The Lions and Bobcats both earned District 3 Class 6A victories at Red Lion’s Horn Field after weather altered the weekend schedule.

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“The Rob” baseball-softball facility dedicated at Red Land High School

Red Land High School Coach Robert Gildea speaks during the dedication of “The Rob”, baseball and softball hitting facility named for him, on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Red Lion’s Horn Field became an unexpected hub for the opening weekend of the PIAA District 3 baseball playoffs, as Friday’s thunderstorms forced a bevy of schedule and venue changes. Northeastern was already planning to stage its first-round tilt at Red Lion instead of on campus, and Red Lion’s scheduled visit to Cumberland Valley became a home game on short notice.

The unique field, which doubles as the Lions’ football stadium, proved to be a good-luck charm for the York-Adams League.

Red Lion and Northeastern both advanced to the District 3 Class 6A quarterfinals with victories over Mid-Penn Conference foes. The Lions slugged their way to a 10-5 triumph over Cumberland Valley on Friday evening, then the Bobcats held off Mechanicsburg for a 5-2 victory on Saturday. Both teams will return to the field Monday with a chance to clinch a state tournament berth.

Storms forced a slew of changes throughout the local sporting schedule. Four of the six district baseball playoff games featuring York-Adams League teams were postponed to Saturday, while most local lacrosse teams waited through delays Friday. In all, the YAIAA went 3-11 in weekend competition, with one boys’ lacrosse showdown still to be played Monday.

Red Lion 10, Cumberland Valley 5 (Friday): This game began at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Horn Field after the storms passed through, and the No. 11-seed Lions — still playing as the road team — delivered a knockout blow with seven runs in the top of the fifth. That was more than enough run support, as Connor Lawrence grinded through six innings and Ben Martin closed the door.

Red Lion (14-6-1) trailed 3-1 through four innings, but after Mitchell Sweitzer’s one-out single in the fourth, three straight walks plated a run and a Regan Koons fielder’s choice tied it at 3-3. Then Jeremiah Morales lined a two-run single, Jack Slack followed with a two-run triple and it was 7-3 in a flash. The Lions added one more on an error, and RBI singles from Steven Bowman and Slack made it 10-3 in the seventh.

Lawrence, who entered the postseason with a 0.96 ERA, allowed three runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over six innings pitched. Martin gave up a two-run triple with two outs in the seventh, but the No. 6 Eagles couldn’t come closer. Morales and Slack both finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Micah LaPila was 3 for 4 after the late two-run triple for Cumberland Valley, while Alex Crosby had an RBI single and double earlier in the contest.

Kevin Lawrence’s Lions will visit No. 3-seed Cedar Cliff at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Colts won 2-1 over Waynesboro on Friday.

Northeastern 5, Mechanicsburg 2 (Saturday): In a fortuitous twist for the No. 8-seed Bobcats, Saturday’s game began at the same time as the prior weekend’s York-Adams League final, when they beat Kennard-Dale 9-1 for the county championship. Northeastern (15-6) is now 4-0 at Horn Field, previously beating Red Lion on the road and holding off Central York in a relocated game May 6.

The Bobcats did their damage early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and leading 5-1 after two. Derek Gross’ single, Ryan Wilson’s groundout and Zack Ball’s single all brought home runs in the first, and Northeastern scored on Conner Rippo’s fielder’s choice and a subsequent balk in the next frame. Leadoff man Brandon Charleston finished 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored, while Ball was 2 for 3 as well.

Rippo was steady through four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth and was pulled for lefty Bryson Neri with the bases loaded and no outs. Neri allowed a sacrifice fly before escaping the jam with two groundouts, and he ultimately retired all nine batters he faced, striking out two. Rippo walked three batters in the first — one scored on a double steal — but kept the damage to four hits and two hit batsmen after that. Grady Weaver pitched five innings for Mechanicsburg and allowed five unearned runs on six hits.

Northeastern will have its hands full with No. 1 seed Governor Mifflin (22-1) in Monday’s quarterfinals. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. in Shillington. 

