It’s been a while…

Just noticed it’s been about a month since my last blog post. Ouch. Would you take the dog ate my computer as an excuse?
At any rate, all apologies for the lack of activity. We’ll ease back into this whole blog thing with a few notes of interest to get things going again…
*First, it’s summer baseball time again, which means the Lebanon County American Legion Baseball League and Palmyra’s entry in the East Shore Twilight League will be plenty busy in the coming weeks and months.
The six-team county Legion league will open play on Sunday, while Palmyra began its East Shore slate on Monday with a 7-2 win over Penbrook.
Look for plenty of coverage of both as the summer goes on.
Should be interesting to follow the fortunes of the locals. The Legion race figures to be an interesting one, with defending champ Campbelltown looking to hold off challenges from the likes of Fredericksburg, Myerstown and Annville. Also of note, the Region Four tournament will be hosted by Fredericksburg at Earl Wenger Field this year, which means an automatic berth for the ‘Burg and two Lebanon County entrants in the event. It also means a short drive to cover it, so there’s that as well.
Meanwhile, the Palmyra twilight team has a new manager in John Baker, who replaces former Hershey Bear Mitch Lamoureux, but the perennial East Shore contenders boast another stacked roster that includes former Palmyra High School catcher Colby Conway and ex-Cedar Crest standouts Zach Hostetter and Matt Walewski.
*The Big 33 Football Classic is right around the corner as well, set for Saturday, June 14, at 7 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium. Lebanon High quarterback and Bucknell recruit Mark Pyles will be in action for Pennsylvania and looking to put a positive capper on a phenomenal, award-filled senior season.
*Lebanon Catholic and New Covenant Christian School will be joining forces in girls’ volleyball next season. The PIAA last week approved a request from the two county schools to cooperatively sponsor girls’ volleyball for the 2014-15 school year.
The co-op will allow New Covenant students to compete for Lebanon Catholic’s girls’ volleyball team in much the same way that a football co-op allows Lebanon Catholic students to play for Annville-Cleona’s football team.
Sounds like a good move for the two schools, who both have their share of challenges in fielding athletic teams due to their small size.
That’s all for now. In the meantime, you can follow along with me on Twitter @phuggsports for more local sports news and notes.