1984 Lancaster-Lebanon Championship Game - May 20, 1984: Manheim Central 6, Manheim Township 5

Manheim Central rallied from a two run deficit in the first inning, and trailed 3-1 after three innings, to defeat Manheim Township by a score of 6-5 and claim the Barons’ second Lancaster-Lebanon League title.  The game was a back and forth affair with multiple lead changes.  Manheim’s Jon Weaver pitched a complete game to earn the win, striking out nine and walking one.  Weaver allowed seven hits – four of which were from Manheim Township’s first four batters of the game. 

The Barons were facing a 2-0 hole with two runners on and no one out in the first.  Weaver was able to limit the damage and escape the inning with only two runs allowed.  Manheim Central answered with a run in the second inning before Manheim Township scored their third run after a Central error, wild pitch and a single.  The Barons tied the game in the fourth inning when Bob Recher’s ground rule double scored Bob Resch and Dave Bruckhart.  Recher scored later in the inning on Jeff Mummau’s sacrifice fly.  The Blue Streaks answered with two runs of their own to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning.  Manheim Township took advantage of a lead off walk, following the gift with a double, a squeeze bunt that turned into a single, and a sacrifice fly. 

The Barons answered in the top of the sixth.  Bob Resch drew his third walk of the game, and Dave Bruckhart connected for his third single of the contest.  Jeff Flannagan singled to score Resch, and Bruckhart scored Central’s sixth run on Jeff Mummau’s fielders choice ground out. 

Equipped with the lead, Jon Weaver struck out the side in the sixth inning and struck out two more in the seventh.  He retired the last nine batters of the game in order. 

One further note of heroism from Central’s 1984 Championship Team deserves mentioning here – Baron’s catcher Bob Little.  A senior, Little caught the entire game with a broken throwing hand.