MPSSAA 1A State Semifinals Recap
May 22, 2019
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Colonel Richardson vs. Boonsboro
Game one of the MPSSAA 1A State Semifinals featured Colonel Richardson and Boonsboro at McCurdy Field in Frederick. Right out of the gate, Boonsboro jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by Ryan Nolan and Aaron Hartle, who each singled and drove in a run of their own.
The Colonels were quick to respond in the bottom half of the inning as Tyler Stanley led it off with a single to right and scored on an RBI single by Nathan Roth. They would tack on another in the inning with an infield single by Ryan Stanton to cut the early deficit to just one.
The runs continued in the second when Jake Neff hit a one-out double to left field and scored on a Dalton Shank single. Heading into the bottom of the second, the Warriors held a 4-2 lead.
However, the Colonels answered once again. After the leadoff batter got hit by a pitch, Remington Mangum hit an opposite-field double to put runners on second and third with one out. Jackie Zebron grounded out resulting in one run and Ty Scott delivered an RBI single to center scoring another. After two innings the score was all square at four a piece.
The tie didn’t last long though as Hartle reached base with his second hit of the game. Following a single by Adam Mathias sending Hartle to third, Hartle then scored on an error on the pick-off attempt at first, giving the Warriors a one-run lead. Mathias also started on the mound for Boonsboro and recorded the games first scoreless frame in the bottom of the third.
Shank started another rally in the fourth when he hit a one-out double to left. Following an error, Boonsboro had two men on with two outs, when Nolan cleared the bases to give Boonsboro a 7-4 lead.
But the Colonels answered once more with a big inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth. After two walks and a hit by pitch, Mangum drove in a run with an infield single. Another run crossed on an error before Roth hit a two-RBI single to give the Colonels their first lead of the ballgame.
Scott came on in relief for the Colonels and retired six straight batters in the fifth and sixth. Despite allowing the first two to reach in the seventh, Scott shut the door on the Warriors sending Colonel Richardson to the 1A State Championship game for the first time since 2007 with the 8-7 win.
Roth (2-for-3, 3 RBI’s), Mangum (2-for-3, 1 RBI, 2 R’s), and Scott (2-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB’s) led the offensive charge for the Colonels.
Shank (3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R), Nolan (2-for-4, 3 RBI’s, 1 R), and Hartle (2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R) also had a good day and led the Warriors offensively.
McDonough vs. Randallstown
Maurice J. McDonough and Randallstown met in the nightcap at McCurdy Field with the winner advancing on to play Colonel Richardson for the MPSSAA 1A State Championship. Like Boonsboro, Randallstown scored immediately. Taking advantage of a leadoff walk, Mekhi Stevens worked his way into scoring position, setting up an RBI single for Stephen Thomas.
The Rams lead did not last long though as McDonough also started the bottom of the first inning with a walk and was able to drive the runner in on an RBI double by Sean Joseph. With two outs, Liam Golden hit a bloop double to right to score Joseph and take a 2-1 lead.
McDonough starting pitcher Austin Simms settled down in the second retiring the side in order. Stevens started on the mound for Randallstown and threw a successful scoreless inning as well punching out two.
In the third, Reggie Shaw blistered a two-out single to left and reached third on a fielding error. Thomas once again delivered a clutch hit, plating Shaw to tie the game at two.
With the game all square, McDonough led off the third with three consecutive hits. Quinlan Robertson started it off with a single, followed by an RBI triple by Simms, and an RBI single by Joseph. Heading into the fourth, McDonough was back in the lead by a score of 4-2.
Simms came back out and dominated, striking out three of the last four batters he faced. In the bottom half of the inning, McDonough added an insurance run on an RBI single to center by Robertson.
Joseph came on in relief for McDonough and retired eight of the nine batters he faced. Adam Harrison took over for Randallstown and kept McDonough off the board in three solid innings of work; however, the bats never got going again for Randallstown as they were unable to have any success against Joseph.
In the end, McDonough came away with a 5-2 victory sending them to the 1A State Championship game where they will square off against Colonel Richardson.
Robertson (2-for-2, 1 RBI, 2 R’s, 2 BB’s) and Joseph (2-for-3, 2 RBI’s) were the offensive stars of the game for McDonough. Simms picked up the win allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks, while striking out five in four innings pitched. Joseph picked up the three-inning save allowing zero runs on zero hits and one walk, while punching out four.