Allegany beats Boonsboro, 9-1, for perfect season, state championship

May 26—COLLEGE PARK — Boonsboro supporters packed the stands at the University of Maryland; Allegany quickly silenced them, and Abi Britton made sure they remained that way.

That's been the norm during Allegany's trail of redemption, and an overflow crowd of Warriors fans watched helplessly as the Campers plated four runs in the first inning and Britton threw a 14-strikeout two-hitter.

Fittingly, Britton struck out the final batter of the game, and the tears flowed as Allegany punctuated an untouchable 22-0 season with a 9-1 rout of Boonsboro for the Class 1A state championship on Saturday.

"I think it was by far our best overall team game of the year," Allegany head coach Dave Winner said. "We hit one-through-nine. Pitching was as good as ever. Defense was fairly good.

"I'm just proud of the four seniors. They've went through four years of two state championships and just three losses."

The state championship is Allegany's fourth in school history in six appearances in the title game — half of which this senior class was responsible for.

Over the last three years, Allegany has a 58-2 record with two unbeaten seasons. In 2022, the Campers ended Patterson Mill's 44-game winning streak with a 3-2 triumph in the title game.

Allegany's victory was far more comprehensive this time around against a talented Boonsboro team that boasted five players with college commitments and finished with a 22-2 record.

Britton, a Penn State signee, was her usual dominant self in the circle in her final high school game, allowing an unearned run on two hits with 14 strikeouts and one walk in seven innings pitched.

Lexi Johnston paced the Allegany offense with a three-run double, Mackenzie Monahan (Frostburg State) blasted a two-run homer, Riley Gallagher (UMBC) tallied a two-run single and Desi Hilton was 3 for 4 with a ribbie.

After Jordyn Sneathen gave Allegany its first run with an RBI single in the first, Johnston tallied the biggest hit of her career, a bases-clearing double to left center that put Allegany on top 4-0 in a flash.

Allegany was able to load the bases after three straight walks by Boonsboro sophomore Addison Tyler, and Johnston made it hurt.

"I heard from my teammates she was pitching a lot outside," Johnston said. "I'm not really an outside hitter, so I was cramming the plate. I made contact with that ball and I hardly even felt it. It was perfect contact.

"I was just so pumped because in the beginning of the season I wasn't a starter, so it felt awesome to be able to prove my worth to the team."

Tyler then settled down with four straight scoreless frames, but Allegany all but secured the championship in the sixth inning by plating five runs.

The inning began with consecutive errors, and, after a run scored on a Hilton infield single, Gallagher pushed two across and Monahan punctuated the triumph with a big fly over the left-field fence.

"My coach had mentioned that she throws a lot of outside screwballs," Monahan said. "So when I got up to the plate, I kind of scooched in so I was prepared to hit that outside pitch.

"That second pitch, she happened to leave one up and out and I got around it and smashed it out. Very exciting."

Monahan was the first batter relief pitcher Ava Nelson faced after Tyler was removed from the circle. Tyler allowed eight runs (four earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks in 5 1/3 innings in the loss.

Nelson surrendered one run on four hits in 1 2/3 frames.

Boonsboro showed some of why it went undefeated in the regular season with a pair of impressive defensive plays.

In the third inning, third baseman Sage Haller, a Frostburg State commit, made a diving stop in the hole and threw across the diamond to rob Sky Porter of a single.

In the fifth, first baseman Sydney Kulikowski notched an over-the-shoulder grab up the line to take a hit from Sneathen.

Boonsboro tallied its lone run in the third inning after a pair of uncharacteristic Allegany mistakes.

Nelson started the rally with a one-out single on a flair to first base that she legged out, and Britton threw a Kamryn Dillow bunt high over first base to put runners on second and third.

Britton nearly got out of the jam with a groundout and a strikeout, but the latter got behind Gallagher and a run scored on the dropped-third strike to make it 4-1 Allegany.

Winner said that the half-inning may have had a positive impact on Allegany, as it calmed the girls seeing that Britton and Gallagher, the Campers' best defensive players, were human and make mistakes.

Allegany didn't make one again in the field, and Britton retired 13 of the final 15 Boonsboro batters to lift the Campers to immortality.

Britton credited the Campers' positive vibes in the dugout for how calm they played Saturday.

"We stayed hyped the whole time, which was a huge factor," Britton said. "We were feeding off each other's energy. I'm just so grateful that I even got to get back to College Park, let alone win another state championship."

Britton is one of four seniors along with Gallagher, Porter and Hook — who all played on Allegany's state runner-up team in 2021, which Britton was not a part of.

Gallagher caught all three championship games the past four years and was 2-1.

"My freshman year I had no clue what it was (to win states), but now I understand what it means, and it's an amazing feeling," Gallagher said.

Allegany out-hit Boonsboro, 9-2, and made two fewer errors, 3-1.

The Campers' victory was one of redemption after falling to Catoctin, 1-0, in the state quarterfinals a year ago. The team got together a day after the loss and hit the ground running to get stronger in the weight room.

It was evident in Allegany's thrilling semifinal win over a Mardela team that entered with a 24-0 record — a game that mirrored the Catoctin game, with a home run by Britton the difference in the 1-0 game — and it was evident in a comprehensive rout in College Park.

"We worked so hard for this moment," Porter said. "I knew today was going to go our way. You can out-hustle anybody, and that's exactly what we did today."

It was a bittersweet atmosphere following the game as the core of the team, largely intact over the last three years, slowly came to the realization that it was the final time they'd take the field together.

They may never play together again, but they left a legacy that may never be matched in school history.

"I don't think there are any words to describe it," Hook said. "We've worked so hard to get here and we finished what we started."

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.