Another nail-biter gives Middletown baseball Class 2A state title with win over Glenelg: 'They just don't quit'

WALDORF — With so many other Middletown pitchers enjoying success this season, Knights senior Preston Yost often had trouble getting innings.

This didn't bode well for his ambitious preseason goal — Yost wanted to be the guy on the mound for the Knights at the end of a state championship game.

But with two outs, two on and the Knights clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning during Saturday's Class 2A baseball state final against Glenelg, Yost got the nod.

"When I was walking out there to the mound, taking my deep breaths, I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm actually here," Yost said.

All sorts of things had to happen for Yost to be in this position. Glenelg had to rally for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game after being held down most of the day by resourceful Middletown starter Tyler Haupt.

Reliever Wyatt Hopson had to kill that rally, then Middletown's Fredy Diaz had to hit a leadoff triple in the seventh and score the go-ahead run on Keller Routzahn's perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt.

But Yost got to apply the finishing touch just as he always envisioned, inducing a game-ending fly out to right field that sealed Middletown's pressure-packed 6-5 win over the Gladiators at Regency Furniture Stadium.

After making the catch, Middletown right fielder Joey Nicholson thrust both arms into the air. Seconds later, the Knights did a dogpile on the mound, with Yost presumably in there somewhere, all of them celebrating the program's second state title and first since 2017.

"It's been an expectation since we were in middle school," Yost said. "We've been saying the Class of '24, we were going to come in here and we were going to win a state championship."

As they found out in recent days, that's easier said than done. Just to reach the state final, the Knights had to endure a draining, 13-inning, 2-1 win in the state semifinals.

"We had a marathon the other night, a very stressful game," Routzahn said. "And it got stressful again tonight."

Never more so than the bottom of the sixth, when the Gladiators rallied for three runs, all of them scoring after Haupt was lifted because he reached his pitch count limit after 5 1-3 innings. The rally was fueled by four walks.

Hopson, who entered with the bases loaded, one out and a 5-4 lead in the sixth, gave up the tying run on a fielder's choice but prevented the Knights from facing a deficit heading into the seventh. The threat ended when Nicholson made a sliding catch.

Diaz then pounced, drilling a liner to center that the outfielder had trouble picking up as it sailed over his head.

"I got every stitch of that," Diaz said.

The speedy Diaz rounded second and safely dove head-first into third.

"What a huge hit," said Knights coach Andy Baker, noting how the ball traveled to deep center despite going against the wind. "It was an automatic double, but he was thinking three out of the box."

Diaz remained at third when the Gladiators called a timeout before intentionally walking cleanup hitter Andrew Raymond, giving the Knights runners at the corners with one out.

With Routzahn coming to the plate, the Knights decided on a suicide squeeze, the very method they used to plate the game-winning run in the state semis. No need to rush things, though.

"Before my at-bat, coach [Wayne Main] told me I had one swing, and then we were putting on the squeeze," Routzahn said. "I was very confident."

After fouling off a pitch with a full swing, Routzahn dropped a bunt down the first base line that allowed Diaz to score with ease.

"He did an incredible job. The pitch was up and away. To get a bat on it and put it down the line," Baker said. "It worked for us a couple nights ago. We figured we'd try the mojo and try again."

After getting the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Hopson was pulled after issuing back-to-back walks. While there was plenty of pregame talk about how thin Middletown's pitching would be after Tuesday's marathon, the Knights still had Yost.

His workday was brief but crucial.

"I threw two pitches," he said. "They were both strikes, and the kid hit one of them to my amazing right fielder Joey."

Baker said Yost had some control issues early in the season. Meanwhile, a slew of others kept turning in fine pitching performances.

"So it was a tough road for him to get back on the mound," Baker said. "But a testament to him, what he did was, he kept throwing bullpens. He stayed with it, he stayed sharp and he got to get the last out of the state championship. He stuck with it and didn't give up."

All the late-game drama came after Haupt bounced back from a shaky first inning and turned in an excellent start. The right-hander struck out eight and held Glenelg to three hits.

After laboring through a shaky first, when Glenelg tied the game 2-2, Haupt battled on a day when he said he didn't have his best stuff.

"Sometimes, when he doesn't have his best stuff, he might be at his best," the coach said. "He makes it so difficult. As a hitter, you have no idea what's coming or where it's coming from."

Hunter Barnes and Raymond had RBI singles in the first for Middletown. Brett Lucas scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, when he went from first to third on Easton Metral's hit-and-run single to right.

The Knights took a 5-2 lead in the sixth, when Metral had a sac fly and No. 9 hitter Cory Godlove had an RBI single.

"Up and down, as you saw the last couple nights," said Baker, whose team finished with a 19-5 record. "They just don't quit."

Baker shook his head when asked about all these down-to-the-wire games. The pressure even affected Yost as he spent most of the game on the bench.

"I was biting my nails," he said. "I have nubs left."