No. 3 Allegany hosts No. 6 CMIT-North in state quarterfinals today

May 17—LAVALE — When the playoffs began, coach Dave Winner said Allegany was treating the postseason like a five-game season.

That season is down to three games now after an 8-0 rout of Northern in the Class 1A West Region I championship game on Wednesday.

Next up for the unbeaten Campers, seeded third in the state, is sixth-seeded Chesapeake Math and IT Academy today in the state quarterfinals.

Little is known about the opponent from Laurel in Prince George's County, but if Allegany plays its game — which has resulted in just three losses over the past four years — Winner thinks his team with be just fine.

First pitch is slated for noon at LaVale Lions Field.

"We're to the final eight teams," the third-year head coach said. "It really doesn't make a difference who we play. Big thing is, we have a home game, don't have to travel. We just need to play our game and go from there.

"We're just going to practice today (Thursday) with no real scouting report but do what we do right. It won't be any more difficult than last year's quarterfinal game."

Allegany (19-0) is playing for its sixth state semifinal appearance in school history and third in four years. The Campers fell to Catoctin, 1-0, in the quarterfinals last year.

Allegany last won the state championship in 2022 after finishing as runner-up in 2021. It also won it all in 2010 and 1999.

The Campers finished in a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed in Class 1A this year with Boonsboro and Mardela — which both went undefeated in the regular season — but were given the three seed after a lottery drawing on Thursday morning.

Boonsboro (20-1), which lost to Walkersville, 9-6, in the Central Maryland Conference Small School championship game for its lone defeat, is the top seed, followed by Mardela (23-0), Allegany, Patterson Mill (18-2), Francis Scott Key (18-2), CMIT-North (12-3), Bohemia Manor (11-11) and Carter A&T (11-13).

Patterson Mill is the team that Allegany defeated in its last state title appearance.

Ace Abi Britton, then a sophomore, out-dueled Syracuse signee Madison Knight to stun nationally-ranked Patterson Mill, 3-2, in College Park back in 2022 and end the juggernaut's 44-game winning streak.

That Allegany squad, which featured eight underclass regulars that are now juniors and seniors, finished No. 14 in the nation in the MaxPreps Top 25.

Knight, a RHP, has since showed just how legitimate that Campers victory was by posting a 2.96 ERA in 241 innings pitched across 53 appearances in her first two years at Syracuse.

Allegany was not able to repeat the feat last year after being stunned by Catoctin in the state quarterfinals, though that defeat has aged well too.

Catoctin sophomore Taylor Smith, who tossed a state-record-tying 19-strikeout no-hitter against Alco, is now committed to the University of Virginia. Her catcher, Meghan Gray, is committed to the University of Maryland.

Unfortunately for Allegany, it won't get a shot at revenge, as Catoctin fell to Liberty, 13-4, in the West Region II semifinals.

The Cougars (15-4) were not the same team this year without Smith, who tore her right ACL during the basketball postseason.

While Allegany has championship expectations again this year, CMIT-North (12-3) has never been to the state semifinals.

CMIT-North played just one postseason game to get to the quarterfinals after getting a bye to the South Region II title game where it defeated Surrattsville, 14-4.

That region contains just three teams, all from Prince George's County, and is arguably the state's weakest.

Despite a respectable record, CMIT-North has beaten just one team with a winning record. Prince George's County's best team, Oxon Hill, swept CMIT-North, 18-0 and 20-0, but was run-ruled in its Class 3A playoff opener.

Allegany, meanwhile, has a team full of girls with a plethora of postseason experience.

That conversation begins with its Division 1-bound battery of Britton (Penn State) and Riley Gallagher (UMBC).

Britton has three perfect games this year and nine for her career. On the season, the senior RHP is 15-0 and has allowed just one earned run on 18 hits in 83 innings pitched for a 0.08 ERA.

Britton, who has a team-best .585 batting average and six home runs, has struck out 209 hitters and walked only four.

Gallagher, meanwhile, has let just three wild pitches get past her all season behind the plate. In the box, she's third on the team with a .458 average and has a team-high 12 doubles and 20 runs scored.

Senior Sky Porter is one of seven everyday Allegany players with an above-.300 batting average, hitting at a .349 clip, and senior Kylie Hook hits .306 and has driven in 16 runs.

With the taste of last-year's defeat still fresh in their mouths, Allegany's seniors are dialed in, Winner said.

"Our four seniors are locked in," he said. "They've played a lot of softball. They've all been on travel teams and started on varsity most of their careers.

"Yesterday they were talking to the younger girls about the joy they felt coming back from College Park as sophomores (after winning states). They're as locked in as you can get. They're set for the long-haul here. You couldn't ask for four better kids."

Freshman slap hitter Des Hilton has emerged as a key threat at the bottom of Allegany's line-up and is second on Allegany with a .519 average.

Junior shortstop Mackenzie Monahan bats .431 and has seven doubles, three home runs and is tied for a team-high 23 runs-batted in with Britton.

Sophomore utility standout Jordyn Sneathen, who has seemingly played every position but catcher this year, sports a .326 mark at the plate and has 16 RBIs.

If Allegany wins, it'll face the winner of Mardela and the No. 7 seed Bohemia Manor on Tuesday at the Bachman Sports Complex in Glen Burnie in Harford County.

Mardela knocked out defending Class 1A state champion North Dorchester with a 3-0 victory in the East Region II championship game.

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