The Tribe gathered their seventh triumph of the season on May 11th on a trip to Northern Lebanon, overcoming the Vikings 10-8.
Headed into the seventh frame, the game was knotted up 8-8, but a triple from John Holmes and a single from Micah Brown drove in the final two runs, and Donegal defense got the job done, with a double play from Holmes and Landon Baughman to retire the side.
"We played solid D and our offense definitely picked us up," credited head coach Jeff Hartman. "The boys stayed the course."
M. Brown finished the day with three hits and three RBIs, Xavier Cannon and Baughman each drove in a pair of RBIs on one hit. AJ Small, Joel Grillo, Alex Eisenberger, and Ian Brown all added a hit to bring the Tribe's hit count to 10.
Holmes was the winning pitcher, allowing two hits, zero runs, and striking out one in his one and two-thirds innings pitched.
Donegal baserunners took advantage of some wild pitching to collect two late runs in a 13-2 loss at Manheim Central on May 10th.
Jaden Fabian tallied the Indians first run after reaching on a walk and Baughman came home on a wild pitch before the Barons were able to retire the side.
Small was saddled with the loss after two innings, allowing four runs and striking out two.
The Indians didn't let a rocky start to their season define the remainder of the year and turned things around from a 1-6 start to win six contests in the latter half of the season. They are currently 7-11-1.
"We re-set our team goals at the halfway point of the season," elaborated Hartman. "I'm very proud of our overall growth and attitude. I believe the guys that return next year will continue the climb to the top."
Speaking of returning, the coach pointed out the void that will be left by the graduating seniors, pointing out their pivotal contributions to the team.
"Our seniors and co-captains, Joel Grillo, Josh Schwartz, and Xavier Cannon-these young men represent Donegal baseball in the best way possible, on and off the field. Very proud of them," the coach concluded.
SOFTBALL
Four wins in less than a week's time improved the Lady Indians league record to 12-2 and clinched the L-L Section III Title.
Cara Biesecker, Donegal's sophomore ace was in the circle for all four wins.
Biesecker wasn't just earning the pitching win in May 11th's 17-2 triumph against Columbia, she was also hot at the plate with four of Donegal's 14 hits in the runaway win.
Bella Mackison, Madeline Gohn, Natalie Colwell, and Emma Garber each added a pair and Aysha Gibbs and Grace Graham supplied a hit apiece.
Donegal edged ahead in a pivotal 4-3 win over Manheim Central on the 10th, coming from behind to score Emma Miller for her third run of the day as the go-ahead in the sixth.
The winning run was a true team collaboration as Kara Heidlauf got on base with a single and Miller came in as courtesy runner. Miller stole second and advance to third on a sacrifice from Julianne Wheeler before a single from Esther Myers plated Miller.
Early in the contest, Donegal was trailing 2-0 when Mackison crushed a triple to kickstart the Tribe's momentum. Gohn rocketed a single into center to score Miller, this time running for Mackison.
Colwell provided a double in the third bringing Donegal's hit count to five, and Biesecker fanned two Baron batters during her seven innings in the circle.
"We've been getting good production up and down the lineup," pointed out coach Wayne Emenheiser. "Monday at Central was a team win with everyone contributing offensively or defensively to get the big win."
Gibbs drove in six Donegal runs including a grand slam in the second inning of the Lady Indians 20-2 win over Cocalico on May 7th.
Mackison added four hits including a two-run homer, and a total of three RBIs, accompanied by three RBIs from both Biesecker and Wheeler.
Biesecker pitched two of the three innings striking out one, while Aaliyah Cannon threw one inning in relief and struck out two of the four batters she faced.
On May 6th, it was Middletown that succumbed to the Tribe 17-12. Bats on both sides of the contest were successful with Middletown outhitting the Indians 18-16, but it was the Indians who were able to bring those runners home, exploding out of the gate with a seven-run first inning.
Heidlauf's first inning grand slam pumped the Indians with adrenaline, while scoring Paige Miller, Colwell, and Garber. Gibbs crushed a triple into left field scoring Biesecker to add fuel to the first inning surge.
Gibbs went three-for-three to lead the team in hits with Gohn, Colwell, Garber, Wheeler, and Myers each supplying a pair and Biesecker and Mackison adding one apiece.
Heidlauf drove in the most runs with four, and Gibbs, Mackison, Gohn each had three RBIs.
TENNIS
The Indians worked their way to a collective third place finish in the District III Tennis Championships with a 3-2 team triumph over East Pennsboro on May 12th.
Simultaneously, the Tribe's success clinched a spot in the State tournament, for just the third time in program history.
"Great accomplishment for this team that worked so hard throughout the season," celebrated coach Trent Hoffmaster.
All three Donegal points came from singles players with Luke Yunginger, Akilan Murugesan, and Evan Stehman each winning their matchup in straight sets.
Donegal entered the post-season tournament as the fifth seed and overcame fourth-seeded Berks Catholic 3-2 in the quarterfinals. The semifinal round pitted the Tribe against the top seed, Lancaster Catholic who dealt the Indians a 3-0 loss and bumped them into the battle for third.
TRACK
While the collective wins went to Annville-Cleona in a May 10th meet (98-50 boys and 88-58 girls), several Donegal athletes put up noteworthy performances.
Donegal throwers continue to impress in the boys' track meet sweeping the three events to secure all 27 points up for grabs, led by a trio of first place finishes by Zack Nissley to claim javelin, discus, and shot put.
The Indians also outperformed A-C in the distance events. Logan Fry and Samuel Rothstein went one and two in the 800m. Brock Overlander and Hunter Gehman took second and third in the 1600, and Gehman also secured second in the 3200.
Owen Kling claimed a pair of second place finishes in discus and shot, and Ashton Robertson supplied the second in javelin. To complete the Tribe sweep, Brandon Cucugliello grabbed third in both shot and discus, and Keaghan Cote was third in javelin.
The girls meet featured a strong showing in the jumping events with Claudia Taylor and Sarah Hinkel winning the long and triple jumps, respectively. Taylor was also part of the Donegal sweep in triple jump with a third place just behind teammate Lillian Stehman who grabbed second.
Faith Garber had a double-victory event with wins in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Hinkel grabbed a pair of second place finishes in the high hurdles and the 300 hurdles.
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