Pioneers knock Mounts out of Leagues

Another game, another steady, precise dissection of an opponent.

Just another day at the office for Lampeter-Strasburg's baseball team.

The Pioneers improved to 20-0 by beating Ephrata 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the Lancaster-Lebanon League baseball playoffs Saturday at Ephrata's rainy War Memorial Field.
 

The Section Three champion Pioneers did it with small-ball early, getting runs on a squeeze bunt and a sacrifice fly, by taking advantage of Ephrata mistakes -- and, finally, via the long ball, in the form on Nate Shank's two-run bomb to right in the sixth inning.

"We try to see what the defense is giving us,'' coach Todd Garber said. "I don't think we're limited to one style or anything. We try to put pressure on the other team."

They did that, and not just at bat. Matt Carta pitched a complete-game four-hitter with no walks and just one strikeout, which came with two outs in the seventh.

He relied on his defense, which is sound thinking. The Pioneers don't seem to have a weak spot in the field.
 

Lampeter-Strasburg's Ray Lopez, left, puts the tag on Ephrata's Paul Larusso

in the third inning of a Lancaster-Lebanon League baseball quarterfinal game Saturday.

© Vinny Tennis / Sunday News Photos

"[Carta] locates well, holds runners well and understands what we're trying to do,'' Garber said. "He's got great mound presence, and the other kids admire the attitude he brings to the field."

Shank, Dan Neff and freshman Brett Brooks had two hits apiece for the Pioneers.