Post 13 pulls away from Caroline, 8-2; improves to 4-0 at states

Jul. 24—FREDERICK — Hitting is addictive, and once Fort Cumberland got a taste, there was nothing Caroline Post 29 could do to stop it.

Largely behind the right arm of Leuma Pua'auli, Fort Cumberland entered the seventh inning clinging to a 3-1 lead, but Post 13 was still searching for a big inning to pull away for good.

Fort Cumberland exploded for five runs, four with two outs, including a two-run long ball by Parker Ferraro that hit the side of a house beyond the left-field fence.

And for the fourth time in four days, Fort Cumberland left the yard at McCurdy field with a victory — the latest an 8-2 drubbing of Caroline on Monday morning.

More importantly, Post 13 now needs to be beaten twice by Wicomico Post 64 in Tuesday's state championship stage.

Fort Cumberland is raring to lift the trophy after one ballgame.

"We were jumping on first pitches, and by the third inning, I had no idea if he had a curveball or not," Fort Cumberland head coach Brian McAlpine said. "We were way out in front. Once we started sitting back, seeing some pitches and looking to drive it opposite field, we did pretty well.

"They came out a little flat. They already knew they were (in the championship game), and I was trying to get across to them yeah we're there, but I want someone to beat us twice. ... That's going to be tough."

Fort Cumberland (11-8) improved to 4-0 at the state tournament with the victory. Its title game opponent, Wicomico, is 3-1.

Post 13 beat Wicomico, 9-8, in a 12-inning marathon game on Saturday.

Fort Cumberland, which was state runner-up to Francis Scott Key a year go — FSK was eliminated by Wicomico Monday in a 5-1 defeat — is searching for its first Legion state crown since 1976.

If Post 13 does win, it'll advance to the Region 2 tournament in Morgantown, West Virginia, to face the champions of Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The tournament will take place from Aug. 2-6 and is hosted by Morgantown Post 2, which receives an automatic bid to regionals, at Dale Miller Field.

While Fort Cumberland hasn't won anything yet, it took a major step on Monday despite a slow start.

After falling behind 1-0 by virtue of a first-inning overthrow, Fort Cumberland leveled the tally in the fourth when Caroline gifted a run on a poor throw of its own, allowing Alex Kennell to scamper home. Kennell reached with a lead-off double.

Bryce Madden sliced a two-out liner down the right-field line for the go-ahead RBI in the fifth, and, after Madden swiped second, Landon McAlpine pushed him across with a double in the right-center gap.

Still, Caroline had a fighting chance. That changed in the seventh.

Caleb Langham got the rally started with a lead-off single, his third of the game, and the base knocks kept coming. McAlpine drove one run in with a single, and Kennell plated two with a line drive just out of the third baseman's reach.

Ferraro had the exclamation point, however, crushing a towering fly ball over the high fence in left field and into the side of a home. The two-run bomb made it 8-1 Cumberland.

Ferraro started the at-bat by chasing a high strike, but he settled down and found his pitch. He didn't miss it.

"I was just trying to hit something in the gap and pick up one more run," he said. "I just got a good pitch to hit and took advantage of it. Put a good swing on it."

Caroline got one unearned run back in the seventh off Tyson Shumaker, who got the save after coming in during a 3-1 ballgame, but it was too little too late.

When Cumberland's bats weren't squaring up balls early, Pua'auli kept them in it.

The right-handed Mountain Ridge product didn't pitch at the high school level until his senior year, but he found a role as a closer for Post 13 as the year progressed.

He was in a different position Monday, making his first start of the year in Fort Cumberland's fourth game in as many days.

After some control issues early, Pua'auli found it and held Caroline scoreless over his final 4 2/3 frames until he hit his 105-pitch limit.

"I've just been the closer guy, but I had to start today, so it was kinda weird," said Pua'auli, who allowed one unearned run on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 5 2/3 innings of work. "It's just a fun experience to be out here.

"I feel like we've got a pretty top-dog infield, outfield, so when you're out there, just throw strikes and let them do the work for you."

Coach McAlpine would've liked to get Pua'auli out if Fort Cumberland jumped on Caroline right-hander Carl Stump early, but Post 29's starting arm kept them off balance over six innings.

Stump allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in six frames of work. He was only at 84 pitches when Caroline manager Eric Lambert gave him the hook in the seventh.

Fort Cumberland pounced on his replacement to the tune of four runs on three hits in his lone frame of work.

Post 13 out-hit Caroline, 9-7. Landon McAlpine and Kennell both singled, doubled and drove in a pair. Madden scored twice and stole a base.

Fort Cumberland's best hitter Monday may have been its No. 8 bat, Langham, who finished 3 for 3 with two steals and two runs scored.

Both times the Fort Cumberland center fielder led off the fifth and seventh innings with singles, Langham stole second on the next pitch. With that speed, why bunt?

"Caleb is one of the fastest guys on the team," coach McAlpine said. "If he gets on I'm stealing him. ... Even if he gets a bad jump, he's still probably safe. That's why I like him and Steven (Spencer) at the bottom, to roll up to Uma (Pua'auli) and Bryce (Madden)."

Through four games, Fort Cumberland has stolen 15 bases.

Austin Duke-Walls and Hunter Wolfe topped Caroline with two singles each. Post 29 is largely made up of current and former players from Colonel Richardson, which fell in each of the past two Class 1A state championship games to Clear Spring.

Colonel Richardson ended Northern Garrett's season, 6-4, in the state semifinals at McCurdy Field this spring.

Fort Cumberland will now try to capture its sixth state title and first since 1976. Post 13 won three straight from 1933-35 — including the '34 national title — and took states in '62 and '76.

Wicomico will see Cumberland's best on the mound, as Madden, Ferraro and McAlpine all are available.

"We know what's at stake," coach McAlpine said. "We're in a really good position, so we're excited."

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American Legion State Tournament Schedule/Results

All games at McCurdy Field, Frederick

Friday's Results

Game 1 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 (10), Boonsboro Post 10 (0)

Game 2 — St. Mary's Post 255 (12), Caroline Post 29 (8)

Game 3 — Wicomico Post 64 (9), Dundalk Post 38 (1)

Game 4 — FSK Post 11 (7), Severn Post 276 (1)

Saturday's Results

Game 5 — Elimination game: Boonsboro Post 10 (1), Dundalk Post 38 (0)

Game 6 — Elimination game: Caroline Post 29 (8), Severn Post 276 (1)

Game 7 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 (9), Wicomico Post 64 (8), 12 innings

Game 8 — FSK Post 11 (13), St. Mary's Post 255 (1)

Sunday's Results

Game 9 — Elimination game: Caroline Post 29 (5), Boonsboro Post 10 (3)

Game 10 — Elimination game: Wicomico Post 64 (4), St. Mary's Post 255 (2)

Game 11 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 (9), FSK Post 11 (7)

Monday's Results

Game 12 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 (8), Caroline Post 29 (2)

Game 13 — Wicomico Post 64 (5), Francis Scott Key Post 11 (1)

Tuesday's Games

Championship Game

Game 14 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 vs. Wicomico Post 64, 11 a.m.

Game 15 — Fort Cumberland Post 13 vs. Wicomico Post 64 (if necessary), 30 minutes after Game 14

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