MYERSTOWN – During the on-going pandemic, the Elco baseball team has worn masks, social distanced and washed their hands regularly. The Raiders also ate well, trained and developed.
The Raiders went out and got themselves all grown up.
On a sunny Monday afternoon at Elco High School’s Lyle Krall Field, the senior-rich Raiders shaded Lebanon 6-2 in an early-season non-league clash between a couple of County clubs seeking their directions. Elco opened a 5-0 lead in the third inning and freshman hurler Morgan Shanaman made it stand up.
With the triumph, Elco upped its overall record to 2-0. Elco had opened its spring campaign on Saturday, with a 7-1 victory at Donegal.
For Lebanon, the contest served as its season opener.
“Things went well, very well,” said Elco head coach Roger Hehnly. “I think the key was our team work, and obviously our pitching. The freshman threw a gem.
“We’ve got a very good group of senior guys who are taking control of the team,” added Hehnly. “It’s a good group with strong personalities and a lot of character.”
“They haven’t seen much swings in the last three weeks,” said Lebanon head coach Fred Gonzalez of his crew. “They’ve been doing a lot of catching up. I’m not ever 100 percent happy. We chased a little bit out of the zone.
“I literally don’t know much about their (Elco’s) guys,” continued Gonzalez. “You don’t know anything about anyone because no one played last year. But I’m not a big scout on what other teams have any way.”
R.J. Peiffer gave Elco a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a ringing double to right field.
Then the Raiders really broke out in the bottom of the third, turning six hits – including five straight to open the frame – into four more runs. Riley Blatt, Dakota Smith, Peiffer again and Wyatt Menzel all drove home Elco runs.
“We had back-to-back hits, a couple of stolen bases and then another hit,” said Hehnly of the rally. “We just had good timing on everything.”
“Their meat hit the ball,” said Gonzalez. “They did what they’re supposed to do. When we got it up, they pounded it. We left a lot of balls up.
“Maybe it was a little fatigue, or not finishing and leaving it elevated,” Gonzalez continued. “But I still thought this squad could put a series of hits together. We didn’t strike out a whole bunch. We had contact up and down the lineup.”
For his part, Shanaman wasn’t necessarily overpowering, but he was around the plate all afternoon and he kept the Cedars guessing. Before giving way to Smith to start the top of the seventh, Shanaman scattered seven hits, fanned eight and issued one walk.
The freshman righthander took that 5-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning, before Lebanon got to him. Jafrandy Pena’s two-out single plated Cedar teammate Braden Collazo, who had doubled.
“He (Shanaman) threw very well. He was very confident,” said Elco senior catcher Jeremy Eck of his battery-mate. “I really though he controlled their (the Cedars’) at-bats. It was nice that he was able to throw his curveball in key situations. As a catcher, the mindset is to get ahead in the count. It was nice that he got ahead with his fastball.”
“He threw a solid game,” said Gonzalez of Shanaman. “Ideally, we should’ve hit him better. He tried to get ahead and mix in junk every now and then. He started every batter but one with a first-pitch fastball. But you’ve got to tip your hat to the kid. He did a nice job.”
The Raiders made it a 6-1 game in the bottom of the fifth inning with Peiffer’s lead-off ‘big fly’ to center field. Lebanon tallied its final run in the top of the sixth, when Braden Allwein double and Julian Coleman blasted an RBI-triple.
“I think the mindset was, ‘Never given in, no matter what the lead is,'” said Eck. “We had a comfortable lead, but we didn’t want to lose that competitive edge. I thought how we played as a team really helped. We got good pitching and our bats were electric.
“I think our goal every year is to make it to the playoffs,” Eck added. “The senior class has really stepped up. When you have leadership at the top it trickles down to the underclassmen.”
“I thought Jose (Porte) did a really nice job on the mound,” said Gonzalez of his starter, who counted 68 pitches. “We were hoping to get him into the fifth inning and keep him somewhere around that number.
“Realistically, we want to win the section and have a season over .500,” concluded Gonzalez. “If we swing the bats, it’s doable with the arms we have. They’re (his pitchers) really interchangeable. This is probably one of the most versatile squads I’ve had.”
Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
3/26 4:15 pm | Elco at Donegal | 7 1 | League |
3/29 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Elco | League | |
3/31 4:15 pm | Northern Lebanon at Elco | League | |
4/01 4:15 pm | Schuylkill Valley at Elco | Nonleague | |
4/05 4:15 pm | Elco at Manheim Central | League | |
4/07 4:15 pm | Garden Spot at Elco | League | |
4/09 4:15 pm | Elco at Octorara | League | |
4/12 4:15 pm | Cocalico at Elco | League | |
4/14 4:15 pm | Elco at Lancaster Catholic | League | |
4/16 4:15 pm | Pequea Valley at Elco | League | |
4/19 4:15 pm | Elco at Columbia | League | |
4/21 4:15 pm | Lancaster Mennonite at Elco | League | |
4/26 4:15 pm | Donegal at Elco | League | |
4/27 4:15 pm | Wyomissing at Elco | Nonleague | |
4/30 7:00 pm | Elco at Northern Lebanon | League | |
5/03 4:15 pm | Manheim Central at Elco | League | |
5/05 4:15 pm | Elco at Garden Spot | League | |
5/07 4:15 pm | Octorara at Elco | League | |
5/08 1:00 pm | Elco at Tulpehocken | Nonleague | |
5/10 4:15 pm | Elco at Cocalico | League |
Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
3/26 4:15 pm | Annville-Cleona at Lebanon | Postponed Nonleague | |
3/29 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Elco | League | |
3/31 4:15 pm | Solanco at Lebanon | League | |
4/01 4:15 pm | Cocalico at Lebanon | Nonleague | |
4/05 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Lampeter-Strasburg | League | |
4/07 4:15 pm | Ephrata at Lebanon | League | |
4/09 4:15 pm | Elizabethtown at Lebanon | League | |
4/12 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Conestoga Valley | League | |
4/14 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Manheim Township | League | |
4/16 4:15 pm | Penn Manor at Lebanon | League | |
4/19 4:15 pm | Hempfield at Lebanon | League | |
4/21 4:15 pm | Lebanon at McCaskey | League | |
4/23 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Warwick | League | |
4/26 4:15 pm | Cedar Crest at Lebanon | League | |
4/28 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Solanco | League | |
5/03 7:00 pm | Lebanon at Ephrata | League | |
5/05 4:15 pm | Lebanon at Elizabethtown | League | |
5/07 4:15 pm | Conestoga Valley at Lebanon | League |