Friday, May 16th, 2008. Hempfield 3, Manheim Township 2
Brett Houseal went the distance for the Black Knights, pitching 7 innings and allowing 1 earned run on four hits. Houseal struck out 11 and walked 3. In a match-up that featured two Section One power house programs, both with outstanding records (Hempfield at 17-4; Manheim Township at 20-1), Houseal bested Keith Bires, who was equally superb on this night.
Hempfield scored all three runs in the 2nd inning, capitalizing on two Manheim Township errors sandwiched around three hits from Nate Beck, DJ Ream, and John Moser.
Manheim Township pushed across two runs in the 6th. Kyle Karpinski led off the inning getting hit by a pitch, and Cameron Gallagher doubled him to third. With runners at second and third, Tyler Stoltz's ground out to shortstop plated Karpinski. The Blue Streaks scored their second run on an infield error by Hempfield.
Manheim Township threatened in the 7th. Carlos X. Medina led off the inning with a single and remained on first base when Matt Turman could not sacrifice him over and struck out. Medina took off for second base on a ball in the dirt blocked by catcher Nate Beck; however, Beck threw him out for the second out of the inning. Ethan Reiker drew a two out walk. With the tying run on first base for the second time in the inning, Houseal retired Kyle Karpinski on a ground ball to short stop. Reiker was forced out at second base and the Black Knights celebrated their 8th Lancaster-Lebanon League Championship.
Video of the final out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmYRDhtSmW0
Article about the game: http://lancasteronline.com/sports/hempfield-tops-township---for-l-l-baseball-title/article_3b856fdd-8a81-5875-9faf-2d6ab84d5186.html