Baseball: Hornberger’s Grand Slam, Gonzalez’s Gem Push Unbeaten Northern Lebanon Into LL Semifinals

Hornberger’s Grand Slam, Gonzalez’s Gem Push Unbeaten Northern Lebanon Into LL Semifinals

On Thursday, May 7, the Northern Lebanon baseball team opened the Lancaster-Lebanon League Playoffs at home against Warwick with a chance to carry its unbeaten season into the postseason and advance to the League Semifinals.

The Vikings did exactly that, using a big early swing from freshman Tyler Hornberger and a dominant outing on the mound from senior Adrian Gonzalez to defeat Warwick 10-0 in six innings under the mercy rule. With the win, Northern Lebanon improved to 20-0.

Gonzalez set the tone right away, striking out two batters in the 1st and working through a quick opening inning. In the bottom half, Owen Fahringer drew a walk to start things for Northern Lebanon, but the Vikings were unable to fire the engine early, keeping the game scoreless after one.

In the 2nd, Gonzalez continued his strong start with another pair of strikeouts, giving him four through two innings. Northern Lebanon then broke the game open in the bottom half. Connor Stoltz reached on a bunt and stole second, Christian Anspach drew a walk, and Blake Burdick singled to load the bases with one out. That brought up freshman Hornberger, who launched the biggest swing of the game, sending a grand slam to left field to give the Vikings a 4-0 lead.

Northern Lebanon kept going from there. Andrew Via doubled and immediately stole third before Landon Copenhaverbrought him home with an RBI groundout, stretching the lead to 5-0. Fahringer then reached on a ball that Warwick could not handle cleanly, though the Warriors were able to limit further damage and get out of the inning.

In the 3rd, Gonzalez ran into his only real trouble after Warwick put together a pair of singles, but he reset, added another strikeout, and kept the Warriors off the board. The Vikings threatened again in the bottom half when Anspach reached on a misplayed ground ball, Burdick singled, and Hornberger drew a walk, but Warwick escaped with the score still 5-0.

The Vikings added on in the 4th after Fahringer started the inning with a single and Gonzalez followed with one of his own. Kaden Beamesderfer then delivered an RBI single to make it 6-0. Gonzalez later scored from third when Beamesderfer’s steal attempt created confusion in the Warwick defense, and a wild pitch brought home Beamesderfer to push the lead to 8-0.

By that point, Gonzalez had full control on the mound. He added two more strikeouts in the 4th, then struck out the side in the 5th as Warwick continued to struggle to find any rhythm.

Northern Lebanon had a chance to end it in the 5th when Via singled, Copenhaver followed with a single, and Fahringer drove in Via with a groundout to make it 9-0. Warwick was able to avoid the mercy rule for one more inning, but the Vikings finished it in the 6th.

Stoltz opened the inning with a single and Cale Shuey followed with a single of his own. After Stoltz moved to third, Burdick ended the game with an RBI single, giving Northern Lebanon the 10-0 win.

For senior Gonzalez, it was another statement performance in what has become a dominant final season. The shutout was his 4th of the year, moving him to 8-0 with a 0.48 ERA.

After the game, Fahringer kept the message simple: “Who’s next?”

Coach Thome praised the way his team handled its postseason opener.

“Adrian threw a gem, we had errorless defense, and we made the adjustments at the plate to score some runs,” Thome said. “We did what we expect to do, and now we get to prepare for another game on Saturday.”

For Gonzalez, the focus stayed forward.

“Let’s keep rolling,” he said.

Freshman Hornberger, whose grand slam gave Northern Lebanon control early, said the Vikings continue to show they can handle whatever comes next.

“We keep on winning and keep making statements,” Hornberger said. “Every team that we face, we find a way to beat them no matter what.”

Northern Lebanon will advance to the Lancaster-Lebanon League Semifinals, where the Vikings will face Manheim Township on Saturday at Ephrata at 10 a.m. Manheim Township defeated Manheim Central 2-0 on the other side of the bracket to set up the semifinal matchup.