Ephrata gets past Lower Dauphin

Dillon Good pitched a strong game as third-seeded Ephrata defeated Lower Dauphin, 7-3, in the first round of the District Three Class AAAA baseball playoffs on Monday night at War Memorial Field.

The Mounts are now the highest seed remaining in the tournament, as No. 1 Hempfield and No. 2 Penn Manor bowed out on Monday.

Lower Dauphin took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off of a triple by Timmy Townsend that scored teammate Michael Geesaman.

But Ephrata responded with a great pitching performance by Good, who only allowed one run through six innings.

In the second inning some opportunistic offense from the Mounts resulted in two runs and the lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile, Good demonstrated great command of his breaking ball and held Lower Dauphin to six hits in his time on the mound.

Ephrata’s offense did a good job of not leaving runners stranded, putting together key sacrifice flies and well-placed bunts en route to plating seven runs.

The bottom of the fifth was the turning point for the Mounts, as they grew their lead to 7-1. Three consecutive hits were followed by a sacrifice fly that drove in Ephrata's Chase Weik. Shortly after, Adam Schwartz scored on a passed ball and Patrick Gallagher finished out the inning’s scoring when he slid home safely under a bobbled throw.

Trailing by six runs, Lower Dauphin started off the seventh with a solid line drive up the middle from pinch-hitter Connor Buggy. The next two batters would reach base on a walk and an infield single, giving Lower Dauphin the bases load with no outs.

At that point, Matt McGillan relieved Good and held Lower Dauphin to just two runs, sealing the victory.

Ephrata will face Muhlenberg in the next round of districts on Thursday. Muhlenberg defeated Elizabethtown, 4-1, on Monday.

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