MORE BASEBALL

District 3 Class 6A first round

Manheim Township 6, Dallastown 5 (8 innings, Friday): It was a heartbreaking finish for the No. 10-seed Wildcats (13-9), who took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second and held a 5-3 advantage entering the seventh. The No. 7 Blue Streaks, down to their last out, tied it on a steal of home and won it on Jacob Carrasco’s walk-off single in the eighth. Cade Flinchbaugh slapped a two-run single and Carson Meyer followed with a two-run triple in the second inning for Dallastown. Matt Stone pitched six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with five walks and seven strikeouts, and left in line for the win.

Wilson 9, Central York 6 (Saturday): The 13th-seeded Panthers (10-11) were undone by Wilson’s six-run bottom of the third inning, which gave the No. 6 Bulldogs a 9-2 lead. Central plated three runs in the top of the seventh but never brought the tying run to the plate. Jack Klimchok went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Jacob Laughman was 3 for 4 with two RBIs right behind him. The rest of the lineup combined for two hits, and the defense surrendered five unearned runs.

District 3 Class 5A first round

Northern York 3, New Oxford 2 (Saturday): This was a 1-1 game entering the top of the seventh, when the No. 9 Polar Bears (14-7) took the lead on Matthew Kendall’s two-run single. Ayden Tracey singled home a run in the bottom half for the No. 8 Colonials (13-6), but Northern’s Ambrose Depasqua stranded runners on first and second to seal a complete game. The senior allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, while New Oxford’s Cade Baker went the distance and surrendered three runs (one earned) on six hits. Tracey made it 1-0 with a squeeze bunt in the third, only for Gavin Bucek to tie it with a solo homer leading off the fourth.

Exeter Township 4, West York 3 (Saturday): MJ Vottero went 3 for 3 with an RBI and pitched all six innings in his final high school game, but the No. 4 seed Eagles took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth and held on from there. No. 13 West York (13-9) committed two errors during Exeter’s three-run rally; all four of Vottero’s runs allowed were unearned. He gave up three hits and two walks while punching out nine. The Bulldogs scored on Noah Steigleman’s first-inning groundout, Vottero’s third-inning single and Will Plappert’s fifth-inning single. After stranding runners on first and second in the fifth, though, Eagles ace Gavin Miller retired seven straight hitters to cap a complete game.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

District 3 Class 2A first round

York Catholic 23, Lower Dauphin 10 (Saturday): The No. 5-seed Fighting Irish (14-4) left no doubt, peppering the back of the net and advancing on home turf. York Catholic will face fourth-seeded Twin Valley in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Red Land 14, Kennard-Dale 10 (Friday): Zuri Crumpton and Grace Updegraff did it all for the No. 9-seed Patriots (12-7) on Friday in Fawn Grove. Crumpton tallied eight goals and an assist, while Updegraff notched five goals and six assists. The No. 8-seed Rams finished their season 11-7. Red Land will face unbeaten Wyomissing in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Trinity 19, York Suburban 8 (Friday): The visiting Trojans had no answer for Shamrocks star Sienna Chirieleison, who piled up nine goals for the tournament’s No. 6 seed. Trinity’s Laine Hollister reached 50 career goals during a three-goal, two-assist performance. No. 11-seed York Suburban (10-9) is in line to return most of its lineup in 2026, including Liberty commit Cambria Rice, who led the YAIAA with 124 goals in the regular season.

District 3 Class 3A first round

Penn Manor 13, Red Lion 8 (Friday): The No. 11-seed Lions (9-7) never recovered from the Comets’ early 5-0 barrage in Millersville. Sixth-seeded Penn Manor led 6-2, 7-3 and 11-5 after the first three quarters. The win set up a rematch of the L-L League final against No. 3 Manheim Township, which beat the Comets 19-6 earlier in the week and is now seeking its fourth straight district title.

Elsewhere, No. 8-seed Wilson dispatched No. 9 Central Dauphin 17-5 on Friday, setting up a quarterfinal showdown at No. 1 Dallastown (18-0). The Bulldogs, a perennial powerhouse, beat the Wildcats 19-4 in last year’s district semifinals. Fourth-seeded New Oxford (12-4) will host No. 5 Elizabethtown on Tuesday after the Bears won 14-12 over Cedar Crest.

