What conveys spring more than baseball?

Through eight games of the Lehigh Valley Senior Connie Mack League, the South Parkland Trojans sprung into action with a 6-2 record for head coach Donald Friday. That was good for second place behind Wilson at 7-0.

“Overall I am pleased with how the team is trending,” Friday said. “It is a nice group of players who have a team-first attitude, and the players understand their roles.”

The Trojans are doing all of this with a relatively new roster, as only one player - Michael Kohler - returned from the season previous.

Last Monday the Trojans overtook Franklin Township to win their fifth game of the season, 5-3 at Cedar Creek. South Parkland took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with the score tied at 3-3. William Dobil laced a 1-0 pitch for a game-winning RBI double.

The Trojans took the lead in the last of the second. Down 1-0, Brady Derr strode to the plate and ripped at the first pitch, driving in the first South Parkland run.

The Trojans tallied 10 hits during the game. Julian Santiago led the attack at the dish with a 3-for-3 performance. Jonathan Laskoski and Dobil each had two hits.

Fireballer Mackaden Parsell was on the hill for South Parkland. He surrendered three runs on seven hits over five innings, striking out nine and walking one.

Two nights later South Parkland hit the road and demolished Freemansburg, 14-0. The Trojans wasted little time in this one, scoring twice in the opening frame. Muhammad Curtis ripped a 3-2 pitch, scoring two runs. South Parkland broke it completely open in a nine-run third inning. Offense in the inning came from Elijah Raad, Connor Gerhart, Curtis, Parsell and Derr.

Relief pitcher Nathaniel Lopez registered the game’s final out for the shutout.

“Our strength so far has been pitching,” the coach said. “They have kept us in every game, as our offense has been slow to start.”

Although the team has undoubtedly played well, there is some room for improvement during the season’s second half.

“We need to improve with our situational hitting, and get runners in from third when we have less than two outs,” Friday said.

But overall, things look good for South Parkland.

“We have some players who have gotten the opportunity to play at a higher level for the first time and they have responded.”