The Braves defeated Columbia 4-0 in a Section Four baseball game on Friday, May 7, but came up short in two tough games after that.

Dylan Knott pitched the shutout against the Crimson Tide.

"He pitched really well," Carl Langley, the PV head coach, commented. "He had a lot of first pitch strikes and when you do that, the results are often outs."

The Braves got on the board early in the game and gave Knott the support he needed.

"We had some other opportunities for runs later in the game, but just couldn't pull them off," Langley said.

In their Monday game against Annville-Cleona, the visiting Dutchmen came back from an early deficit to top the Braves 8-3.

Knott stroked a bases-loaded single to give the Braves an early 2-1 lead, which was how the first inning ended.

"There were some errors and walks," Langley explained. "They scored a run in just about every inning. We did get one in the bottom of the seventh, but it obviously wasn't enough."

Pequea fell to 3-4 in league play with that defeat. On Tuesday, the Braves lost 4-0 to Brandywine Heights, dropping their overall mark to 4-8.

"Brandywine Heights is a good team," Langley said. "We didn't hit well, but it was a much improved game than the day before - we had good pitching and defense."

Providing the good pitching were senior Joshua Smith and sophomore Peyton Temple.

"Josh did very well, especially since he hadn't pitched much this year," Langley remarked. "He reached 100 pitches after five innings, so I took him out.

"Peyton Temple kept us close," continued the coach. "He only allowed a walk in two [scoreless] innings. I was proud of him. He's only a sophomore and when you're a sophomore, because there was no baseball last year, you're like a freshman."T

SOFTBALL

The Pequea Valley softball team posted back-to-back shutout wins with Olivia Ammon pitching a two-hit shutout against Lancaster Catholic on Thursday, May 6. On Monday, May 10, Ammon was out there again, allowing one base hit and two walks in a 4-0 victory at Annville-Cleona.

The victories improved the Braves' record to 8-2 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, helping the team clinch Section Four crown.

"We're officially the Section Four champs - for the tenth time," Doug High, the Braves' head coach stated.

In the 3-0 victory over Lancaster Catholic, Olivia Ammon recorded 16 strikeouts. Emily Ammon stroked a triple and drove in two runs. Hailey Yothers had two base hits and drove in the other PV run.

High was asked about the tendency for Catholic to play close ball games, including a 3-2 extra-inning victory over the Braces on March 30, with tough pitching, namely Crusader ace Katie Smith.

"She had 13 strikeouts the first time we played them," High said. "This time out, Olivia doubled her strikeout total while we cut ours nearly in half with seven," he said.

The Crusaders had two singles - one of which was a lead-off hit in the seventh.

"They [base hits] can all end up being scary if things don't go well," High added.

In the A-C game, the Braves matched their hit total of the Catholic game - five base hits.

"Olivia had 13 strikeouts and only gave up one base hit," High said. "Not many hits for us either."

The Braves continued with a non-league game at Brandywine Heights on Tuesday, losing 4-0.

The Bullets made efficient use of their two hits, one of which was a two-run home run.

"We had one hit and they only had two," High said. "We allowed four walks - leadoff walk that scored in the third inning.

"They executed - sacrificed, moved their runners," High continued. "We didn't have many runners to move along."

High had praise for the Brandywine Heights program, citing the history of the Bullets' success.

They were district champs for five years in a row and state champs in 2013," he noted. "Plus, half a dozen or so runner-up years.

"They are a well-disciplined team," he added. "They're a powerhouse in softball."

BOYS' TENNIS

Pequea's Brady Burns qualified for the PIAA Class-AA state singles championships thanks to his third-place finish in districts. The Pequea senior came into the District Three 2A brackets as the second-seeded player. He opened with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Andy Snyder of Susquehannock on Friday, May 7 at RCW Athletic Club in Lancaster. He posted the same straight set victory scores against Annville-Cleona's Casey Hess in the second round but came up short in the semifinals.

In the semis, played at the Hershey Racquet Club on Saturday, number three seed Josh Pantaloni of Camp Hill prevailed 6-4, 6-1. Incidentally, Pantaloni lost by injury default to L-L League champ and number one districts seed Nile Abadir of Lancaster Country Day in the title match.

Burns, meanwhile, fought back to claim third. He faced Trinity's Adam Warren, the fourth seed in districts, at HRC and came back from a 6-4 loss to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-0.