Baseball: Northern Lebanon Edges ELCO in 11-Inning Pitching Duel

Written by Braydin Adams 

Adams is a senior at Northern Lebanon High School.

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Northern Lebanon Edges ELCO in 11-Inning Pitching Duel

On Wednesday, Northern Lebanon traveled to Lyle Krall Field to face ELCO for its first road game of the season. The Vikings entered at 2-0 and were looking to keep that early momentum going against the Raiders.

Senior right-hander Adrian Gonzalez got the start for Northern Lebanon, coming off a shutout win over Conestoga Valley. ELCO’s senior ace, Austin Smith took the hill for the Raiders.

Northern Lebanon went down in order in the top of the 1st, giving ELCO a chance to strike first. In the bottom half, Tanner Hibshman ripped a double to give the Raiders an early baserunner, but the Vikings made a strong defensive play to erase the threat and Gonzalez kept the game scoreless.

The Vikings broke through in the top of the 2nd when sophomore Blake Burdick launched a home run to put Northern Lebanon in front 1-0. Later in the inning, singles by Ryan Clemmer and Landon Copenhaver gave the Vikings another opportunity, but ELCO worked out of the jam and kept it a one-run game.

ELCO answered with a single from Wyatt Parker in the bottom of the 2nd, but Gonzalez stranded the runner and picked up two strikeouts in the inning. He was even sharper in the 3rd, striking out all three batters he faced as both pitchers settled into a rhythm.

In the top of the 4th, Burdick stayed hot with a single to right and later moved into scoring position, but the Raiders held their ground. ELCO then broke through in the bottom of the inning.  Smith singled to get things started and later came around to score on an RBI single, tying the game at 1-1. It was the first run Gonzalez had allowed this season, but he limited the damage there and kept the game even.

Northern Lebanon threatened again in the 5th. A single from Copenhaver and a hit-by-pitch to Connor Stoltz gave the Vikings runners on first and second with one out, but they were unable to cash in. Gonzalez continued to battle in the bottom half, working around traffic and recording two more strikeouts to keep ELCO from taking the lead.

In the top of the 6th, Smith recorded his 100th career strikeout, but the Vikings quickly tried to answer. Junior third baseman Owen Fahringer tripled to deep center field, then Clemmer dropped down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in the lead runner being thrown out at the plate. Clemmer later stole second, but Northern Lebanon still could not push the go-ahead run across. Gonzalez answered with two more strikeouts in the bottom of the 6th to keep the game tied.

The Vikings put another runner in motion in the top of the 7th when Copenhaver singled and moved up on a groundout. Stoltz was then hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, but again ELCO escaped the inning unscathed. With Gonzalez reaching his pitch count in the bottom of the 7th, senior Andrew Via came on in relief and struck out two batters to send the game to extras.

Neither team could break through in the 8th. Northern Lebanon went quietly in the top half, and in the bottom of the inning ELCO put runners on first and third with a chance to win it. The Raiders tried to make something happen on the bases, but the Vikings came up with a big defensive play at the plate and got out of the inning.

The 9th brought even more drama. Sophomore Kole Lesher was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and later Kaden Beamesderfer singled to help put runners on base. Stoltz then drew a walk to load the bases, but ELCO escaped without allowing the go-ahead run. In the bottom half, the Raiders also put together a serious threat, loading the bases with two outs, but Via got a huge strikeout to keep the game tied.

ELCO threatened again in the bottom of the 10th after a walk, a single, and a wild pitch moved runners into scoring position. Once again, Via refused to let the game slip away, pitching out of trouble and extending the night into the 11th.

In the top of the 11th, Northern Lebanon finally found the breakthrough it had been chasing. Beamesderfer singled to get things started, and Stoltz came through with the biggest swing of the game, ripping an RBI double to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.

With one last chance for ELCO in the bottom half, Burdick came on and closed the door to secure the win.

Northern Lebanon head coach Travis Thome, an ELCO grad and grandson of Lyle Krall, said afterward, “We knew it was going to be a pitching duel. We got more hitting tonight, just not timely hitting, but the right man came up in the right spot in the 11th inning and he did what he’s supposed to do and hit guys in.”

Northern Lebanon improved to 3-0 with the victory and will face Hershey on Saturday.

ELCO, now 1-1, will travel Thursday to take on Conestoga Valley.

Northern Lebanon 2, ELCO 1

Full Box Score

Northern Lebanon Leaders

Landon Copenhaver: 3-5
Blake Burdick: 2-5, HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Kaden Beamesderfer: 2-3, 1 R
Connor Stoltz: 1-3, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 HBP
Owen Fahringer: 1-5, 3B
Ryan Clemmer: 1-5

Pitching
Adrian Gonzalez: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Andrew Via: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Blake Burdick: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

ELCO Leaders

Wyatt Parker: 3-5
Tanner Hibshman: 2-5, 2B
Austin Smith: 1-5, 1 R
Braden Gettle: 1-4, 1 BB
Zach Martin: 1-4, 1 RBI
Grant Wenger: 3 BB

Pitching
Austin Smith: 8.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Braden Gettle: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K