No one likes to strike out. Elijah Smucker absolutely hates it. He can tell you exactly how often it has happened this season.

Three times the Pequea Valley senior has taken the solemn turn back toward the dugout. If that sounds like a low total, it is. Smucker has 47 plate appearances. He has launched as many home runs as he has seen strike three.

What’s his secret? He says it’s his mindset.

“You’ve gotta know what you’re doing up there,” Smucker said. “Don’t go up there thinking. You’ve gotta relax, have some fun and you’ll hit the ball.”

Smucker batted five times Monday. He reached safely every time. The catcher led Pequea Valley past Lancaster Catholic 13-2 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 baseball game at Penn Medicine Park.

The rest of Pequea Valley’s team has heard Smucker constantly gripe about strikeouts. He brings it up every game.

The truth is most players don’t share the senior’s bat-to-ball skills. Smucker can connect with a pitch anywhere in the zone. He’s a line drive waiting to happen. That’s the biggest reason he so rarely has a K next to his name.

“Out of all these guys here, he’s the one I don’t want to pitch against,” Pequea Valley senior Logan Zynn said. “He puts the ball in play almost every time.”

A perfect game for a high school pitcher is 21 up, 21 down. A perfect game for a catcher is undefined. This might have been it.

Smucker walked in the first inning, singled in the fourth, singled in the fifth, walked in the sixth and singled in the seventh. His final line was 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

Pequea Valley needed that production. The Braves trailed 2-0 and were hitless heading into the fourth. After they tied it at 2, Smucker delivered the go-ahead single in the fifth. That was the afternoon’s most pivotal hit.

PV coach Kevin Zynn has coached Smucker since the youth levels. The skills we see today have been there from the start.

“He goes into the box with a plan and he tries to execute,” Zynn said. “He has a very high baseball IQ.”

Some of Smucker’s contributions aren’t evident in the box score. He brings leadership behind the plate and behind the scenes.

Logan Zynn endured a rough first inning. Pequea Valley’s ace allowed two runs and threw nearly 40 pitches with some shaky defense behind him.

Smucker helped Zynn settle down and refocus. The right-hander made it through 4⅔ innings and didn’t allow another run.

“Catching Logan is amazing,” Smucker said. “He throws hard and hits his spots.”

Zynn is a workhorse. He’s 5-1 with a 0.36 ERA in 39⅓ innings this season.

Once Zynn reached his pitch limit, he took over at shortstop in support of reliever Adam Smucker. Zynn then made a dazzling play on a grounder in the hole.

At that point, Catholic coach Steve Remley approached Kevin Zynn with a request. Remley has spent the past four springs watching these types of performances from the all-league standout.

“Can you please get him off the field?” Remley joked. “I’m so sick of him.”

Pequea Valley (4-2 L-L, 8-6) took over sole possession of second place behind Northern Lebanon in Section 4. Catholic (3-3, 3-5) slipped into third. The Braves have the inside track to a league playoff spot.

A bigger goal for the boys from Kinzers is a trip to the District 3 Class 3A tournament. They currently hold the sixth and final spot in the field.

As Elijah Smucker was packing up his equipment, Kevin Zynn affectionately referred to his catcher as a “dirtball.” That’s code for gamer.

“If you look at his pants, they’re dirty and we played on turf today,” Zynn said. “He likes to be in the dirt and he likes to be involved.”

What Smucker really likes is reaching first base. He can’t get there if he strikes out.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.