Baseball: Vikings Open Section Play with Road Win Over Lancaster Mennonite

Written by Braydin Adams 

Adams is a senior at Northern Lebanon High School.

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Vikings Open Section Play with 10-1 Road Win Over Lancaster Mennonite

Originally scheduled for Wednesday evening under the lights, Northern Lebanon’s Section 4 opener at Lancaster Mennonite was moved up to Tuesday, giving the Vikings an earlier chance to keep their strong start rolling. With an opportunity to move to 5-0 on the season, Northern Lebanon took control early and never let go, powering past the Blazers 10-1.

The Vikings opened the scoring in the top of the 1st with a pair of sacrifice flies. Connor Stoltz brought home the first run, then Blake Burdick followed with another productive fly ball as Northern Lebanon grabbed a quick 2-0 lead.

Lancaster Mennonite answered with its only run in the bottom half, trimming the margin to 2-1. But that was as close as the Blazers would get.

Northern Lebanon broke the game open in the top of the 2nd by sending seven runs across the plate. Adrian Gonzalezdrew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, Stoltz ripped a 2-run double, Burdick followed with a 2-run double of his own, and Owen Fahringer capped the inning with a 2-run homer to right. By the time the dust settled, the Vikings had built a commanding 9-1 advantage.

From there, senior Aidan Long took control on the mound. Long worked through six strong innings, allowing eight hits and just one run while striking out eight and walking none. He kept Lancaster Mennonite from ever building momentum and was backed by a Northern Lebanon defense that also turned a double play.

The Vikings added one more insurance run in the top of the 7th. Kole Lesher tripled to put himself in scoring position, and Tyler Stoltz followed with an RBI single to make it 10-1.

At the plate, Kaden Beamesderfer and Fahringer each collected two hits for Northern Lebanon. Stoltz and Burdick were especially tough to handle back-to-back in the lineup, with each driving in three runs. Fahringer also delivered the game’s loudest swing with his 2-run homer in the 2nd.

In relief, Gonzalez worked a scoreless 7th inning and struck out all three batters he faced to slam the door.

For Lancaster Mennonite, Kyler Buckwalter drove in the Blazers’ lone run and finished 2-for-3. Edwin Rivera also collected two hits in the loss.

After the game, coach Travis Thome said the fast start was encouraging, even if he still wants to see the offense keep producing deeper into games.

“We came out hot, scored 9 in the first 2, and then got stagnant for 5 innings, so it was good to have a hot start but we gotta be able to manufacture throughout the game,” Thome said.

Fahringer kept his postgame message simple.

“Jesus is my strength,” Fahringer said.

Long also shared the mindset that fuels him on the mound.

“Obsession is going to beat talent every time. But, are you obsessed?” Long said.

Northern Lebanon is now 5-0 and will take on Hamburg at home on Thursday.

Northern Lebanon 10, Lancaster Mennonite 1

Northern Lebanon Leaders

Andrew Via: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
Adrian Gonzalez: 2 R, RBI, BB
Connor Stoltz: 1-1, R, RBI, BB, 2B, SF
Blake Burdick: 1-1, R, 3 RBI, 2B, SF
Cale Shuey: 2-2
Owen Fahringer: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
Kaden Beamesderfer: 2-2, R, 2B
Kole Lesher: 1-2, R, RBI, 3B
Ryan Clemmer: R, BB
Tyler Stoltz: 1-2, RBI

Northern Lebanon Pitching
Aidan Long: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Adrian Gonzalez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Lancaster Mennonite Leaders

Kyler Buckwalter: 2-3, RBI, 2B
Edwin Rivera: 2-3
Asher Kenkelen: 1-3, R
Ian Yen: 1-3
Cole Weaver: 1-3, 2B
Reuben Gingrich: 1-3

Lancaster Mennonite Pitching
Jackson Snader: 1.1 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Kyler Buckwalter: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Full Box Score

Last Game: Fahringer’s Blast, Burdick’s Arm Push Vikings Past Hershey