Prep notes: Henlopen North baseball excels

Smyrna’s Ryan Seymour follows the flight of a fly ball in his team’s 4-3 win over top-ranked St. Mark’s on Saturday.

Smyrna baseball coach Mike Henderson knows his Eagles are about to go down a tough road. Five of their last seven games are against Henlopen North opponents.

“I’m biased, but personally I think it’s the toughest conference in the state, by far,” Henderson said.

The fourth-ranked Eagles (9-2, 1-0) earned a 4-3 home win over No. 1 St. Mark’s on Saturday, good preparation for what awaits around the corner. The seven Henlopen North teams are a combined 54-24 this season, an even more impressive 41-11 against non-conference foes.

“It’s good for us, because we’re going to see all of those teams in the [state] tournament,” said Smyrna pitcher John Barkley, who held off St. Mark’s over the final 1⅔ innings. “It’s all quality baseball. I think it’s going to help us in the long run.”

Smyrna has a win over defending state champion Appoquinimink. Cape Henlopen (8-2, 3-1) has a win over third-ranked Middletown. Dover (11-2, 3-2) has outscored its last five opponents 51-3, including a 10-0 romp over Cape.

Sussex Tech (8-4, 2-1) has won six straight after a 2-4 start, including wins over Dover, William Penn and Salesianum. Sussex Central (5-5) is 0-4 in the conference, but stunned Sallies 3-2 on April 23. Polytech (8-3, 2-2) and Caesar Rodney (5-6, 2-3) are dangerous, too.

And Smyrna will face one of the hottest teams in the state at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday when the Eagles travel to Henlopen South leader Lake Forest (9-3, 5-1). The Spartans have won nine straight after an 0-3 start.

“I always think there are some southern teams that should be in [the state tournament] that aren’t,” Henderson said. “A lot of our South teams get beat up by the bigger schools, but they’re very good, quality programs.”

Soccer scramble

After struggling to a 7-7-1 record last season, the Middletown girls soccer team has jumped to 9-0-2 overall and 5-0-1 in Blue Hen Flight A going into a home showdown against Appoquinimink (7-2-1, 5-1) at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Charter of Wilmington (5-2-1, 4-0-1) took a big step in the conference race with a 3-1 win at Appoquinimink on Monday night. But the Force tied Middletown 1-1 on April 27, so both teams will share the Flight A title if they sweep the rest of their conference games.

Softball unbeatens

Smyrna (9-0) and Padua (9-0) have quietly won all of their softball games so far, but a couple of big tests await this week.

The Eagles travel to Lake Forest (10-3), which has been ranked as high as second in the state this year, at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The Pandas held off Delaware Military Academy 3-2 on Saturday and next play at Milford at 4:15 Thursday. The Buccaneers are 3-7, but only lost to Smyrna 1-0 on April 21.

Rounding it up

— The Blue Hen Conference track and field meet will be held Saturday at Appoquinimink, with field events and track prelims starting at 10 a.m. and running finals beginning at 11:30.

— The Delaware Military Academy boys lacrosse team (7-2) moved into the state rankings at No. 5 after the Seahawks knocked off then-No. 3 Archmere 13-12 and then-No. 2 Appoquinimink 11-10 last week.

— Polytech’s Whitney DeMora went 3 for 3 with three home runs and two walks in a 12-6 victory at Cape Henlopen last Friday. One of the homers was a grand slam, as DeMora finished with eight RBI and four runs scored. The senior also hit three homers in the Panthers’ season opener at Indian River.

— Senior attacker Lizzie Frederick scored her 100th career goal in Cape Henlopen’s 16-5 win over Caesar Rodney last Wednesday.

— The 1976 Salesianum baseball team will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its state championship with a reunion before the current Sals’ home game against Lake Forest at 2 p.m. Saturday. Former umpires and opponents from that era are also invited to attend and reminisce.

— St. Elizabeth is seeking an assistant coach for field hockey. Mail a resume and letter of interest to St. Elizabeth High School, or submit via email to jcorradin@sehs.org.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