The Donegal softball team had made it past the first round of its Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs by beating Ephrata 4-3. It was a comeback win that head coach Wayne Emenheiser had referred to as "a great team win."

Though the Indians fell out of their bid to claim the league trophy, their 18-2 record had already earned them a fourth seed in the District Three Class 5A playoffs. On Monday, the Indians played host to New Oxford, the 13th seed.

The Colonials took advantage of some Donegal errors and scored three unearned runs off Indians pitcher Cara Biesecker. But just like the Ephrata game, the Indians came through as a team, scoring five late runs and holding on for a 7-5 win.

Bella Mackison not only slugged a homer, but she also drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, showing the team attitude of getting things done. Grace Graham also homered and had three runs batted in. Ruth Myers had a single and a walk, stole two bases and scored two of the runs her teammates were driving in. Emma Garber went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The win gave Donegal a spot in the district quarterfinals. The top four teams from the district qualify for the PIAA Class 5A state playoffs.

BASEBALL

All season long, the Indians have been fortunate to have quality pitching. Whether it was a 10-2 blowout, a 2-1 win or even a heartbreaking 2-1 loss despite a good pitching performance, the common aspect of games was usually good pitching.

As the District Three Class 5A baseball playoffs got underway on Friday, May 19, the Indians traveled to Mechanicsburg for a game against the sixth-seeded Wildcats.

"Absolutely a tough loss," Jeff Hartman, the Donegal head coach, said of the 2-1 defeat. "Jaden Fabian pitched very well again. We just came up short to a very good Mechanicsburg team."

The Indians' season ends with a 13-8 record. They look toward next season - some returning and some shoes to fill. Fabian, along with fellow seniors Landon Baughman, Alex Eisenberger, Caden Evans, Darren Ortman and Landon Robertson will not be returning.

"It's always tough when it's over," said Hartman. "Our seven seniors gave us all they had. I'm very proud of them. They will all be missed."

TRACK & FIELD

Phil Koser and the Donegal track & field athletes who qualified for the District Three 3A Championships traveled to Shippensburg University for the two-day event, Friday and Saturday, May 19-20.

"We had seven individual [events] and a relay make District Three AAA," Koser said. "This is actually quite an accomplishment because it is not like team sports where you can get in with a .500 record."

The relay team was the 4x800-meter quartet of Emma Myers, Marleigh Ballard, Kathryn Fernald, and Molly Myers. They competed on Saturday.

"They improved their seed performance from 16th to finish 15th," Koser pointed out.

"Also on Friday, Kathryn Fernald ran the 3200-meter race and finished just three seconds off her best in 12:32.53," Koser pointed out. "She finished 12th overall and had come in seeded 17th.

"Kathryn had a great race," Koser added. "She has been on target to run her best of the season through six laps. She struggled a bit on the last two laps. She might be able to get the school record of 11:11 next year."

Mark Overlander had an excellent pole vault performance, finishing ninth with a 13-foot-3 vault.

"He improved his overall standing to finish ninth," said Koser. "It was his season-best performance. He had three great attempts at 13-9 for the school record.

"Mark has had a great season," continued the coach. "I know he would love to improve upon it next year."

Seniors Sophia Floyd and Faith Garber ran against tough, fast competition in the 100-m dash.

"There were many really fast athletes this year," said Koser. "Faith ran a solid race in the prelims and made the semi-finals with a great race into the wind.

"Although Faith didn't make the finals, she finished 13th overall - nine places ahead the spot she came in with. Although Sophia and [boys 100m] Brody Bonham didn't run as fast as they had hoped for, they each rounded out a great season."

In the 800-m, Molly Myers set a school record. She placed 11th, running at a 2:21.14 clip.