Baseball: ELCO Falls to Middletown on Walk-Off in Extra-Inning Battle

If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media: Twitter/X – @lebcosports1 and Facebook.

For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.

LebCo Baseball Season Outlook: 2026

After playing an 11-inning game and falling 2-1 to Northern Lebanon on Wednesday, then dropping a road contest at Conestoga Valley on Thursday, ELCO was back on the road again Saturday afternoon to face Middletown. The Raiders battled throughout and nearly came away with a much-needed win, but Middletown walked it off for a 7-6 victory on the final play of the game.

Middletown struck first in the bottom of the 1st when Jacob Miller singled home a run to give the Blue Raiders an early 1-0 lead.

ELCO answered in the top of the 2nd. Queston Rivera grounded out to bring home a run, tying the game at 1-1.

The Raiders moved in front in the 3rd when Austin Smith singled in a run. Braden Gettle followed with a double to extend the ELCO lead to 3-1.

Middletown responded in a big way in the bottom half of the inning. Miller delivered another RBI single before Mason Stiffler launched a 3-run homer to center, pushing the Blue Raiders back in front.

ELCO kept battling and surged back ahead in the top of the 6th. Rivera brought home a run on another groundout, and Middletown committed back-to-back errors later in the inning, allowing 2 more runs to score as the Raiders grabbed a 6-5 lead.

The Blue Raiders answered again in the bottom of the 7th when Ben Nordai grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought home the tying run. Then, with the game tied at 6 in the bottom of the 8th, Nordai came through with the deciding hit, singling home the winning run to end it.

Rivera drove in 2 runs from the No. 8 spot in the lineup to lead ELCO offensively. Tanner Hibshman and Tyce Boyereach collected 2 hits for the Raiders, who finished with 7 hits in the loss.

On the mound, Rivera started and worked 3 innings, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 5 hits while striking out 3 and walking 2. Gettle took over in relief and gave ELCO a chance to win, going 4.2 innings while allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts and 5 walks.

For Middletown, Stiffler finished 1-1 with 3 RBI, while Miller led the Blue Raiders with 3 hits in 4 at-bats. Middletown also drew 7 walks and stole 4 bases, with Mitchell Mischevich swiping 2 bags. Nordai picked up the win in relief after tossing the final 3 innings.

ELCO, now 1-3, will get a day to rest before hosting Lebanon on Monday. Monday’s game will be broadcast live by YG Productions as part of the LebCo Sports Live series.

Middletown 7, ELCO 6

ELCO Leaders

Tanner Hibshman: 2-5, R, 2 3B, SB
Austin Smith: 1-5, R, RBI, 3B
Braden Gettle: 1-4, R, RBI, 2B
Tyce Boyer: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B
Queston Rivera: RBI
Isaac Tanger: RBI

ELCO Pitching
Queston Rivera: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Braden Gettle: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K

Middletown Leaders

Jacob Miller: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 3B
Mason Stiffler: 1-1, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 BB
Mitchell Mischevich: 1-3, 2 R, BB
Georgie Hartwick: 1-4, 2 R, BB
Ben Nordai: 1-5, R, 2 RBI
Brayden Reigle: 1-3, R

Middletown Pitching
Mason Reigle: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Brayden Reigle: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Ben Nordai (W): 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Last Game: ELCO Unable to Recover After Conestoga Valley’s Big 2nd Inning