Mounts into Semis

Lock-down pitching was the prevalent theme in Monday’s L-L baseball quarterfinal doubleheader at Manheim Township.

In the opener, aces Dillon Good of Ephrata and Mitch Long of Annville-Cleona matched each other pitch-for-pitch in a game that was won by the Mountaineers 3-0 and took just 95 minutes to complete.

“A good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel,” said Mounts skipper Adrian Shelley, whose Section Two champions and reigning league champs advance to Tuesday’s semifinal doubleheader opposite Section One runner-up Penn Manor (18-3) in Ephrata's War Memorial Field at 7 p.m.

The nightcap was more of the same, Lancaster Catholic lefty Dillon Marsh and Solanco right-hander Brady Thomas locking up in another sterling mound matchup that saw them mixing pitches and strikeouts in a game eventually won by the Golden Mules 3-2 in 10 innings.

Solanco (11-9) advances to meet Section Three runner-up Elco (14-7) in Ephrata Tuesday at 4.

Good, a right-hander, carried a 5-1 record and 0.85 earned run average into the game for the Mounts (17-4), while Long, a lefty, was 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA for the Section Four runner-up (13-7).

Good helped his cause in the first inning when he followed Nate Fassnacht’s triple to deep center with a run-scoring fly to medium center.

Web gems in the third helped keep A-C off the board. Right fielder Nick Auker robbed Tyler Talhelm with a diving snare to start the inning – “a heck of a catch,” Shelley said - and first baseman Mitchel Storb closed the inning with a good pick on Fassnacht’s long throw from short to retire Hunter Long.

“If he doesn’t make that play,” Good said of Storb, “it could be a whole different game.”

The duel carried into the late innings, interrupted only by an occasional stray single.

Ephrata increased its advantage in the sixth. Auker’s leadoff single was followed by an error on Justin Carvell’s grounder. Two batters later Good helped himself again, punching a run-scoring single to right. Carvell came around to score on an error to make it 3-0.

Good closed out A-C in the seventh and strode from the hill with a four-hit shutout, having struck out six and walked four.

“To be honest I’m not too happy about it,” said Good, who threw 111 pitches, 63 for strikes. “I could have been better.”

Good was impressed with Long, who fanned five, walked one and surrendered just one earned run.

“He pitched a great game,” he said, and Shelley thought the same.

“I tip my hat to him,” he said. “He did a nice job.”