Spring’s a Short Season, and Falcons are off to a Slow Start

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Spring’s a Short Season, and Falcons are off to a Slow Start

Apr 3, 2019
Jeff Falk
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Cedar Crest, FEATURE STORIES, Softball
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BY JEFF FALK

SOUTH LEBANON – The good news is that there’s another game starting any minute now. Because at this point, all the Cedar Crest softball team can hope for is a next opportunity.

On a windy Wednesday evening at Cedar Crest Middle School, the Falcons continued to search for their way, during a 22-2 loss to Penn Manor, in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section One titl shortened to four innings by the 15-run mercy rule. The Falcons simply struggled to record outs against the hard-hitting Comets, as the visitors scored at least two runs in each of their at-bats, including the top of the fourth when they tallied nine times to bring the mercy rule into play.

It was Cedar Crest’s fifth straight loss to start the season. The Falcons, who slipped to 0-5 overall and 0-4 in Section One, have now been outscored by a combined margin of 42-8 this year.

With the result, Penn Manor jumped to 3-3 on the spring and 2-2 in the league.

Cedar Crest second-year head coach Jill Houtz declined an opportunity to be interviewed after the game.

“I can feel for them,” said Penn Manor head coach David Stokes of the Falcons. “Thirteen years ago when I took over, that was us out there. We struggled to win two games and there were a lot of 15-run rules. They’re struggling. They’re working to get better, but other teams are pushing hard too. It’s a hard road.”

The Comets plated three runs on three hits and two Falcon errors in the top of the opening frame. The rally was highlighted by back-to-back, two-out triples from Madison Trout and Kaelin Gable.

But the Falcons got one of those runs back in the home half of the first inning, courtesy of Morgan Arnold’s triple and a Comet throwing error.

“Unfortunately, Cedar Crest is a little down right now,” said Stokes. “But anytime you get out to an early lead, it’s going to bode well for you.

“Coaches talk,” contnued Stokes. “From what other coaches have told me, their (the Falcons’) pitching was better than I expected. They were around the plate. But when they threw strikes, our kids hit them.”

Penn Manor broke the game open with eight runs in the top of the second inning. The Comets’ first seven batters in the inning reached base, and a total of 13 hitters came to the plate during the rally.

Trout blasted a three-run triple and Emma Grumbling smashed a two-run dinger to left field.

Cedar Crest made it 11-2 with a single tally in the bottom of the second. The Falcons turned the trick with three walks and a Penn Manor error.

“I was pleased with how we hit at the beginning of the game,” said Stokes. “We’ve been talking about our offensive approach. I thought Cedar Crest’s first pitcher (Elizabeth Werner) was pretty decent. But I get disappointed when games get out of hand like that.”

Penn Manor extended its lead to 13-2 when it scored twice in the third inning. Audrey Paterson drove home a run for the Comets with yet another extra-base hit.

Penn Manor collected a total of 15 hits against two Falcon hurlers, eight of which went for extra bases.

“Our thing is: If you move the ball hard, good things will happen,'” said Stokes. “But there were probably times when they (the Falcons) should’ve gotten the last out of the inning.”

The Comets sent 14 batters to the dish and scored nine runs in the top of the fourth inning. A total of seven different Penn Manor hitters drove home runs.

“Our goals are the same every year,” said Stokes. “We want to compete for our section title. That’s the primary goal. You’ve got to do well in the section to have goals for anything else. We have some work to do, and we don’t have a lot of wiggle room. It’s a short season. The end will be here before you know it.”

Arnold’s triple ended up being the Falcons’ only safety of the game. The Falcons struck out five times and drew five walks against Penn Manor pitching.

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

2019 Cedar Crest Softball Schedule



Date	Opponents	Outcomes
3/22 4:15 pm	Bishop McDevitt at Cedar Crest
3/27 4:15 pm	Hempfield at Cedar Crest	12 1
3/28 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Northern Lebanon	0 10
3/29 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at McCaskey	5 10
4/01 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Manheim Township	0 11
4/03 4:15 pm	Penn Manor at Cedar Crest
4/05 4:15 pm	Warwick at Cedar Crest
4/08 4:15 pm	Lebanon at Cedar Crest
4/10 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Lampeter-Strasburg
4/12 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Conestoga Valley
4/15 4:15 pm	Elizabethtown at Cedar Crest
4/17 4:15 pm	Solanco at Cedar Crest
4/22 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Ephrata
4/24 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Hempfield
4/26 4:15 pm	McCaskey at Cedar Crest
4/29 4:15 pm	Manheim Township at Cedar Crest
5/01 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Penn Manor
5/07 4:15 pm	Cedar Crest at Warwick

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Section One Standings


	League			Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	RS	RA
Warwick	4	0	100.00	4	0	100.00	41	11
Hempfield	3	1	75.00	4	1	80.00	46	28
Manheim Township	2	2	50.00	2	2	50.00	32	9
Penn Manor	1	2	33.33	2	3	40.00	37	20
McCaskey	1	3	25.00	1	3	25.00	18	41
Cedar Crest	0	3	0.00	0	4	0.00	6	22