2025

The 2024-2025 baseball season was a reminder that anything can happen at any time, as well as a great reminder of how many skilled teams and players we have in our league. The LL League saw Hempfield capture its 10th championship crown over Ephrata, giving the senior class one of every medal. PIAA, D3, and League glory. Hempfield completed a perfect regular season at 18-0, and carried a 22-0 record into their first loss of the season in the D3 6A semifinals to Cedar Cliff. The Black Knights qualified for State Playoffs, but lost to Hazleton 4-1 in the 1st Round. It was a very successful season for the Hinkle administration in Landisville. Ephrata finished in 2nd place in its inaugural year in Section 1, beating the defending league champ in Manheim Township both times, including a 12-0 beatdown in Neffsville. Ephrata wrapped up the regular season 14-6, with a crucial 2-0 win over Penn Manor on the final day of the regular season to qualify for the league playoffs. Ephrata traveled to Fredericksburg and got back on the bus with a 2-0 win over NL in the first round of leagues, defeated old \”friends\” in the Pioneers of Lampeter-Strasburg in the semis, then fell to Hempfield in the league title. Ephrata beat Wilson for the 2nd year in a row in Districts in the quarters 6-4, but fell to Governor Mifflin in the semis. Ephrata qualified for the PIAA postseason, but fell to North Penn in the 1st round. In Section 2, Lampeter Strasburg struck gold in the District playoffs. They shut out Elizabethtown twice in the regular season en route to the Section 2 crown. Lampeter Strasburg beat Manheim Central 10-0 in the opening round of Leagues, then fell to Ephrata in the semis. Lampeter Strasburg rebounded and went on a 6 game win streak, capturing their first D3 5A title since 2012. The Pioneers then won 2 games in the PIAA postseason, defeating Peters Township 2-1 and Pine Richland 9-6 before falling to Shaler Area HS in the PIAA semifinals. Elizabethtown captured the 2nd spot in Section 2, holding off the pesky Buckskins of CV. Elizabethtown lost a heartbreaker to Donegal in the opening round of League playoffs. The Bears then rebounded and defeated Clemson commit Danny Nelson and the Hershey Trojans in a rain-shortened 1st game. Etown also beat Lower Dauphin before falling to LS in the District semis. Etown pulled off 2 PIAA wins with a 4-2 win over Radnor then a 3-2 extra inning win over Palmyra at Millersville University. Palmyra lost 2 total games this year, both to LL League schools. Just sayin’. Etown dropped the semifinal game to the eventual PIAA 5A Champ in Upper Dublin 1-0. Coach Higgins resigned as Coach after the season, and we wish him the best for whatever is next. You also cannot talk about Section 2 without talking about the Conestoga Valley Bucks. In Coach Triston Horst’s first season as head skipper, the Bucks did not qualify for Leagues, but had notable wins over NL, MC, and LS in the regular season. Qualifying for the District playoffs for the 1st time since at least the first Trump administration, the Bucks pulled off upset after upset, first defeating Twin Valley 9-5 thanks to an Adam Mcdowell grand salami late. The Bucks then got one of the craziest postseason wins these eyes have ever seen, defeating Exeter 7-6. CV scored 6 runs to tie in the top of the 7th thanks to a Cordell Bair MOONSHOT to center, and won in extras, thanks to some clutch pitching late. Again, one of the greatest games these eyes have ever seen. CV fell to Palmyra next, and qualified for the PIAA playoffs since goodness knows how long, but fell to Shaler Area HS in the opening round. Moving onto Section 3, it was a tight race at the top. Manheim Central and Donegal tangoed for the top of the standings, and became co-champs, since they both finished 9-1 in Section 3. Donegal got the nod to host in leagues since the tiebreaker was district rank, and got an exhilarating win over their friendly neighbor in the Elizabethtown Bears in the first round, when they were down to their literal final strike. With two outs and nobody on in the home 7th, Donegal rallied to score 2 runs in the inning and beat PSU pledge Isaiah Shayter in an incredible game. Donegal lost to Hempfield in the league semis and lost to Manheim Central in the 1st round of districts at War Memorial Field in Ephrata. Manheim Central fell to LS in the 1st round of Leagues but beat Donegal for bragging rights to end the Tribe’s season before the Baron’s season concluded with a 2-1 walk off loss to LS. Coach Thompson also resigned at the end of this year, and we salute his dedication to the Baron Baseball program. Moving onto Section 4, Northern Lebanon added another Section crown to the trophy case with a perfect record in Section 4, and an 18-2 clip overall. NL earned notable regular season wins over Hershey and Conestoga Valley. They lost to Ephrata 2-0 in leagues, and lost to West Perry by the same score. Over the last 4 playoff games(2 League playoff home games and 2 District playoff home games), the Vikings have lost all 4 games by an average of 2 runs. They have scored 2 runs over those 4 games as an offense. Annville Cleona earned the 2nd spot in Section 2, edging out Pequea Valley and Lancaster Catholic to earn the nod with a 7-3 record in Section. The Dutchmen got beaten by Hempfield in the opening round of Leagues, and failed to qualify for the District playoffs. Attached are some links to look back on the 2025 Lancaster Lebanon League Baseball season.