MPSSAA baseball playoffs: Washington County Public Schools roundup
Two Washington County baseball teams were in action Tuesday as the MPSSAA playoffs continued with region finals. Here's what happened:
3A West Region I final
Linganore 4, North Hagerstown 3
The No. 1-seed Lancers (14-6-1) scored the tying and go-ahead runs on an error and a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning, and reliever Austin Perando got out of a two-on, no-out jam in the seventh with three straight strikeouts to eliminate the No. 2 Hubs (13-8).
North Hagerstown had taken a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning on Ian Kelley's RBI single.
Mac Stiffler struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings and only allowed three hits for the Hubs. But his control issues -- he had three walks, hit three batters and threw five wild pitches in the game -- proved to be costly in the sixth inning.
Stiffler hit Max Lopacienski in the helmet with the first pitch of the inning, before Augie Jansen singled. Bryce Meyer moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt.
Hunter Street followed with a hard grounder back to Stiffler, who had Lopacienski hung up between third and home. But Stiffler's throw home was wild, allowing Lopacienski to score the tying run and Jason Capone -- running for Jansen -- to take third. Capone scored six pitches later on the wild pitch for the lead.
Henry Ortiz and Russel Crocker opened the seventh inning with infield singles, Ortiz on a grounder in the hole at short and Crocker on a bunt that hugged the first-base line. Perando got out of the threat with his right arm to deliver the Lancers the region title.
Zach Dodson started for Linganore and allowed three earned runs on two hits and four walks while striking out eight over 5 1/3 innings.
North took a 2-0 lead in the first inning after opening the game with two walks. Stiffler got an RBI on a groundout and Cam Mertz hit an RBI single.
The Lancers scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on a passed ball, and tied the game in the third on another passed ball.
1A West Region II final
Brunswick 4, Clear Spring 0
On a wet, dreary day at Brunswick, the Blazers' state-title run came to an end.
The Railroaders (19-2-1) jumped on top early and got a shutout performance from a pair of pitchers as they captured their first region title since 2016 by topping Clear Spring (14-6-1), the two-time defending state champion.
Brunswick scored all of its runs with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. With the bases loaded, Connor Mullaney hit a two-run single to right. After a walk reloaded the bases, the Railroaders plated two more runs on a Blazers error.
"We've been preaching coming out early with tempo, kind of shutting down their pace at the beginning of games and really buckling down those first two innings," Clear Spring coach Brandon Glazer said. "You know, it is what it is. It was a tough surface today. It was tough at the beginning of the game with the rain and the wetness. But kudos to them. They put the ball in play early and made us make plays. And we just fell behind a little too much too early."
The Blazers finished with eight hits, all singles, including two by Landon Yates. But the big, timely hit eluded them. They had runners on first and third with no outs in the second inning and then had the bases loaded with no outs in the third.
"We just couldn't get anything across," Glazer said. "We had good at-bats. We were just missing that key hit, which we've done time and time again throughout the season, whether it was the top, the middle or the bottom of the lineup. It just didn't happen today."
Brunswick starter Colin Pearre allowed eight hits and a walk while striking out four in six innings. Ty Kaunas retired all three batters he faced in seventh to complete the shutout.
Noah Sluzalis went the distance on the mound for Clear Spring, allowing four runs (two earned), five hits and six walks while striking out seven.
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Saturday
1A West Region II semifinals
Clear Spring 11, Smithsburg 8
The No. 2-seed Blazers got the offense going early, building an 11-2 lead through three innings, and held off the No. 6 Leopards, who battled all the way to the final out and had the bases loaded and the go-ahead run at the plate in the seventh inning.
Clear Spring (14-5) will travel to face No. 1 Brunswick in the region final Tuesday at 1 p.m. It will be a rematch of the CMC Small School championship game, which ended in a 5-5 tie with the teams sharing the title.
The Blazers struck for four runs against Smithsburg (6-11) in the first inning. Konnor Sarber hit an RBI single, Isaac Lesher hit an RBI double and Jacob Bryan drove in two with a single.
The Leopards scored twice in the top of the second on Heath Githens' RBI single and Aiden Manspeaker's steal of home.
Landon Yates' RBI double gave Clear Spring one of its two runs in the bottom of the second. The other run scored on an error.
The Blazers scored five runs in the third to take their largest lead. Jay McConnaughey hit an RBI single and was one of two runners who scored on an error. Sarber followed by tomahawking a high fastball for a two-run homer.
