For the first few weeks of last season, Connor Stoltz’s batting average started with a six. No one knew how to get him out.
Even after he “cooled off,” Northern Lebanon’s senior ended up with some hard-to-match numbers: he batted .478 with nine doubles and a .566 on-base percentage.
“He was just unstoppable,” teammate Andrew Via said. “I felt confident every time he was hitting. It was pretty much like a guaranteed hit.”
Stoltz’s production helped push Northern Lebanon to the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four championship. The Vikings won every section game. They hope to win even bigger this spring.
One of the best pitching and hitting duos in the league is tucked away in Fredericksburg. Stoltz mashes when he’s in the box. Adrian Gonzalez cruises when he’s on the mound.
That leads to an interesting question: What would happen if Gonzalez faced Stoltz?
“There’s nothing you can throw to him that he can’t hit,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t really know what I would do. Connor is such a good hitter, you have to pitch to him and just hope he doesn’t do damage.”
Gonzalez was being a little modest. The 5-9, 153-pound right-hander always seems to have a plan.
Northern Lebanon’s ace finished 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 10 appearances last season. Gonzalez recorded 63 strikeouts in 55⅓ innings.
Stoltz was the one behind the plate calling the pitches. He knows better than anyone what makes Gonzalez so difficult to barrel.
“The one pitch I love the most is his changeup,” Stoltz said. “Everyone swings at it. He’s really dominant on the mound. No matter who he’s facing, he’s like, ‘I’m striking this kid out.’”
Gonzalez, a Penn State Harrisburg recruit, is really two players in one. He hit .462 with 23 runs scored while being parked at the top of the lineup.
Via and Gonzalez, who are cousins, will be the double-play combination. Via plays shortstop and Gonzalez handles second base. That duo has been together since it won a Little League majors championship with the Tigers.
Stoltz won the same championship with the Reds the following year. The senior’s defensive work at catcher is just as important to Northern Lebanon as his bat. He shuts down the running game.
“The most underrated part is him behind the plate,” Northern Lebanon coach Travis Thome said. “I could probably count on one hand how many passed balls we’ve had the past two years. How many times we’ve allowed guys to run the bases is non-existent.”
Northern Lebanon is hoping its senior leaders can make this season last a little longer after some recent early playoff exits.
The Vikings were 18-2 entering the postseason last spring and dropped back-to-back 2-0 games to Ephrata in the L-L and West Perry in districts. The latter was the only loss Gonzalez suffered.
For some reason, Northern Lebanon’s bats went quiet when it mattered most. A similar story played out in 2024, when the Vikings were blanked by Fleetwood in the district quarterfinals.
Northern Lebanon returns some other key hitters, including third baseman Owen Fahringer, who hit .349 while batting second, and outfielder Cole Anspach, who contributed as a freshman. Blake Burdick posted a 2.92 ERA in 24 innings as a ninth grader.
“I think we can make it a lot farther than we did the last three years,” Stoltz said.
Northern Lebanon is the favorite to repeat in Section Four. What happens beyond that will define the Vikings’ season.
“This is gonna be a huge year for them,” Thome said. “I hope they do what they’re capable of and they leave it all out on the field.”
Northern Lebanon’s Adrian Gonzalez during Lancaster-Lebanon League Spring Media Day at Penn Medicine Park in Lancaster on Sunday March 8, 2026.
CHRIS KNIGHT | Staff Photographer
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