Todd Ruth

Ephrata Review

Sports Editor Action is really heating up as the second half of the spring sports season kicks in.

It’s been an amazing first half for several individuals and a few local teams.

Individually on the track, I can’t wait for the post-season which figures to be highly-successful for a few local athletes. Certainly, the Cocalico throwers will be well represented with Jhett Janis and Spencer Moser tossing the javelin to new ridiculous lengths each week.

And freshman sensation Emily Stauffer continues to amaze in the shot put…Can you imagine how far that thing will go four years from now?

In Ephrata, we’ve been treated to an outstanding crop of female athletes, who are two wins away from securing another section title.

It will come down to depth, but Ephrata could make a run at the team title in the L-L Meet a few weeks from now. Certainly their showing this past weekend at the Hempfield Invitational proved that.

Speaking of teams, what two teams right now are hotter than the baseball and boys lacrosse teams at Ephrata?

Photo by Preston WhitcraftVicki Smith scores inside for the Warwick girls on Tuesday night.Photo by Preston WhitcraftVicki Smith scores inside for the Warwick girls on Tuesday night.

Pitcher Seth Griffith went seven strong innings while Brandon Miller clubbed a two-run home run to highlight an impressive 8-2 victory over visiting Elizabethtown in baseball action Monday night at War Memorial.

Griffith scattered five hits while striking out six and walking just one in his complete-game gem which earned him his second victory of the season without a loss.

Miller’s blast helped ignite the Mounts’ offense, which broke open a 4-2 game with a four-run fifth inning. Matt Herbener led Ephrata’s nine-hit attack, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored out of the lead-off spot.

The win was the Mounts’ third-straight in league play and helped them keep pace with undefeated Conestoga Valley, which out-slugged Cocalico, 17-7 Monday.

Ephrata (3-1 section, 5-1 overall) will get a chance to draw even with the Buckskins (4-0 section) Wednesday afternoon (4:15 p.m.) when the Mounts travel to Witmer in a battle for first place in Section Two.

Last Friday, Ephrata traveled to Cocalico where the Mounts got a nearly-perfect performance from senior right-hander Scott Liebl in an eventual 12-0 victory.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Review Staff, Staff Writer

Ephrata's Jeremy Kachel (left) carries around Warwick defender Ryan Gruett during the Mounts' 9-5 victory at Mountaineer Field Friday night. Kachel had a big hand in the win, scoring four key goals to lead the team. (Photo by Cathy Chapis)

The Ephrata boys lacrosse team got a test last Friday night as they tried to remain unbeaten in league play.

In the end, junior midfielder Jeremy Kachel scored a game-high four goals, including the eventual game-winner late in the third quarter, and the host Mounts went on to beat back-yard rival Warwick 9-5.

The game was tied 4-4 through more than 30 minutes, but Ephrata outscored the Warriors 5-1 the rest of the way to prevail.

Besides winning the Ream Cup, which is annually presented to the winner of this rivalry, Ephrata, the defending L-L League and District champions, improved 4-0 in league play. The Mounts’ 9-8 non-league win over Wyomissing Saturday, their fifth win in a row, raised their overall record to 5-2.

Cocalico junior thrower Jhett Janis became the first in the L-L League to throw the javelin 200 feet Monday afternoon in a home meet vs. Garden Spot.

Janis uncorked a throw of 204-6 on his second launch of the day to snap the previous record of 203-0 established at the State Meet last year by former teammate Kyle Felpel, who is now at the University of Alabama.

His javelin victory was one of two on the day for Janis, who also won the 100 in a time of 11.3 to lead the Eagles in a 107-43 loss to the Spartans.

The Eagle boys won just three events total on the day with their other win coming from Wyatt Dungan, who captured the 400 with a time of 55.0.

On the girls’ side, Cocalico dropped its first section meet of the season in an 88-62 loss to the Spartans.

Ashley Strenko paced Cocalico (3-1) with a pair of individual wins on the day, claiming both the long jump (16-0) and the high jump (5-0).

Other individual winners from Cocalico included: Marissa Gingrich in the 800 (2:28.8); Megan Gingrich in the triple jump (30-10 1/2); and Emily Stauffer in the shot put (38-1 1/2).

By: JEFF SEIVERLING Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

Ephrata leaned on its team leaders to guide the squad to a convincing 3-0 non-league victory over visiting Lebanon Monday night.

Senior co-captains Cody Rhinier and Jordan Shultz had a huge hand in the win. Rhinier served up five aces while the 6-4 Shultz was a force in serving and at the net, collecting 15 kills and five aces on the night to key the 25-3, 25-16, 25-12 victory.

