04/07 * |
@Hempfield
|
4:15 PM |
L 4-5 |
|
|
| 04/08 |
Palmyra
|
1:00 PM |
W 10-9 |
|
|
| 04/10 * |
@Penn Manor
|
4:15 PM |
L 4-6 |
|
|
| 04/12 * |
Manheim Twp.
|
4:15 PM |
L 0-15 |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 04/13 |
Conestoga Valley
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 04/17 |
@Donegal
|
4:15 PM |
Donegal High School |
|
| 04/19 |
Lampeter-Strasburg
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 04/21 |
@Solanco
|
4:15 PM |
Solanco High School |
|
| 04/24 |
Ephrata
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 04/26 |
@Elizabethtown
|
4:15 PM |
Elizabethtown High School |
|
| 04/28 * |
Warwick
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 05/01 * |
@McCaskey
|
4:15 PM |
McCaskey High School |
|
| 05/03 * |
Hempfield
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 05/04 * |
Penn Manor
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 05/08 * |
@Manheim Twp.
|
4:15 PM |
Manheim Twp. High School |
|
| 05/09 |
Fleetwood
|
4:15 PM |
Cedar Crest High School |
|
| 05/11 |
@Lebanon
|
4:15 PM |
Lebanon High School |
|
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