Baseball: Northern Lebanon’s Bats Wake Up in Win Over Annville-Cleona

Written by Braydin Adams 

Adams is a senior at Northern Lebanon High School.

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Northern Lebanon’s Bats Wake Up in Win Over Annville-Cleona

On Wednesday, Northern Lebanon made the short trip to Annville-Cleona looking to extend its winning streak to 11, and the Vikings did just that with an 11-3 win over the Dutchmen in a game that was broadcast live as part of our LebCo Sports Live series.

After a stretch of lower-scoring games, Northern Lebanon found more life offensively in this one, something coach Travis Thome acknowledged afterward when he said it was good to see the bats “wake up a little bit” over the last few games.

The Vikings wasted little time getting on the board. Andrew Via opened the game with a single, then quickly went to work on the bases to help Northern Lebanon apply early pressure. A wild pitch brought home the first run, and Owen Fahringer followed with a sacrifice fly as the Vikings grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 1st. Annville-Cleona settled in after that early push, but Northern Lebanon had already established the aggressive tone it wanted.

On the mound, Blake Burdick gave the Vikings a steady start. The sophomore worked through a clean opening inning, then got help from his defense in the 2nd when a Dutchmen runner trying to steal third was cut down by Fahringer. Annville-Cleona answered in the 3rd, trimming the deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single, then continued to put together quality at-bats to make Northern Lebanon earn its way through the middle innings.

The game turned in the 4th, when Northern Lebanon sent six runs across to break it open. Ryan Clemmer started the scoring with a sacrifice fly, Via followed with an RBI single, Landon Copenhaver added another run-scoring hit, Adrian Gonzalez ripped an RBI double, and Kaden Beamesderfer capped the inning with a two-run single. What had been a one-run game quickly became an 8-1 Northern Lebanon lead.

To Annville-Cleona’s credit, the Dutchmen answered with two runs in the bottom of the 4th and did not let the game completely slip away without a response. Devon Englehart led the way with two hits, while Tanner Stokes, Traian Dompier, and Grayden Summers each drove in a run. That push cut the deficit to 8-3 and forced Northern Lebanon to keep playing clean baseball.

That is where Burdick and Aidan Long came through. Burdick earned the win after allowing six hits and three runs, two earned, over 4.0 innings while striking out four and walking one. Long then took over and shut the door with 3.0 scoreless innings in relief, giving up just two hits while striking out five. Northern Lebanon’s pitching steadied things from there, and the Vikings added on in the 5th and 6th to put the result away.

In the 6th, Gonzalez delivered the finishing touch with a two-run home run to left, one that pushed the lead to 11-3. Gonzalez finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI out of the cleanup spot, while Via added more pressure on the bases with two stolen bases.

Afterward, Gonzalez summed up the offensive breakout simply, saying, “It’s about time we scored over 10 runs.”

Thome, meanwhile, kept the larger picture in focus, noting that once this one ended, it was back to “0-0” and time to prepare for Saturday.

Northern Lebanon, now 11-0, will travel to Middletown on Saturday for an 11 a.m. matchup. Annville-Cleona fell to 3-5 and will be back in action on Thursday with a home game against Solanco.

Northern Lebanon 11, Annville-Cleona 3

Northern Lebanon Leaders

Adrian Gonzalez: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Andrew Via: 1-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB
Landon Copenhaver: 1-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB
Ryan Clemmer: 0-2, 2 RBI, SF
Kaden Beamesderfer: 1-4, 2 RBI
Owen Fahringer: 1-3, R, RBI, SF

Pitching
Blake Burdick (W): 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Aidan Long: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Annville-Cleona Leaders

Devon Englehart: 2-3, R, RBI, 2B
Tanner Stokes: 1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2B
Traian Dompier: 1-3, RBI, 2B
Grayden Summers: 1-3, RBI, 2B
Alex Shaffer: 1-3, 2B

Pitching
Alex Shaffer: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Hank Pacewicz: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Full Box Score

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