"That's exactly what we wanted to do coming in. … We hit," said Clear Spring coach Brandon Glazer. "The bottom of the order hit. The middle of the lineup hit. Collectively, one through nine, I thought we were really tough at the dish today, and that's something we've been striving for every game."
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Manspeaker led off the sixth with a homer for the Leopards, who made things interesting by scoring four runs in the seventh. Preston Githens and Max Bono hit RBI singles, and runs also scored on an error and a bases-loaded walk.
Noah Sluzalis got called in relief with two outs and the bases loaded, and got a strikeout to end the win for Clear Spring. Sarber finished with two hits and four RBIs, JJ Hull went 3-for-3 and scored three runs, and Lesher also had two hits.
Jaxon Teson had two hits for Smithsburg. George Mantz and Bono combined to pitch 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits while striking out three.
3A West Region I semifinals
North Hagerstown 10, Tuscarora 7
Henry Ortiz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead the No. 2-seed Hubs' offense in a home victory over the No. 6 Titans.
North (13-7) will travel to face No. 1 Linganore on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the region final.
The Hubs pulled away from Tuscarora with a six-run fourth inning that gave them a 9-4 lead.
Noah Ferguson and Luke Bragunier each had two hits and an RBI for North. James Ortiz doubled and drove in a run, and Shawn Saylor and Luke Frazee each had a hit and an RBI.
Thursday
3A West Region I quarterfinals
North Hagerstown 12, South Hagerstown 2
Luke Bragunier went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Henry Ortiz had two hits and pitched a complete game as the No. 2-seeded Hubs (12-7) topped the No. 7 Rebels (2-16) in six innings.
North, the defending region champ, will face No. 6 Tuscarora in the semifinals Saturday at home.
The Hubs will be without star pitcher Mac Stiffler, who was ejected for his language by the home-plate umpire during his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday. Stiffler -- who finished 1-for-2 for the game with an RBI double and a strikeout -- will be suspended for either one or two games. He played center field Thursday, planning to save his arm for the next opponent.
"That ejection will definitely hurt us, regardless of whether it's one game or two games," North coach Justin Lewis said. "But it's all right. We've got other pitchers who can throw. Hopefully, it's only one game and we take care of (Tuscarora) on Saturday, and then he can bounce back for the following week."
Shortly after Stiffler was tossed, North assistant coach Shawn Reynolds also was ejected from the game.
The melee seemed to invigorate the Hubs, who were clinging to a 3-2 lead at the time. Ian Kelley hit an RBI double, and Bragunier followed with a two-run double to make it 6-2.
North then poured it on in the sixth, scoring six runs for a walk-off, mercy-rule win. James Ortiz ignited the outburst with an RBI triple.
His older brother, Henry Ortiz, was sharp on the mound, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five. Both of the runs he gave up were unearned.
"It's what I expected," Lewis said of the pitching performance. "He came out, threw a lot of strikes, got a few strikeouts and pitched to contact. That's what he does. Now, depending on what happens, we'll have to ride him a little more."
South starter Isaiah Licorish had 10 strikeouts in five innings.
2A West Region I quarterfinals
Francis Scott Key 10, Williamsport 5
The No. 6-seeded Wildcats (3-17) were eliminated on the road by the No. 3 Eagles.
Williamsport went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning, but FSK immediately answered with three runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.
After three scoreless innings, FSK broke the game open with a seven-run fifth, extending the lead to 10-2.
Trent Gelwicks had two hits and three RBIs for the Wildcats, while Nick Anderson had a double and an RBI single, and Jared Dangerfield doubled and scored three runs.
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1A West Region II quarterfinals
Smithsburg 12, Hancock 2
Chase Sarber drove in three runs and pitched a complete game, and Heath Githens went 3-for-3 with four stolen bases and four runs scored as the No. 6-seeded Leopards (6-10) defeated the No. 3 Panthers (8-11) on the road.
Preston Githens and George Mantz each doubled for Smithsburg, which capitalized on seven Hancock errors.
Sarber allowed two unearned runs, five hits and a walk while striking out six in seven innings.
Logan Hendershot hit an RBI double for the Panthers.
Smithsburg will travel to play No. 2 Clear Spring, the two-time defending state champion, in the semifinals Saturday at 11 a.m.
Catoctin 12, Boonsboro 2
The No. 5-seeded Warriors (7-11) were eliminated on the road by the No. 4 Cougars in six innings.
Carson Rhodes hit a double for Boonsboro, while Trevor Wilt and Dash Mussolino each had an RBI.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: MPSSAA baseball playoffs: Washington County Public Schools roundup
