MANHEIM, Pa. (WHTM) — Manheim Central got what every Midstate baseball team sets out for every spring — A district championship.

The Barons squeaked out a 2-1 win over Ephrata to hoist the trophy last spring and naturally the reigning 5A district champs aren’t satisfied. While early returns in 2023 have been middle of the pack — the Barons are just 3-3 out of the gate — they believe they have all the pieces for a repeat run, and maybe even more following an impressive 3-2 win over state semifinalist Donegal this past week.

“I feel like we have a little bit more chemistry, we’re finally building up the energy, especially this game that I would like to be at moving forward and trying to go into the playoffs,” junior outfielder Kye Watson said.

“When we all hit we have Kye, me, Brady, Cayde, Jared all them,” junior shortstop Nolan Book said. “We just smash.”

“We have really strong players coming back,” senior pitcher Cayde Connelly said. “We have a lot of good underclassmen that came up this year. I think we have a great shot of winning it again.”

“I feel like we lost a little bit of depth in pitching but our guys have done pretty good so far and I feel like our batters have definitely stepped up a little bit from last year,” Watson said.

The Barons should have a good idea of where they’re at as they roll into the bulk of Lancaster Lebanon League play this coming week.