It was a short, but action-packed couple of days for the Chargers, splitting the results of their back-to-back league contests last week.
On Monday, the Chargers took down the Harrisburg Christian Knights, 21-2, in a quick three innings at In The Net in Palmyra.
Mount Calvary was the visiting team in the lopsided contest, rocketing out to a 7-1 lead after one inning. The Knights held the Chargers to only one additional run in the second, but a teamwide hitting surge led to a 13 run final at bat to close the ball game.
Coupling good hitting with solid defense, the Chargers controlled the game from beginning to end.
Noah Butler was on the mound for the Chargers, throwing all three innings and striking out one.
"Noah did a great job locating his pitches and threw a lot of strikes," pointed out head coach Jim Sintic. "Our defense played well behind him throughout the game."
Butler was hit by a line drive in the Knights' final at bat, but recovered to make the out at first and finished the inning on the hill.
"He [Butler] showed a lot of composure after being hit by a sharp comebacker, and was able to get the final out of the game," added Sintic.
Multiple Chargers contributed to the 10-hit total, with Aidan Masters collecting three hits and five RBIs. Tyler Masters and Hunter Stewart each supplied a pair of hits, and David Ellis drove in four Charger runs.
Twenty-four hours later, the Mount Calvary club hosted the High Point Eagles, and fell 5-2, for their second loss of the season.
After holding a 2-0 lead into the top of the fifth, MC allowed the Eagles back into the game with a two-run top of the fifth that leveled the scoreboard, and then go ahead with a three-run seventh inning.
"We played well, but just couldn't execute in a few pivotal moments," acknowledge Sintic.
Stewart started on the mound for the Chargers, striking out an impressive five Eagle batters and only walking one in five innings of work.
Stewart also led at the plate with a RBI double, driving home Dakota Lamb, who reached on a single in the bottom of the first to give the Chargers the initial lead.
Nathan Lerro, Wyatt Lamb, and T. Masters each added a hit to the MC resume, but only Masters able to complete his trip around the bases, scoring on an Eagle fielding error in the fourth.
"As a team, we obviously don't like to lose, but we're learning a lot about ourselves and what we need to improve on to be successful in the future," concluded Sintic.
The ups and downs of competitive sports give ample opportunity to display character growth-and much like in all aspects of life-those opportunities often seem to be multiplied in the wake of disappointment.
The squad has been focusing their attention on the familiar passage regarding God's greatest commandments from the gospel of Matthew.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV).
"Each week our captains lead our team devotions, and have done a great job encouraging each other on what these verses look like as a team," explained Sintic. "Our time spent studying as a team has helped us see beyond the game of baseball, and I've been encouraged to see spiritual growth taking place this season along with physical skills."
Senior outfielder and captain, David Ellis, took the opportunity to share with the team what he has been learning from the passage.
"To love God is our number one priority, and love others as ourselves," summarized Ellis pointing out to the team that a person's self-worth is to be established by God. "Loving God is the key to loving yourself and loving the people around you."
A fitting reminder as the team looks just ahead to a time of Easter celebration of a risen Savior, Jesus Christ, who demonstrated the fullest extent of this love, by laying His very life down for sinners.
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