Mounts keep Section title
- 13 May 2010
Evan Weaver wasn't certain if winning a second straight L-L Section Two baseball title -- as Ephrata did Wednesday -- was made more special by the fact that the Mountaineers had to fight for it."It made it more dramatic," the sophomore outfielder said. "But we would have liked a little less stress."
The stress and drama carried over into Wednesday's one-game playoff with Solanco, won by the Mounts 8-3 in cold, rainy conditions at Conestoga Valley.
The first four innings were a microcosm of the section race. Ephrata (11-6, 14-7) led early, then saw Solanco (10-7, 12-8) pull within striking distance.
The Mounts led 3-2 in the middle of the fourth, scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning and then cracked the game wide open with a four-run fifth sparked by Weaver's two-run single.
Weaver is part of a platoon system Ephrata skipper Adrian Shelley employs in right field. Despite the fact that Weaver is so young, Shelley didn't hesitate to start him in the Mounts' biggest game of the season thus far.
"He's been coming on lately, really starting to hit," Shelley said. "I didn't deliberate much on it."
Weaver is part of a kiddie corps that has played a key role for the Mounts. Wednesday's starting and winning pitcher, Jayson Frymyer, is a sophomore. So, too, are starters Tim Murray, Andre Hoover and Shane Cochran. The latter three combined for three hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Shortstop Paul Larusso, who scored two runs, drove in one and started a nifty 6-4-3 double play in the seventh, is a freshman. Of the Mounts' nine starters, eight are underclassmen.
The Golden Mules, by contrast, are vastly more experienced, and it was their senior leadership that rallied them in the season's stretch run and again in the playoff.
Ross Kaufman roped a run-scoring double and Dan Wimer just missed pulling a grand slam to right in the fourth that would have put the Mules in front. He settled for an RBI flyout.
Bryce Keyes started and took the loss for Solanco, which advances to Saturday's league playoffs to meet the winner of today's Section Four championship between Lancaster Catholic and Pequea Valley.
The Mounts, meanwhile, await the loser of today's game in Ephrata between Lancaster Catholic and Pequea Valley. And do so with a new-found sense of maturity.
Asked if his young troops grew up a bit Wednesday, Shelley nodded.
"Absolutely," he said. "Today, we got after it, and the young guys led the charge."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.