BOYS’ LACROSSE

District 3 Class 3A first round

Central Dauphin 10, Dallastown 9 (OT, Friday): After a lengthy weather delay, the No. 10 Wildcats (13-7) saw their season come to an abrupt end on Isaiah Gadsden’s game-winning goal in overtime. It was a game with plenty of swings — Dallastown led 7-4 at halftime, trailed 9-7 after three quarters and rallied to tie it in the fourth on a goal by Connor Farrell. Freshman Curry Cantabene led the Wildcats with three goals, while Farrell and Kayden Gessner scored twice. Nick Ungerland made 13 saves in net.

Mechanicsburg 10, New Oxford 8 (Friday): After a week that saw the No. 9 Colonials roll to their first York-Adams League championship, it was the No. 8 Wildcats claiming their first-ever district playoff victory. Mechanicsburg scored the final four goals of the first half, then added two more in the third quarter to take a 9-3 lead. New Oxford (14-5) outscored the hosts 4-1 in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough. Nick Petrie and Cayden Gladfelter tallied three goals apiece in the season-ending setback. 

Mechanicsburg will visit No. 1-seed Central York (17-2) in the quarterfinals.

Ephrata 17, South Western 5 (Friday): The No. 6 seed Mustangs couldn’t keep up on home turf and saw their 15-5 season come to a close with the lopsided loss. 

District 3 Class 2A first round

Cocalico 9, Delone Catholic 3 (Saturday): It was the district playoff debut for the 12th-seeded Squires (8-10), who never found an offensive rhythm against the No. 5 Eagles. Sam Hall, Noah Hall and Kaden Hix scored once each. This was one of the only weekend games initially scheduled for Saturday, and it went off as planned at 9:30 a.m. in Denver.

York Catholic vs. Garden Spot postponed to Monday: This was supposed to be part of a doubleheader with the girls’ game Friday, but the No. 6-seed Irish (10-5) and No. 11 Spartans (8-8) now won’t take the field until 7 p.m. Monday. The winner will visit third-seeded Twin Valley at the same time Tuesday.

BOYS’ TENNIS

PIAA Class 3A team quarterfinals

Lower Merion 3, Dallastown 0 (Friday): The District 3 champion Wildcats (20-3) saw another stellar season conclude against a District 1 powerhouse at Hershey Racquet Club. The Aces picked up a win at first singles when Hayden Koons retired with an injury, then added triumphs at third singles and first doubles to seal the deal. Lower Merion went on to defeat Central Bucks East 3-1 in Saturday’s finals before falling 3-1 to Conestoga in the final, marking three straight years with the same champion and runner-up.

Koons and fellow senior Jacob Horn are slated to represent Dallastown at the PIAA Class 3A doubles championships this coming weekend in Hershey. Eastern York’s Wesley Crumling, meanwhile, will compete in the 2A state singles tournament at the same venue.

TRACK AND FIELD

District 3 championship weekend at Shippensburg University was also affected by storms, as multiple lightning delays ultimately cut Friday’s program short and set up a long day Saturday. As athletes left Seth Grove Stadium, though, the YAIAA had piled up nine gold medals across two classifications.

After Dallastown’s Jalen Cook won the 3A boys’ high jump title on Friday, Spring Grove’s Ella Bahn (3A girls’ 100 and 300 hurdles) and New Oxford’s Brayden Billman (3A boys’ long jump, triple jump) led the way Saturday with two titles each. Bermudian Springs’ Lily Carlson cleared 14 feet in the pole vault, breaking the 3A girls’ meet record after she set the 2A mark last year. Hanover’s Miley Heath won the 2A girls’ shot put, Littlestown’s Zander Spillan took the 2A boys’ long jump and Fairfield captured the 2A boys’ 4×400 relay on Saturday.

Top finishers will return to Shippensburg for the state championships on Friday and Saturday.