Southern wins thriller on opening day over Fort Hill

Mar. 22—POTOMAC PARK — If Thursday's game at the Hot Stove Complex was a preview of the 2024 high school baseball season, it's going to be an exciting couple of months.

Trailing 3-0 in the sixth, Fort Hill rallied to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

However, Southern put two on the board in the eighth to escape with a 5-3 win.

"Just really pleased with the effort," Southern head coach Hayden McLaughlin said, who made his head coaching debut Thursday. "Really proud of everyone who stepped up today. Saw some guys emerge as leaders, really proud of the competitiveness and excitement guys brought today."

The Sentinels (0-1) trailed 3-0 heading into the sixth, but rallied over the next two innings to force extras.

"Couldn't ask for a better first game as head coach," Fort Hill head coach Tanner Brode said. "I'm definitely proud of these guys. It's been a very long time since Fort Hill's come out and had a performance like that in the first game."

The Sentinels' Steven Spencer led off the sixth with a base hit to center.

Two batters later, Spencer stole second and took third on a passed ball.

On a groundout to third, the throw was offline, scoring Spencer to put Fort Hill on the board.

"They've been energized the entire year," Brode said. "So far, so good. Hopefully they keep that energy up. We challenge them every day, every inning, every pitch. Most of the time, they answer."

Logan VanMeter drew a walk, putting runners on the corners.

Carson Bender took third on a passed ball and stole home, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the Sentinels rallied.

With two strikes and two outs, Lukas McMillan hit a single past the shortstop.

Southern went to the bullpen before Spencer hit a single to center.

Bobby Brauer drove McMillan home on a base hit to center, tying the game.

"I told them before the game started, I'm proud of them," Brode said. "I'm more proud of them now. I'm anxious to see how this plays out the rest of the year."

Spencer opened the top of the eighth with an over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left field, robbing a hit.

Spencer had a huge game for Fort Hill, pitching five innings, allowing two earned runs and two walks with three strikeouts.

"They call him terminator for a reason," Brode said. "He's laser focused. That's the kind of kid Steven is. All aspects, not just baseball."

At the plate, he went 3 for 4 with a stolen base.

"We got Steven late, he didn't come until after basketball," Brode said. "He had a long basketball season which we love, we love the fact all of our athletes are successful. But for him to come on this hot early on, we're pretty excited."

Reece Tasker responded for the Rams (1-0), reaching on a two-base error at third base as the throw sailed over the first baseman.

Ryan Bird doubled off the third baseman's glove, driving in the go-ahead run.

Two batters later, Kyle Schofield sent a fly ball to right center. It landed in between the center fielder and right fielder, scoring Bird.

"Finally started to see some leaders emerge, calm everyone down," McLaughlin said. "Heck, they even had to calm me down at one point."

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth, VanMeter led off with an infield hit to shortstop.

After back-to-back outs, VanMeter stole second with two strikes, but a swinging strikeout ended the game.

The first three runs of the game came off sacrifice fly RBIs.

After back-to-back walks opened the top of the fourth inning, Bird placed a bunt down to load the bases.

Jack Healy and Schofield sent back-to-back fly balls to center field, scoring the first two runs for the Rams.

"We had really good presence at the plate today," McLaughlin said. "We didn't try and do too much. We didn't have a single guy trying to be the hero. Everybody went up there with the mindset they're gonna swing good, put a good ball in play."

In the top of the fifth, a hit by pitch and an error at shortstop put runners on the corners.

Cade Leader stole second without a throw, setting up another sac fly RBI by Leader to put Southern up 3-0.

Jared Haskiell nearly went the distance for the Rams, finishing one out shy. In 6 2/3 innings he allowed five hits, one earned run and three walks with seven strikeouts.

"I told him yesterday in front of the team, Jared's our guy," McLaughlin said. "He's gonna go give some quality starts, which he did. Just a real shame he wasn't able to get that final one."

Bird finished the game, going 1 1/3 innings with two hits and a strikeout.

He led Southern with a 3 for 4 day, an RBI and scored the insurance run.

Last season, the Sentinels went 2-15 overall.

Since the WestMAC was formed in 2021, Fort Hill hasn't won a conference game in 21 attempts.

However, if Thursday is any indication, the streak is likely to end in the near future.

"We got a good group of seniors, they have good attitudes," Brode said. "We got some talented younger guys that came up and challenge them every day. They're just feeding off each other. We're really spoiled with this group."

Southern also won the junior varsity game in eight innings, 6-5.

Both teams play on Friday. The Sentinels host Mountain Ridge at the Hot Stove Complex at 4:30 p.m. while the Rams head to Petersburg at 5:30 p.m.

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Email him with scores and story suggestions at jkendall@times-news.com.