Manheim Township holds off Hempfield to move into first place in L-L League Section 1 bowling

The race for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One bowling title could end up being another tight one.

For defending champion Manheim Township, with a roster of only five bowlers, the margin for error is rather small.

But the Blue Streaks were able to take over first place Tuesday at Dutch Lanes with a 5-2 win over Hempfield, which came into the match with a one-point lead.

“We’ve been close competitors for a number of years,” said Manheim Township coach Steve Schulz. “We expected it to be a tough match.

“We have two new guys that have never bowled at Manheim Township before and one who’s never bowled ever. This is the way it’s going to be, and not just for us.”

The section standings get just a bit less jumbled, with the two teams having been separated by a point and Cedar Crest tied with Township entering the week.

After Monday’s and Tuesday’s matches, the Streaks lead at 21-7. The Black Knights are 19-9 and the Falcons, who lost 7-0 to Section Two leader Elizabethtown Monday, are 16-12.

It was definitely a tale of three different games between Township and Hempfield, with the Streaks winning the first in dominating fashion, 1,032-843.

“They had a higher team average, so my anticipation was to at least split maybe,” said Hempfield coach Tom Degnan. “Unfortunately, they had one of their lower-average bowlers be 100 pins over average and another 60 pins over average. My bowlers didn’t step up the first two games.”

Township entered Tuesday averaging 933 pins per game.

One unexpected big game came from Josh Finkelstein, who came into the match with a 182 average but rolled a 253. Adam Shank had a 222 and first-year bowler Noah Scheuerman, who led all bowlers with a 606, had a 219. All three are juniors.

“They’re a really good team,” said Scheuerman of Hempfield. “They have a solid lineup.

“I think I did all right. Going in with a 219, 244, then a bad start in the third game got into my head a little bit. It is what it is.”

“Noah’s a new bowler; a brand-new bowler who’s only bowled for a few months,” said Schulz.

The Streaks were much more true to form in the second game, totaling 926, with Scheuerman having the other big game with a 244. The Knights rolled an 850; they were averaging 891.

But there was a complete 180 in the third game.

Hempfield, helped by Nathan Moore, who rolled 187 in his first varsity action, bunched strikes together in the early going, with four in the first, second and fourth frames, en route to a 944-803 win.

“To be honest with you, I’m not sure what happened in Game Three,” said Schulz. “It happens. It just happens. And so we’ll talk that through, think through what happened and then about our response to what happened, because how you respond is a big part of not just bowling, but in life.”

Nobody rolled 200 for Hempfield in that game, but three others were between Moore’s 187 and 199.

“The last game, we finally got it together,” said Degnan. “Nathan was probably 48, 49 pins over average in the third game, which helped us a lot right there. Ava (Green)’s been real strong throughout the year; probably one of the most improved over last year.”

Seniors Green and Priest McKenzie led the Knights with 595 series — McKenzie came in averaging 231 — while Shank added a 586 for the Streaks, who host Cedar Crest Friday.

Elsewhere in the L-L

Warwick (22-6) and defending league champ Conestoga Valley (21-7) kept pace with Section Two leader Elizabethtown (23-5) by also recording sweeps this week. The Bears host the Buckskins at Clearview Lanes on Thursday.

In Section Three, Donegal remained unbeaten at 28-0 with a sweep Monday — four bowlers had 600 series, led by Dalton Sauder’s 679 — while second-place Northern Lebanon (24-4) stayed within striking distance with a 5-2 win Tuesday over third-place Manheim Central (16-12).

And in Section Four, Lampeter-Strasburg (16-12), which won Section Three last year before being moved down, swept Columbia (12-16) Tuesday to move into first place. The Tide’s Tristan Lenhart nearly got his second 300 of the young season, rolling a 299 in the first game.