Hempfield came up short at Cumberland Valley on Saturday afternoon, May 21, losing 3-1 to the Eagles in a quarterfinal round match of the District Three 3A boys' volleyball playoffs.

The Black Knights (13-3) actually jumped out to an early lead, winning the opening set 25-19. In each of the next three sets, the Knights scored over 20 points, yet fell just short - 25-23, 25-23 and 25-22.

The scoring juggernaut from Hempfield featured 12 kills by Dante Keener and 11 by Cole Overbaugh.

Caden Bonner dished out 38 assists and finished with five solo blocks while Ethan Earhart led the squad with six blocks. Mason Orth had a team-high 26 digs.

Hempfield, the sixth-seeded team in districts, opened the playoffs at home with a 3-2 defeat of 11th seed Red Lion on Thursday, May 19.

They responded to an early deficit by winning the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-15 only to have the Lions even things up at 2-2 with a win in the fourth set. The Knights won the tiebreaker with relative ease, 15-7.

Keener poured in 21 kills in the match while Bonner was off the charts in the assists category with 64. He also registered six blocks while Orth came through with 40 digs. Michael Keene served up two aces.

GIRLS' LACROSSE

The Hempfield girls' lacrosse team faced two teams called "The Mustangs."

One of those teams the Black Knights corralled thanks to a six-goal game by Brynne Axe back on Wednesday, May 8, in a quarterfinal match of the District Three Class 3A playoffs at Hempfield.

The other one managed to gallop away with a close victory on Monday, May 23, also at Hempfield as the Governor Mifflin Mustangs won by a nose, 11-10, earning a trip to the district finale while the Knights (18-3) had to prepare for a third-place consolation match.

Kelsea Dague's second goal of the game had given Hempfield an 8-4 halftime lead. The Mustangs raced back on the strength of Eliza Enriquez scoring six times on the afternoon. They tied the score 8-8 and eventually claimed the match on Enriquez's final score of the game.

Whitney Hershey, with four goals and three assists, led Hempfield in scoring. Isabelle Masengarb finished with two goals while Axe, who had one assist, Natalie Bole and Mia Brennan each scored one goal.

Goalie Eryn Murphy recorded eight saves.

Hempfield had opened district play as the second-seeded team the previous week. Having earned that ranking the Knights had a first-round bye before facing South Western at home on Wednesday, May 18.

With a six-goal performance by Axe and two goals each by Hershey, who also added two assists, and two more goals by Masengarb, the Knights downed those Mustangs 12-7.

BASEBALL

Keeping with the theme of facing district playoff opponents with equine-inspired team names, Hempfield faced the Cedar Cliff Colts in a District Three Class 6A contest on Monday, May 23 on the road.

All season long, different members of this baseball team's roster have stepped into starring roles, whether it is to pitch a gem or to come through with a bases-loaded double in a big inning, the Knights have managed to put together a winning season.

Monday's first-round game at Cedar Cliff displayed such winning tendencies for the Knights. Austin Dunlap pitched a two-hit shutout as ninth-seeded Hempfield (15-6) posted a 6-0 victory over the number eight seed Colts. The southpaw senior struck out six, issuing one walk and allowing two harmless singles. He was also supported by flawless defense.

Also providing support was the Hempfield lineup, to which Dunlap himself contributed. He drove in Peter Fiore, who had doubled to lead off the fourth inning.

In the seventh, the Knights took advantage of two errors plus two hit batters and a pair of walks. The result was Hempfield increasing its lead to 4-0 until a Stephen Katch sacrifice fly made it 5-0. The Knights capped the scoring on a passed ball.

The top-seeded Governor Mifflin squad had a first-round bye, waiting for the winner of the Colts vs Knights game.

BOYS' LACROSSE

The postseason drama between archrivals Manheim Township and Hempfield was rehashed in the District Three Class 3A semifinals as the twain met at Manheim Township.

The Blue Streaks, the top-seeded team in the district bracket, defeated the Knights (14-5) by an 11-6 score, holding off a furious third-quarter comeback bid by the visitors on Tuesday, May 24. Only 12 days earlier, the two had met in the Lancaster-Lebanon League finale with Township claiming the trophy in a 14-6 victory.

Township (17-3) took a 7-2 lead into halftime on Tuesday and survived a four-goal period by the Knights

Max Grube tallied four points for Hempfield, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. Zack Antesberger also scored twice while A.J. McApline and Jason Hilton each netted one goal.

Xander Johnson, who posted a hat trick, and Garret Campagna with two goals and three assists, led the Township attack. Hempfield goalie Matt Wiest had 10 saves.

In between the two meetings of the L-L League rivals, the Black Knights edged Wilson in the district playoffs by a 9-8 count on Thursday, May 19. It was a meeting of the fourth and fifth seeds at Hempfield.

McAlpine and Grube led the Knights' offense with Grube scoring two goals and dishing out three assists and McAlpine (1a) notching a hat trick. Antesberger (1g, 2a), Carsten Rankin (2g) and Toby Marco also contributed while Wiest helped Hempfield pull off the close victory, recording 11 saves.

TRACK

The District Three Class AAA track & field championships took place at Shippensburg University on May 20-21. Aidan Hodge led the Hempfield boys with two top-five finishes, earning third place in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 9:10.14 and fifth place (4:17.89) in the 1600m.

In the 4 x 400 relay, Hempfield took ninth place thanks to Logan Muhlberg, Carson Lieberman, Chris Titter and anchor runner Tate Martin. They posted a combined time of 3:32.75

In the 4 x 800 relay Titter anchored the foursome that included Sam Freedman, Ryan French and Dale Winand. They earned 14th place at 8:29.58

In the individual races, Muhlberg ran the 400 in 51.29 seconds, taking 13th place. Titter took 14th in the 800m (2:00.73).

SOFTBALL

With sophomore Carley Ernst striking out nine batters, the Black Knights (12-8) advanced to the District Three 6A softball quarterfinals. Hempfield topped Dallastown 4-2 on Monday May 23 in Landisville.