Determined Lancers top rival Hawks in third try to win CMC Large School crown: 'We came in guns blazing'

Linganore catcher Lilly Trunnell hates watching pitches go by her when she’s batting.

So, when she stepped to the plate with the go-ahead run 60 feet from home in the fifth inning, Trunnell made sure to jump on the first pitch she saw. She sent the ball to center field, deep enough to drive in Gracie Wilson and send the Lancers in front for good.

Trunnell’s aggressive approach at the plate has become contagious up and down Linganore’s lineup as the season has progressed, and it lifted the Lancers to an 8-3 win over Urbana on Tuesday at Hood College in the Central Maryland Conference Large School softball championship. Linganore claimed its first outright CMC title and beat the Hawks for the first time in three tries this season.

“We were like, third time’s the charm. We got this,” Trunnell said. “We came in guns blazing, super aggressive, and that was our mindset going into the game.”

The Lancers hope that becomes a catalyst for their playoff push, which is slated to begin next Monday as they earned the No. 1 seed in Class 3A West Region I and a first-round bye. It’s a less experienced group than in prior years, but the entire lineup is starting to find its groove.

The biggest improvement has been at the plate, where Linganore (14-5) no longer has to solely rely on its three top hitters — sophomore Bradyn MacKay and seniors Wilson and Leo Cline, two of the final remnants from their 2022 state championship team.

“Right now, one through nine, we’re putting the ball in play well, we’re getting hits, making them make mistakes, making them make tough plays,” Lancers coach Andrea Poffinberger said. “We’re happy with that progression from the start of the season to now.”

Tuesday’s win showed the most significant improvement, as every Linganore batter reached base at least once during an 11-hit afternoon. The Lancers scored five of their eight runs with two outs, as their clutch hitting helped put Urbana away.

Trunnell started that trend with a first-inning RBI triple that just got past the diving right fielder. The sophomore quickly took on an important role in the lineup in her first varsity season, as she’s become a trusty cleanup hitter.

“I came into this year wanting to make a change, be a really big impact player,” she said.

Trunnell is catching a cadre of four Linganore pitchers, with Wilson standing in the circle against the Hawks.

The senior is typically a standout center fielder, but she took the ball Tuesday because Poffinberger liked the heat she brought when she pitched against the Hawks a week ago. Wilson proved her coach right, as she tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts.

She will play outfield in college at the University of Maryland, but her scattered appearances in the circle have been no less successful.

“It’s better when I’m not nervous, so I go batter by batter, and I know I’ve got my team behind me,” Wilson said. “If they hit the ball, they’re gonna catch it and they’re gonna make outs.”

Urbana (12-7) didn’t have much luck against Wilson, especially in the final four innings. Hawks left fielder Kaelynn Burge evened the score at 3-3 by cranking a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the third inning, but they mustered little after that.

The Lancers, meanwhile, scored three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh to put the game away.

Designated player Sydney Mott and third baseman Autumn Rinehart each had two hits and scored once, and Mott also drove in a run. Right fielder Alexis Hardy and left fielder Taylor Droneburg each had an RBI single. Wilson drilled an RBI double as part of a two-hit day. Cline scored twice.

“Let’s feed this game and our momentum and what we’re doing into the playoffs,” Poffinberger said. “And hopefully, we just ride it out.”

Urbana catcher Carleigh Magers had a first-inning sacrifice fly. Shortstop Lo McAnaw scored twice.