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Vikings Use Seven-Run 2nd Inning to Pull Away from Cedar Crest in County Matchup
On Friday, Cedar Crest hosted Northern Lebanon in a cross-county matchup as the regular season moved into its final stage. For Northern Lebanon, a win against a playoff-contending 6A program would help strengthen its District 3 power ranking, while the Falcons entered the day looking to add to their 8-8 record and improve their own postseason position.
Northern Lebanon took control early and never let the game get away, using a seven-run 2nd inning to break things open on the way to a 12-0 win over Cedar Crest.
After a scoreless 1st inning, the Vikings’ offense went to work in the 2nd. Keira Palski put the ball in play on a fielder’s choice that brought home the first run of the game, and Ryleigh Hopkins followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0.
From there, the inning continued to grow. Addison Hollenbach delivered a two-run single, and Northern Lebanon kept putting pressure on the Cedar Crest defense as two errors helped extend the inning. By the time the Falcons got out of it, the Vikings had pushed across seven runs and taken full control.
Northern Lebanon added to its early lead in the 3rd. Stephanie Palkovic doubled to bring home two more runs, and Hollenbach followed with another RBI single as the Vikings stretched the advantage to 10-0.
With the early cushion in place, Sophia Roye handled the rest in the circle. She allowed just one hit and no runs over five innings while striking out eight and walking one.
The offense finished with eight hits, with Hopkins and Hollenbach each collecting two. Palkovic and Hollenbach were tough to handle back-to-back in the lineup, driving in three runs apiece, while Hopkins helped set the table with two walks as part of a patient team effort that produced six walks overall.
For Cedar Crest, Jackie Funderburk had the Falcons’ lone hit, going 1-for-2 at the plate. Ali Groff started in the circle and gave up eight hits and 12 runs, four earned, over four innings while striking out one and walking five. Addison Nolen worked one scoreless inning in relief.
Northern Lebanon improved to 15-3 and will look to strengthen its 4A seeding further when it travels to ELCO on Monday before wrapping up the regular season at home against Annville-Cleona on Tuesday. Cedar Crest drops to 8-9 and will continue its playoff push beginning Monday with a home game against Manheim Township before finishing the regular season on the road against Milton Hershey next Friday.
Northern Lebanon 12, Cedar Crest 0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lebanon | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 1 |
| Cedar Crest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
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Northern Lebanon Leaders
Ryleigh Hopkins: 2-2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
Stephanie Palkovic: 1-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, 2B
Addison Hollenbach: 2-4, R, 3 RBI
Alyssa Shirey: 1-3, R, RBI
Mykenah Johnson: 1-4, 2 R
Makenzie West: 1-3, R
Keira Palski: R, RBI
Pitching
Sophia Roye: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Cedar Crest Leaders
Jackie Funderburk: 1-2
Pitching
Ali Groff: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 12 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
Addison Nolen: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
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