Manheim, Hempfield advance in LNP 12U championship bracket | Baseball

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Manheim pitcher Peyton Wettig throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024. kitchen cabinet shelf holders

Manheim pitcher Peyton Wettig throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Monday night saw the start of the LNP 12U Tournament at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy, with four teams playing in an action-packed doubleheader. The top two seeds cemented their initial spots in the championship bracket.

No. 1 seed Manheim displayed its explosive offense against No. 3 seed Elizabethtown, earning a 16-1 mercy-rule victory. Then, No. 2 seed Hempfield had to overcome an early deficit before rallying to defeat No. 3 seed Penn Manor 7-2 in the nightcap.

All four teams will return to Kunkle Field on Tuesday night. Elizabethtown will face Penn Manor in an elimination game at 6 p.m., while Manheim and Hempfield both look to remain undefeated in the tournament when they play 20 minutes after the first game concludes.

Elizabethtown got off to a 1-0 lead four batters into the game. Then, it was all Manheim.

Each of Manheim’s first three batters reached base, and the team grabbed a 2-1 advantage. But Elizabethtown starter Brogan Edgell escaped further trouble with three straight outs, and opened the bottom of the second with a strikeout — only for a dropped third strike to allow Hudson Naff to reach base.

That started an offensive onslaught in the inning.

Eight straight Manheim batters got on base to force Edgell’s exit with six runs against him in the frame. A Naff walk immediately following his departure scored another.

Leadoff hitter Ben Simmons ended the scoring in the inning with a bases-clearing single.

“They put the ball in play,” Manheim head coach Darrell Zug said. “(Elizabethtown) played deep … you just have to keep putting them in play and see what you get.”

Manheim’s 10 runs in the bottom of the second gave it a commanding 12-1 lead. It batted around in the frame, with a total of 13 at-bats. Naff and Simmons both reached base twice in the inning alone.

The lead only grew in the third inning.

Asher Holmes led off with a double to center, and Peyton Wettig followed with a single. Chase Maurer blooped an RBI single. Grayson Albrecht blooped a two-run single. And Cooper Sherer added another run with a sacrifice fly.

Manheim extended its advantage to a whopping 16-1, with the frame ending again due to the league’s inning mercy rule — batting around with a 10-run lead.

Elizabethtown, needing to score a run in the top of the fourth to keep the game going and avoid the 15-run mercy rule after four innings, couldn’t do so. A Luke McNaughton lineout to third base sealed Manheim’s win.

Manheim and Elizabethtown players are introduced before the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim pitcher Peyton Wettig throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Elizabethtown’s Brogan Edgell throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Cooper Sherer tags out Elizabethtown’s Jaxon Karwowski during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Hudson Naff rush to the first base over Elizabethtown’s Hudson Sintic during seond inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Landon Kammerer warms up as his teammates wait during fourth inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Landon Kammerer throws the ball during fourth inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim and Elizabethtown players gives hands after the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim and Elizabethtown players are introduced before the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim pitcher Peyton Wettig throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Elizabethtown’s Brogan Edgell throws the ball during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Cooper Sherer tags out Elizabethtown’s Jaxon Karwowski during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Landon Kammerer warms up as his teammates wait during fourth inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim’s Landon Kammerer throws the ball during fourth inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Manheim and Elizabethtown players gives hands after the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

As in Monday’s opening game, the road team struck first — only this time the scoring began in the second inning, as Penn Manor starter Jack Carson escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, and the Comets took an early 1-0 lead on a Sylas LeSuer RBI single to left.

Penn Manor loaded the bases with just one out later in the inning, but reliever Michael Sahd induced a fielder’s choice and a flyout to limit the damage to just the one run.

After Hempfield scored two in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch and a Toma Cox RBI single, LeSuer recorded his second RBI single in as many innings to even the score at 2-2.

But the Black responded with a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth — the biggest blow a bases-clearing double from Nolan Daly that put Hempfield up 7-2.

“I know at that point that we’re able to hold on for that victory,” Hempfield head coach Eli Cox said.

While Penn Manor’s offense got runners on base over the course of the final two innings, it couldn’t muster a run, let alone five, to cement Hempfield’s win and advance the Black to face Manheim.

“They’re clearly the team to beat,” Cox said. “But we’re looking at them going ‘We’re gonna give everything we’ve got.’ ”

Hempfield players are introduced before the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Penn Manor players are introduced during before the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Hempfield pitcher Colton Zutell throw the ball against Penn Manor during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Penn Manor pitcher Jack Carson throws the ball against Hempfield during first inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Penn Manor’s RJ Provanzo watches the ball pass by against Hempfield during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Hempfield’s Cam Rishell catches the ball as his teammate Adrian Olivencia defends against Penn Manor’s Kanai Reyes at the second base during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Hempfield’s Umer Virmani waits to catch the ball against Penn Manor during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Hempfield’s Brady Biggs reacts at bat against Penn Manor during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Penn Manor pitcher Braden McCormick pitches against Hempfield during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Knuckle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Penn Manor’s Jack Carson reacts after tag out Hempfield’s Umer Virmani at the first base during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Hempfield’s Colton Erdman reacts after score against Penn Manor during second inning action of the LNP Tournament 12U doubleheader game at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy on Monday, July 15, 2024.