Busy weekend set for L-L athletes, if weather holds

The real winner may end up being Mother Nature, but if the rain forecast for this weekend holds off, a number of Lebanon County spring sports athletes will be beginning their postseason  journeys.

The Lancaster-Lebanon League and Mid-Penn Track and Field Championships, as well as the L-L baseball and softball playoffs are all set to begin in the next two days.

The L-L track meet begins Friday at 4 p.m. at Hempfield and resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, while the baseball and softball playoffs begin Saturday morning at Ephrata War Memorial Field and Garrett Park, respectively.

Weather permitting, of course.

What follows is a look at what's in story for county kids this weekend, if they can avoid the raindrops.

Track and Field

County athletes account for eight No.1 seeds for the L-L meet, three of which belong to Annville-Cleona senior sprinting and jumping sensation Reagan Hess, who's tops in the girls 100 and 200 dashes and the long jump.

Cedar Crest's Ariel Jones has secured two top seeds - in the girls triple jump and high jump - while Cedar Crest's Jesse Cruise ( boys 400 dash) and Lebanon's Derin Klick (boys 800) and Juan Maldonado (long jump) also have No. 1 seeds to their credit.

Although Saturday's forecast is bleak, the L-L meet is a full go at this point, although the possibility exists that some or all of Saturday's events may need to be moved to Monday if the weather fails to cooperate.

Meanwhile, Palmyra athletes will be in action at the Mid-Penn meet, tentatively set for Saturday at 9 a.m. at Chambersburg.

Baseball

Annville-Cleona, the Section 4 runner-up, is the county's lone rep in the L-L playoffs, set to begin with first round action at Ephrata on Saturday.

Led by senior pitcher Mitch Long, A-C (15-4) is set to meet Section 1 champ Penn Manor at 7 p.m. Should rain interfere, the contest would move to Monday at 7 at Ephrata.

What follows is the rest of Saturday's tentative schedule and Monday's revised schedule, if needed:

Saturday

• Manheim Central or Garden Spot (Section 3 champ) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (Section 2 runner-up), 10 a.m.
• Lancaster Catholic (Section 4 champ) vs. Warwick (Section 1 runner-up), 1 p.m.
• Elizabethtown (Section 2 champ) vs. Manheim Central or Garden Spot (Section 3 runner-up), 4 p.m.

Monday

• Elizabethtown vs. Garden Spot or Manheim Central, 4 p.m., at Manheim Township
• Lancaster Catholic vs. Warwick, 7 p.m., at Manheim Township
• Manheim Central or Garden Spot vs. Lampeter-Strasburg, 4 p.m., at Ephrata

Softball

As in baseball, Annville-Cleona is the lone qualifier from the county and, as the Section 4 runner-up, will also take on Penn Manor in the first round on Saturday. The contest is set for 3:45 p.m. at Garrett Park. A-C, paced by senior shortstop Morgan Zimmerman, will carry a record of 11-6 into the matchup. If rained out, then A-C and Penn Manor would play Monday at 7:30 at Warwick.

The rest of Saturday's tentative schedule and Monday's revised slate, if needed, is below:

Saturday

• Solanco (Section 2 champ) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (Section 3 runner-up), 9 a.m.
• Pequea Valley (Section 4 champ) vs. Hempfield (Section 1 runner-up), 11:15 a.m.
• Donegal (Section 3 champ) vs. Garden Spot (Section 2 runner-up), 1:30 p.m.

Monday

• Pequea Valley vs. Hempfield, 5:30 p.m., Garrett Park
• Solanco vs. Lampeter-Strasburg, 7:30 p.m., Garrett Park
• Donegal (Section 3 champ) vs. Garden Spot, 5:30 p.m. Warwick