The Hempfield boys' and girls' track and field teams played host to McCaskey on Monday, May 3 in a Section One meet. The Red Tornado topped Hempfield 103-46 in the girls' meet while the McCaskey boys' team remained unbeaten (5-0) with a close 78-72 victory - the narrowest margin of victory for the Red Tornado team this season.
Tanner Hess posted two more first-place finishes in the boys' meet, winning the 100- and 200-meter events for the Knights with respective times of 11.25 and 22.96 seconds. David Jackson's time of 1:59.58 was good for first in the 800-m.
Owen Jackson led off and David Jackson anchored the 4x800 relay team with Aidan Hodge and Chris Titter in between. This foursome posted a winning time of 8:45.37.
Freshman Brody Weather was impressive in the pole vault, winning with an 8-foot-6 performance.
Russell Hanes registered a winning distance of 109-4 in the discus. Hess won the shot put with a distance of 43-7.50.
Mia Sheldon won the girls' shot put with a 30-1 throw for the Knights. Kassidy Felsinger claimed the high jump at 4-6 and Olivia Wenzel won the triple jump at 34-1 while junior Faith Landis won the pole vault at 8-0.
VOLLEYBALL
Revenge, as the saying goes, is a dish that's best served cold.
Revenge, in volleyball, is simply served and served again.
The Black Knights earned their revenge against Warwick on Tuesday night with a 3-0 sweep of the Warriors, defeating the only team to have posted a regular season win against them - a Section One match at Warwick on April 8.
On Tuesday, the force was with Hempfield in three straight sets - 25-21 25-11, and 25-21
"Two of the three games were close," Hempfield head coach Mike Vogel noted. "The second game was a blowout. We were actually winning 24-9, so we could have kept them in single digits.
"They held the lead until late in the third game," Vogel added. "We chipped away. Then all of a sudden, we took it over.
"We were playing well defensively, and our serves were unbelievable," continued the coach. "Our serves took them out of their system."
Ryan Givens led the Knights with 20 kills. Givens and Grant Lorelli, who served two aces, each recorded three blocks while junior Caden Bonner had two blocks and two kills. Mason Orth led the team with 14 digs. Lorelli and Gerry Gallagher each added seven kills.
"With our serves, I was calling the locations on the court and our kids were hitting them," Vogel said. "You serve to certain locations on the court and it forces teams to do things differently.
"You keep the ball on the one side of the court where our stronger blockers are," Vogel added.
The victory improved Hempfield's league mark to 9-1 (11-1 overall) while Warwick fell to 8-1, 10-1.
"We have them in the district power rankings," Vogel stated, referring to Hempfield's fifth-place rank in District Three Class AAA to Warwick's sixth-place ranking.
Therefore, assuming that Hempfield and Warwick conclude their respective seasons without any defeats, the Knights should finish as the top seed for Section One.
On the path to their huge Section One showdown with Warwick, Hempfield took care of Conestoga Valley on Thursday, April 29. The Knights posted wins by margins of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-17 on the road.
It was an outstanding night for the hitters as Lorelli and Givens each collected 16 kills. Orth led the team in digs with 17 while Michael Keen registered three blocks, and Lorelli and Bonner each notched one ace.
BASEBALL
Hempfield topped Cedar Crest 12-10 on Monday, May 3 at Crest. The Section One rivals slugged it out as the Knights came back from a six-run deficit to post their fourth L-L League win of the year (4-5, 8-9 overall).
The Knights held an early 2-0 lead until Cedar Crest answered with eight runs. Cameron Berger and Austin Dunlap each drove in a run during the Knights' comeback. Luke Fiore, Peter Fiore and Logan Harelson each drew bases-loaded walks later in the inning to keep the threat alive. By the time the fourth inning was over, the Knights only trailed 8-7.
The wildness that led to three bases-loaded walks in the fourth inning continued for Crest's pitching in the fifth. A single and two hit batsmen loaded the bases followed by Luke Fiore's walk to force in the tying run. Ethan Seitz stroked a two-run single and the tide had turned.
Christian LaBarbera slugged a solo home run to cap the scoring for Hempfield.
The Knights coming off another high-scoring Section One game in which first place Manheim Township topped Hempfield 15-8 in a Saturday morning game at Landisville. The Streaks remained unbeaten (7-0) in the L-L League.
There was a big inning by the opponent in this game too as MT scored seven in the third.
Luke Fiore's two-run home run in the first inning was part of a three-run rally that gave Hempfield a brief 3-1 lead.
Peter Fiore homered to drive in two runs - when Luke Fiore was on base, of course. That cut the lead to 7-5.
In the fourth inning, Berger drove in one run and Luke Fiore hit his second home run of the game.
Hempfield would go on to host Warwick in a Section One game on Wednesday, May 5. The Warriors defeated the Knights 11-2.
GIRLS' LACROSSE
Coming off a loss to L-L League opponent Cocalico, the girls' lacrosse team downed Kennard-Dale in a non-league match on Monday afternoon 17-9.
Haylee Eide led the way with five goals while Kelsea Dague and Regan Gillisse each scored four. Kayla Brooks notched a hat trick while Maureen Krauser finished with a goal and an assist, helping Hempfield improve to 10-4 on the year.
Also helping the Knights was goalie Eryn Murphy, who finished with six saves.
Cocalico is chasing Manheim Township in the L-L League girls' lacrosse standings. On Thursday night, April 29, the Eagles handed Hempfield its first league loss of the year.
Hannah Custer scored 11 goals in the Eagles' 18-9 win. The Knights fell to 8-1 in league play. The Eagles improved to 9-1 (12-2 overall).
Brooks and Eide each recorded a hat trick while Brynn Axe added two more goals and one assist.
BOYS' LACROSSE
Hempfield suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday, April 29 to Section One leader Manheim Township. The Streaks topped Hempfield 12-7 at Landisville.
Ryan Hilton and Zack Antesberger each scored twice for the Knights while A.J McAlpine contributed with three assists. Coming through with one goal each were Julian Morales, Max Grube and Jason Hilton.
Hempfield fell to 7-1 (10-1 overall) while the Streaks improved to 8-1, 8-3.
SOFTBALL
The softball team fell to 7-7 in the L-L League, starting a busy week with three games in as many days.
The Knights blanked the Falcons 5-0 on Monday with junior Carley Ernst pitching a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts.
Hempfield fell to 9-7 overall the next day thanks to a 6-5 loss at Elizabethtown. Courtney Guthrie suffered the loss while E-town's Kristin Geesey scattered seven hits.
The Knights came up short at Warwick as the Warriors broke a 2-2 deadlock with two runs in the fourth inning, beating Hempfield 4-2.
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