State champs! Fort Cumberland mounts miracle comeback to beat Wicomico, 7-6

Jul. 26—FREDERICK, Md. — As the hot sun beat down and hope seemed bleak down 6-2 with three outs to play with, Fort Cumberland was at a crossroads.

Was Post 13 resigned to just getting to the championship game, or would they go down giving it everything they had left? They didn't have much left in the tank after 46 innings over five days, but they had just enough.

It started with a bloop and a blast by Carson Bradley and Caleb Langham, and it ended six batters later with an RBI single by Alex Kennell and a costly error, as Fort Cumberland plated five runs to march all the way back in front.

Hope seemed lost, but Fort Cumberland found it.

Wicomico continued to fight as it did countless times over the 12-inning classic it played with Post 13 on Saturday, but Fort Cumberland came up with a pair of decisive defensive plays to strand the winning run at first base.

As pitcher Landon McAlpine snared a liner right back at him for the final out of the 7-6 win Tuesday, the Fort Cumberland dugout cleared and gloves were heaved in exhilaration.

For the first time since 1976, Fort Cumberland stands alone as the Maryland American Legion state champion.

"Once we started to get some momentum, I think we really rattled their pitcher," Fort Cumberland head coach Brian McAlpine said. "They have a no-quit attitude.

"This is pretty special, especially for my assistant coach (Pat Brode). He's been to the finals a few times, but has never been able to do it. ... The boys really wanted to win one for him."

Fort Cumberland (12-9) entered the day just one win away from the title after winning its first four games, and Wicomico (16-3) needed to beat Post 13 twice.

Yet, Wicomico came out strong, Fort Cumberland was flat and John Smith gave Post 64 a Game 1 victory with a two-run base hit in the fourth that proved to be the difference in a 4-2 game.

The defeat spoiled another solid start from right-hander Bryce Madden, who battled through not having his usual breaking ball to allow two earned runs over six innings.

Fort Cumberland was staring a sweep in the face in the second game after two unearned Wicomico runs scored on three errors in the third and Post 64 tacked on three more in the sixth to lead 6-2.

Morale appeared to be low for Fort Cumberland, but all it took was a string of hits to rekindle the fire.

Bradley blooped a single to right, Langham cranked an RBI triple to left and Leuma Pua'auli followed with another run-scoring bloop single to cut the deficit to 6-4.

"After the bottom of the sixth we had a big hole to climb out of," Langham said. "I just had to get on base and keep the line moving."

The line kept moving when Bryce Madden worked a walk to load the bases with one out, and Wicomico elected to make a pitching change, inserting Jordan Dillard in for the struggling Aiden Headley.

Facing the tough scenario he inherited, Dillard walked his first batter, Landon McAlpine, to drive in another run.

That brought Kennell to the dish, who led the tournament with 12 runs batted in, and he did his job, hitting a hard ground ball up the middle that shortstop Tyler Janeski had to slide to stop.

Janeski's only play was to first, but the first baseman, playing up to cut down the potential tying run at the plate, couldn't recover to his base in time for the throw, and the ball bounced away allowing Madden to scamper home for the go-ahead run.

With the game on the line, Kennell didn't swing for the fences. He stuck to the game-plan and guided the ball up the middle.

"Put the team first and good things will happen," Kennell said. "Everyone started getting on, the pitcher was struggling and we took advantage of it."

Kennell was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after the game. He batted .409 (9-22) with three doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs, 10 runs and three stolen bases during states.

Wicomico center fielder Ethan Holland was ejected in the sixth inning after throwing his helmet in frustration when he was tagged out at the plate on a safety squeeze.

The ejection loomed large because it caused Smith to have to move from right to center field and put Dillard into the game in right. Dillard wasn't able to warm up before pitching with the bases loaded in the middle of the seventh.

Wicomico still wasn't done in the seventh and put the tying and winning runs on base with an infield single and a walk with nobody out.

Ryland Weaver bunted them over, and Cumberland was in need of one of those heads-up defensive plays it's gotten out of jams with all tournament. It found one.

Headley hit a hard grounder to Madden at shortstop, who fired the ball home to get the runner caught in a rundown. Bradley, the catcher, made a strong throw to third, and Kennell applied the tag.

Two pitches later, Jayden Dillard lined a rocket to McAlpine, and the celebration was on.

"Sometimes it just falls the way you need it to," Madden said. "People were in the right spot at the right time. Situational baseball, know what's next, and that's what our boys did."

Lost in the late-game mayhem was the strong start from Parker Ferraro, who pitched a solid second game allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and two bases on balls in five innings of work.

McAlpine tossed two scoreless on two hits to pick up the win in relief.

Zach Robinson was dealt a no-decision despite surrendering just two runs (one earned) on five hits with a strikeout and a walk in six frames of work.

His bullpen imploded, combing to give up five runs on five hits and three walks in the seventh frame.

Post 13 out-hit Wicomico, 10-8, and both teams made five errors. Each squad struggled with the sun in the second game, dropping multiple pop-ups, and the hard infield at McCurdy Field produced several high choppers on seemingly routine plays.

Kennell was the lone Fort Cumberland bat with multiple hits, McAlpine tripled in the third inning and Ferraro drove in a run in the first.

Madden scored in the opening frame on a steal of second, taking third on an overthrow by the catcher and scampering home when the center fielder booted the grounder.

Madden slid head first into each base before advancing 90 feet.

Fort Cumberland was out-hit, 8-4, in Game 1 and couldn't string anything together. Post 13 didn't have more than one knock in any inning. McAlpine and Ferraro doubled, and Madden drove in a run.

Aiden Brinsfield, a Salisbury signee, clamped down on the Fort Cumberland bats. The right-hander gave up two unearned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Robinson pitched a scoreless seventh for the save.

Brinsfield was named the pitcher of the tournament, and Smith, who had two hits and three runs batted in during Game 1, was awarded the tournament's top offensive player.

Fort Cumberland now advances to the Region 2 playoffs at Dale Miller Field in Morgantown, West Virginia, which takes place from Aug. 2-6.

Post 13 hasn't won a regional game since 1934, the year it won the national title.

"All these guys have known each other so long, and you wouldn't think by having different schools split up, how well we came together," Madden said.

"Every night, everyone was with each other. It wasn't a team anymore, it started to become a family."

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