Lady Bucks softball is on the cusp of success after opening their season with losses to Governor Mifflin (5-4) and Middletown (2-1) by the slimmest of margins.

On the 29th, CV faced Governor Mifflin and got out to a strong start, holding a 3-1 advantage at the close of the first.

Mifflin never scored more than one run in an inning but slowly chipped away at the Bucks to tie it up 3-3 after the third. The Bucks scored a final time in the fifth but Mifflin managed to level the game again in the seventh and cross the winning run in the ninth.

Churning the offensive momentum was CV sophomore Becca Hartranft who knocked in all three runs.

Payton Stoeckl struck out five batters during six innings of work from the circle and Rhiannon Henry fanned another five while pitching three innings in relief.

Middletown struck early with a first inning run in the teams' March 27th meeting but no further runs crossed the plate until the sixth when CV's Laken Smith utilized one of her two hits to push the equalizer across.

Unfortunately, Middletown responded in the bottom of the inning and brought home the go-ahead run to clinch the contest.

Stoeckl was saddled with the loss and struck out three during her six innings in the circle, and Kassie Horning had two hits in the loss.

"We are battling through injuries of key players but are building a very talented team of smart student athletes," encouraged head coach Dennis Ryan. "We are battling and competing every pitch and plan to continue to do so throughout the season."

BASEBALL

Patience and a series of walks marked the seventh inning in CV baseball's second win of the season, topping Lampeter-Strasburg 3-2 in a walk-off win on March 31st.

The contest was tied at two apiece heading into the bottom of the final inning, when CV's Ethan Weaver drew the fourth walk of the frame to drive home Josh Pattison for the victory.

In the top of the inning, Buckskin defense got the job done, led by closing pitcher Logan Kline, who put out three in a row with a caught bunt and a pair of strikeouts to thwart the final chance for the Pioneers.

Starting pitcher Sam Thompson laid the groundwork in the first five and a third innings striking out four and allowing just two runs.

Gavin Fisher, Conner Esbenshade, and Thompson each supplied one hit.

On March 26th, CV only needed four at bats to get the job done in a 13-2 win over Lancaster Mennonite to open the 2021 season.

Darren Burkholder collected four RBIs in the runaway win, with Abdiel Fernandez adding three, and another two from Tucker Hastings.

Gavin Fisher secured the win on the mound, striking out thirteen batters over five innings.

TENNIS

CV's early tennis matches have held a little bit of everything, and the squad holds a 1-3 record after four contests.

Shaking off a 7-0 opening loss to Cedar Crest on March 22, the Bucks bounced back to hand Garden spot a 7-0 defeat on the 25th.

Yuji Wenger, Nolan High, Luke Taylor and Grady Ray each produced a singles win in straight sets as well as doubles wins in the sweep.

Wenger partnered with Henry McQuate Krahnke for an 8-3 doubles victory, High and Taylor blanked their opponents 8-0, and Ray was joined by Jason Schlegelmilch for an 8-0 win.

A tightly contested clash with Penn Manor went 4-3 to the Comets, with CV points coming from High and Taylor in singles play, and Schlegelmilch and Nolan Miller in doubles.

In a subsequent 5-2 loss to Cocalico, High brought in the lone singles victory for CV and joined up with Taylor for a doubles win as well.

"Nolan High is stepping up when competing in both singles and in doubles with his partner, Luke Taylor," commented coach Dale Gregg. "They are providing solid play together and gaining points for the team."

GIRLS' LACROSSE

Just two games into the season the undefeated Lady Bucks lacrosse team has already netted 32 goals, while only allowing 16.

Hosting Ephrata on March 30th, the Bucks rocketed 28 shots on goal and held a 17-4 advantage at the half. Both teams added four goals in the second half, leaving the final score at 21-8.

CV senior Abigail Morley led the charge with 14 goals and three assists. Ellie Livingston added three goals, Jordyn Hironimus had two, while Bella Silvaggio and Amanda Yingling each had one.

Jamie Handwerger gathered five saves in goal.

Three days earlier, the Lady Bucks took down Wyomissing 11-8, and though Wyomissing actually outshot the Bucks 21-18, Handwerger snatched up 13 saves to hang on for the win.

Converting CV's 18 shots on goal into points was Morley (8g, 1a), Livingston (2g, 1a), and one goal from Silvaggio.

Jessica Chen, Annika Bredeman, Danae Ulrich, and Yingling each supplied an assist.

BOYS' LACROSSE

Boys' lacrosse picked up a pair of wins on their opening weekend before taking their first loss the following week.

CV's first conquest was a 14-9 win over Bishop McDevitt on the 26th.

Sophomore Jeff Fisher racked up seven goals and an assist and his brother Zachary Fisher supplied three goals and three assists. Keller Dillman netted two goals and an assist, while Tyson Zwaska and Hunter Silvaggio each had one.

CV keeper, Benjamin Nolt had 13 saves.

Wyomissing was next to fall to CV, 13-7. The Fisher brothers again dominated the offense. J. Fisher paired five goals with five assists, and Z. Fisher added three goals and two assists.

Dillman, Zwaska, Silvaggio, Kyle Jankowski and Noah Harrison each added a goal, and Nolt was clutch in goal gathering 17 saves.

The Mountaineers dealt CV their first loss 12-5 on the 30th. J Fisher netted four goals and Dillman added one.

TRACK

Both boys and girls experienced a loss to Cedar Crest in their opening meet, but both teams had several individual performance standouts.

Owen Linder sprinted to a double victory claiming the 100 and 200 dashes.

In the jumping events, Tarius Jackson's 36-6 triple jump and Zachary Stoudt's 5-8 high jump also took first place honors.

For the girls, Marianna Dariychuk won both the javelin (80-8) and the triple jump (30-5), and Grace Lapp secured 300 hurdles win in 51.7.

VOLLEYBALL

In their regular season opener at Penn Manor, Buckskin senior Sawyer Shertzer powered 20 kills over the net to lead CV to their first victory of the season, 3-1.

After dropping the first game, the Bucks regrouped and rallied to take three straight (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19).

Dominic Brabant was pivotal in the comeback, accruing 22 assists, while Charles Janvrin served up four aces and matched teammate Carson Hoover with four digs.