One game at a time is a tried-and-true sports cliche but that is the mantra for the Elizabethtown girls' lacrosse team, and it has proved useful. "We're really excited to see where this season takes us. One game at a time," said head coach Cheyenne Benson.

The Lady Bears opened their 2023 season with three straight wins, putting them atop the Section Two standings. "I'm very proud of all of the hard work our team has put in throughout the off season and our first few weeks," said Benson. "It's been great to see that hard work come to fruition as we've started off strong in our first games!"

The first of those wins came on March 21st when a trip to Mechanicsburg resulted in an 11-4 win. Dani Bruno paced the offense with four goals and two assists while Callie Love-Morris and Aiesha Rios added two scores each. Moira Shott, Josie Spayd and Piper Patrick cleaned up the scoring with one goal apiece. Sydney Pope needed just three saves to pick up the win.

The Lady Bears returned home for a showdown with Conestoga Valley on the 24th with E-town sending CV home on the wrong end of an 11-8 final. Pope finished with five saves to secure the win. Bruno topped the score sheet again with six goals and one assist. Spayd was the only other multiple goal scorer, finishing with two while Shott, Rios and Patrick had one each.

Elizabethtown needed a second half rally to slip by Warwick on the 27th, using five Bruno scores to post a narrow 7-6 win. Spayd picked up the remaining two goals while Shott (3a) and Rios (1a) provided backup. Pope hit double digits with 10 saves in the win.

BOYS' LACROSSE

The boy's lacrosse team opened L-L action on March 27th, falling to Warwick 13-2. Carson NyeSmith and Dylan Ginder split the scoring with Josiah Erb tallying nine saves.

SOFTBALL

The going has been tough for the E-town softball team, dropping two straight games after a 15-7 win over Cedar Crest to open the season. That win came on March 21st with Breonna Edgell striking out eight over the six-inning affair. Astyn Calaman drove in three runs on two hits while Sophia drove in two runs on three hits.

Elizabethtown was hit with their first loss on the 28th, falling to Mechanicsburg by a 7-6 final. Edgell recorded just one strikeout to go with four walks. Finch, Ava Fair and Chloe Wilkinson had two hits apiece with both Fair and Finch collecting two RBI. Wilkinson finished with one RBI.

A return home did not help the Lady Bears on the 29th. Warwick used an eight-run seventh inning to steal the win, 11-10. Edgell covered all seven innings to take the loss, finishing with three strikeouts and two walks. Fair, Wilkinson, Carli Zerphey and Madison Bell all finished with one RBI, but it was Calaman leading the way with four RBI and three hits. Miranda Davis matched those three hits but finished with two RBI.

VOLLEYBALL

While other Elizabethtown sports have to deal with Spring weather, the boys' volleyball team plays in the comfort of Daubert Gymnasium which has allowed the Bears to complete all four matches on their schedule. The result is a 1-3 mark with the lone win coming over Penn Manor on the 27th.

It looked as if E-town would run away with the sweep after opening with wins of 25-16 and 25-23 but the Comets got hot to win the next two games, 25-12 and 25-20, making it 2-2. Elizabethtown regained their early momentum to claim the fifth and decisive game, 15-13. Eli Miller finished with 41 assists with Josh McCoy (12 kills) and Cooper Torborg (10 kills) on the receiving end of a lot of them. Adam Reedy added five digs, Prabin Bhattarai five aces and Seth Rajnic three blocks.

The Bears opened the season on March 20th, falling to Mechanicsburg 3-1 after opening the match with a 25-20 win. The Wildcats posted wins of 28-26, 25-23 and 25-22 from there to close out the match. Miler enjoyed 44 assists and McCoy 18 kills.

A March 22nd battle with Lower Dauphin left Elizabethtown on the wrong side of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-20 finals, leading to a 3-0 loss. Miler had just 17 assists with Rajnic taking the lead with five kills. McCoy added four digs while Torborg finished with three blocks.

Up next was a March 28th date with Manheim Central with the Barons handing E-town their second straight loss. Central posted wins of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-12 to send the Bears home with another 3-0 loss. Miller added two digs to his 14 assists while McCoy had four kills. Torborg added three blocks while Bhattarai had one ace.

TENNIS

The boys' tennis team appears to be in the middle of a roller coaster of a season. The Bears opened with losses to Conestoga Valley on the 16th and Lancaster County Day on the 20th. Picked up a 7-0 win over Garden Spot on the 22nd followed by a 7-0 loss to Donegal on the 24th and another 7-0 win on the 27th, this one over Cocalico. E-town made it back-to-back wins on the 29th, topping Manheim Central by a 6-1 final.

BASEBALL

Three games are a small sample size, even for a 20-game season like in high School baseball. That will not stop the Bear baseball bunch from celebrating their 3-0 start.

"Our guys are starting to really believe in the work we've been doing," said head coach Jordan Higgins. "Last year we were relatively young, but the growing pains we faced then are starting to pay off so far this year. These guys want to work and work really hard."

The hot start kicked off on March 20th with a 15-0 win over Reading. Isaiah Shayter needed just four innings to collect the win, striking out seven and allowing one hit. Braden Cummings had one hit but finished with a team high three RBI. Luis Perez and Nathan Yohn added one RBI apiece.

Up next was a 6-5 win over Mechanicsburg on the road. Pike Burkett got the win in relief of starter Kaden Kimble. The duo combined for 10 strikeouts and two walks. Kimble (3 RBI) and Perez (2 RBI) fronted the offense with Cummings adding the final RBI.

The good times continued on the 27th with a, 2-1, come from behind win over Donegal. Burkett picked up his second win in relief, this time taking over for Shayter with two outs in the top of the seventh. Two runs followed in the bottom of the seventh, giving the win to Burkett and the Bears. Perez finished with two RBI to lead the offense.

"It's a good start, but we all know there's a lot of work left to do in order for us to achieve the goals we've set for ourselves," said Higgins. "We will keep working and keep believing in us and see where that leads us."