"Both those guys are very experienced and it’s going to be tough losing them after this year," Ephrata Coach Bob Witwer said of his two captains.

Ephrata was in complete control in Game One, jumping out to a commanding 17-2 lead. A Shultz kills made it 23-3 a few minutes later before the senior hitter served out the 25-3 win.

In Game Two, a much more competitive one, Lebanon led early on before Cody Springer’s ace knotted it up at 12-12. Then with Clayton Kurtz serving, the Mounts gained control and took a 17-14 lead. Ephrata then closed it out with an 8-2 run to win 25-16.

By: TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

There are several "swing events" in every track meet that ultimately decides it when a pair of equally-matched teams go head-to-head.

Friday’s home meet vs. Garden Spot was no exception.

In a battle of unbeatens, Ephrata Coach John Keller felt the difference going into the meet would be determined by the results in the 800, 1600 and 4 X 800 relay.

Well, Ephrata not only swept all three events, but gained precious second and third-place points. The Lady Mounts 4X800 team of Andrea Castillo, Nicole Wilkerson, Jordan Carvell and Vanessa Hurst ran a season-best time of 10:07.82 to take first. In the 800, Wilkerson (2:36.3) and Castillo (2:34.7) grabbed first and third place while in the 1600, Carvell (5:36.5) and Hurst (5:38.6) went one and two which ultimately keyed an eventual 85-65 triumph over the Lady Spartans.

"I looked at (those three events) as the key events that I thought could have swung the meet for either team," Keller said. "Obviously the girls 4X8 was a great race and I was proud of our girls…Wilkerson, Hurst, Castillo and Carvell stepped up in all three of those events and rose to the occasion. The point total was 19-4 in events that I thought were evenly matched."

Todd Ruth

Ephrata Review

Sports Editor I love the spring sports season for the simple fact that every day there is something going on.

However, dealing with the unpredictability of spring weather is another thing. Just last week, I decided to head into Hempfield to see the Ephrata boys lacrosse team face the Black Knights in what turned out to be a fantastic early season showdown between two of the L-L heavyweights.

I got out of the office around 3:15 p.m. and thought I’d stop home quickly to get a jacket. However, once I to my place, I made the decision that I did not have to prepare for the cold temperatures since the sun was out with no wind and the temps hovering around 55.

Perfect lax weather.

Big mistake. As I made my trek to the other side of the county, the skies got a little grey and before too long the sun had disappeared altogether. When I arrived, it was a "balmy" 40 degrees with about a 20-mile-an-hour wind…

Froze my tail off for the next two hours or so.

By: TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

The success of the Ephrata High School baseball program throughout the Adrian Shelley era can largely be attributed to its ultra-aggressive offensive approach.

A close second would be its stellar play at the defensive end. Simply put, Ephrata rarely beats itself.

However, that wasn’t the case Monday afternoon at home vs. Solanco, in the Section Two opener for both teams.

The Mounts, who return just three starters from their section championship team of a year ago, simply struggled with the gloves Monday. Ephrata committed five key errors and several other mistakes which paved the way to a 10-7 loss to Solanco.

Ephrata’s Matt Herbener’s clutch two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth, gave the Mounts (2-1 overall, 0-1 section) a 7-6 lead heading to the seventh, but they couldn’t hold it.

After Solanco (1-2, 1-0) tied it on an RBI single by Caleb Groff off Ephrata reliever Ethan Sipe, the Mounts could see their out of the inning when Eric Lefevre hit a two-out foul pop between home and first with runners at first and second. Unfortunately for Ephrata, the pop was misplayed and fell to the turf, giving Lefevre new life. The Solanco catcher took advantage, roping a double to the gap to knock in both runners and give the Mules a 9-7 advantage.

By: TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

The Cocalico girls track program has always been competitive, but has taken a backseat to the boys, who have been a dominant team through the last decade or so.

But this year there has been a bit of a role reversal at Cocalico, thanks in part to a group of versatile female athletes as well as freshman phenom Emily Stauffer, who have re-energized the program.

The CHS girls entered Tuesday’s home meet vs. Lampeter-Strasburg looking for their third-straight victory to start the season. And they got it by an 81-69 verdict, thanks to 10 event wins on the day.

Senior standout Ashley Strenko was a triple winner to lead the way while several others posted key victories and earned big points in the win.

"We are thrilled with the girls," Cocalico coach Ron Derr said. "We are getting contributions from a lot of different sources. We don’t have a lot of real standouts, other than Emily who is the big name, but we have a lot of people who are contributing from a team-wide perspective. I think the kids are really getting along with each other and they are having a good time. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a lot of success on the girls’ side of the program at Cocalico so it’s really fun to see."