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."

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

The start was rather inauspicious. However, the finish was a typical Ephrata baseball work of art.

Ephrata fell behind visiting Daniel Boone, 6-0, in Saturday’s season opener at War Memorial and the Mounts were seemingly headed for a loss.

Ace pitcher Brandon Miller uncharacteristically struggled to find the strike zone in his debut and made it through just three innings, walking seven before giving way to the pen.

Defensively, the Mounts committed three errors behind Miller, and offensively the Mounts were held hitless through the first three frames.

However, baseball games can certainly turn on a dime. And that’s exactly what happened.

The bullpen of Ethan Sipe (3 IP, 2K, 0 BB) and Seth Griffith (1 IP) kept the Blazers at bay the rest of the way. And offensively, the Mounts woke up in a big way.

While Ephrata only had nine hits for the contest, the Mounts made the most of their remaining opportunities. And trailing 7-4 in the sixth, Ephrata exploded for 10-unanswered runs in the frame to take the lead for good.

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

Coming off its greatest season in program history, one which culminated in both an L-L and District Three championship, Ephrata appeared to be headed for a rebuilding year in 2013.

Afterall, the Mounts graduated 13 seniors from that team, all of whom played key roles. And, to make matters worse, Blake Weaver, one of just three returning starters for this year, is out for at least the foreseeable future with a knee injury suffered during football season.

But following a pair of non-league losses to start the season, the Mounts made a huge statement Tuesday afternoon at Hempfield that they may not be in rebuilding mode afterall.

With the score tied at 7-7 in the final minute of play, junior Koty Keefer fed a pass to the front of the net where teammate Scott Gordon was stationed. Gordon turned and beat Hempfield goalie Dylan Risner with 13 ticks remaining to give the Mounts a huge 8-7 come-from-behind victory over the Black Knights.

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

Ephrata's Mary Witmer (front) clears the hurdle, well ahead of the rest of the field on her way to one of her four wins on the day Friday in the Lady Mounts' 102-48 team victory over Lampeter-Strasburg. (Photo by Stan Hall)

While Friday’s cold and wind were not optimal conditions for track and field, the Ephrata girls cleared their first major hurdle of the season nevertheless.

Sparked by their trio of Mary Witmer, Crystal Hartman and Kelly Liebl, who combined for a total of nine individual wins on the day, the Lady Mounts powered past Lampeter-Strasburg, 102-48, in the Section Two showdown for both schools.

Witmer claimed four victories on the day, claiming wins in the 400 (61.0), 100 hurdles (14.9), 300 hurdles (48.4) and triple jump (35- 1/4). Hartman took the shot put (31-1 1/4), discus (99-11) and javelin (117-6) while Liebl added wins in both the 100 (12.5) and long jump (15-2 1/2) to lead the defending Section Two champs to their first victory of 2013.

"I am very happy with the outcome," Ephrata Coach John Keller said. "Our girls know what is at stake and we cannot take anyone lightly."

By: BRUCE MORGAN Review Staff Writer, Staff Writer

The Warwick girls lacrosse team made a small adjustment in their draws at halftime on Tuesday against Cocalico.

It paid big rewards in the second half.

Capitalizing on more face-off wins and increased possession time, the Lady Warriors scored five unanswered goals following the intermission and never looked back, breaking open a 5-4 halftime lead and cruising to an 11-5 Section One win over Cocalico in Lititz.

Senior Alex White and Jess Talbot scored four goals apiece to fuel Warwick’s attack. White, who leads the Lady Warriors with seven goals this spring, also chipped in with two assists. Cocalico junior Katelyn Costanza scored two of her team-high three goals in the opening half to help keep the Lady Eagles close, but it wasn’t enough.

"Our defense did a good job in the first half," Warwick coach Eric Jeanes said, "but when you’re on defense for 15, 17 minutes of the half, you’re going to eventually give up some goals. So we just made a little change on the draw and we just started picking the ball up and keeping possession and getting good shots. It was just a better half."

Michael Kerstetter and Amy Leiphart

The Ephrata girls softball team used a late rally to overcome host Exeter and claim a win in their season debut Saturday morning in Berks County.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the seventh, the Lady Mounts responded for four unanswered runs in the final frame which led to an eventual 6-2 victory over the Eagles.

Ephrata collected eight hits for the game, including four in their seventh-inning rally. Catcher Kirsten Kauffman delivered the big blow with a two-run game winning double.

Pitcher Jenna Yarger also had a fine day at the plate for Ephrata, going a perfect 3-for-3 on the day.

On the mound, Yarger limited Exeter to just two runs on two hits while striking out four batters on the day.

Ephrata led 2-0 with single runs in the top of the third and fourth innings. However, Exeter tied it in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run single off the bat of Emily Olsen.

Exeter pitcher Parker Fizz took the loss.

Ephrata was slated to begin the season Friday at home vs. Wilson but that game was postponed due to an unplayable field. No make-up date was announced.