Baseball: Make it 10! Northern Lebanon Rallies Late to Stay Unbeaten, Tops Pequea Valley

Written by Braydin Adams 

Adams is a senior at Northern Lebanon High School.

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Northern Lebanon Rallies Late to Stay Unbeaten, Tops Pequea Valley 7-4

On Monday, April 13, Northern Lebanon hosted Pequea Valley with a chance to keep its undefeated season rolling and stretch its winning streak to ten games. The Vikings had senior right-hander Adrian Gonzalez on the mound, and after a slow start offensively, Northern Lebanon found its breakthrough late to pull out a 7-4 win.

Gonzalez looked sharp from the opening inning, striking out two and moving quickly through the top of the 1st. Pequea Valley broke through in the 2nd, using a walk, a pair of groundouts, and an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. Gonzalez limited the damage there and then added another strikeout in the 3rd to keep the Vikings within striking distance.

Northern Lebanon had a chance to answer in the bottom of the 3rd when Landon Copenhaver singled to get things going and Owen Fahringer later drew a walk. The Vikings put two runners on with two outs, but could not come up with the hit they needed, and Pequea Valley carried its 1-0 lead into the 4th.

The Braves added to their lead in the top of the 4th after a single, a stolen base, and another RBI knock made it 2-0. Northern Lebanon responded in the bottom half when Blake Burdick tripled to spark the inning and Kaden Beamesderfer followed with an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Pequea Valley threatened again in the 5th with a double, but Gonzalez worked out of it and added two more strikeouts to keep the Vikings right there. In the bottom of the inning, Copenhaver collected his second single of the game, Christian Anspach dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and Andrew Via reached safely on a play that left runners at the corners. Via then stole second, and Northern Lebanon tied the game at 2-2 on a balk.

The decisive swing came in the bottom of the 6th. Beamesderfer opened with a single, Connor Stoltz reached on a bunt, and Mason Adams delivered a bunt that brought home two runs to give the Vikings their first lead of the day. After Anspach worked a walk, Via ripped an RBI triple to make it 6-2, and Fahringer added a sacrifice fly to stretch the advantage to 7-2.

Northern Lebanon turned to Via to close things out in the 7th. Pequea Valley did not go quietly, scoring two runs and putting more pressure on the Vikings, but Via worked through it to finish off the win and preserve Northern Lebanon’s unbeaten start.

Gonzalez earned the win after going six innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out five. Via pitched the final inning in relief. Northern Lebanon finished with seven hits, with Copenhaver and Stoltz each recording two. Burdick tripled, Via drove in two runs, and Adams’ bunt in the 6th helped flip the momentum for good.

After the game, Copenhaver said the Vikings knew they had to pick things up as the game moved along.

“I think we came out a little slow at the start, but then towards the 5th inning we decided to wake up, put some runs on the board,” said Copenhaver. “We came out slow in the last inning, but we pulled through and got it done.”

Northern Lebanon (10-0) will travel to face the Dutchmen on Wednesday in a game that will be broadcast as part of our LebCo Sports Live series.

Northern Lebanon 7, Pequea Valley 4

Northern Lebanon Leaders

Andrew Via: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 3B, SB
Connor Stoltz: 2-3, R
Landon Copenhaver: 2-3, R
Blake Burdick: 1-3, R, 3B
Kaden Beamesderfer: 1-3, R, RBI
Owen Fahringer: RBI, SF

Pitching
Adrian Gonzalez (W): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Andrew Via: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Pequea Valley Leaders

Jeremiah Herr: 2-3, R, 2 RBI
Adam Smucker: 1-2, RBI, 2B, SF
Elijah Smucker: 1-3
Coleston Temple: 1-1, R, BB

Pitching
Adam Smucker (L): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Elijah Smucker: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Jeremiah Herr: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Full Box Score

Last Game: Vikings Stay Unbeaten with Late Surge at Conestoga Valley, Now 9-0