Huntingtown baseball hosts annual Smith tournament

After hosting the annual Guy Smith Sr. Tournament named in honor of his late father, Huntingtown High School baseball coach Guy Smith Jr. downplayed the significance of winning both games on Saturday afternoon even though the two victories offered a genuine sentimental appeal.

Huntingtown edged Severna Park of Anne Arundel County 3-2 in the opener on Saturday then pulled away from Southern Maryland Athletic Conference rival Calvert 10-3 in the nightcap in a non-conference game.

Huntingtown junior shortstop Dom Brooke played a key role in both victories defensively and at the plate, driving in the winning run in the opener against Severna Park then adding a three-run triple in the late stages of the 10-3 triumph over Calvert.

“It was a good chance for a lot of the younger guys to get some playing time and for all of our guys to face some really good competition,” Smith said. “Severna Park is one of the best teams in the state each year and that might be the best team in the state this year. They tied it in the top of the seventh then we won it in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Dom.”

Calvert, which fell to Severna Park 6-3 in the middle game of the triple set on Saturday, climbed back from an early 4-0 deficit against Huntingtown to get within a run through five complete.

But the Hurricanes broke the game open in the top of the sixth — Huntingtown was actually the visiting team in that contest — when Brooke smacked a bases clearing three-run triple then scored moments later on a sac fly by Jack Cassidy.

“I thought we played well in both games,” Calvert third-year coach Glenn Liddy said. “We fought hard against a really good Severna Park team then we were right there with Huntingtown until the last two innings. But games like this can only prove beneficial in the long run. We’ve got a young team and even some of our junior varsity guys had the chance to play today.”

Calvert trailed 3-0 after the first inning and 4-0 heading to the bottom of the second when the Cavaliers answered with a run in the second, another in the third and one more in the fifth to get within 4-3. Calvert’s Jake Felder singled and scored in the second, while Dominic Jones had three hits and drove in runs for the Cavaliers in both the third and fifth.

Saturday’s tournament was named in honor of Guy Smith Sr., often referred to as “Coach Senior” or “Smitty,” who coached baseball and football at Northern, Calvert and Huntingtown from 1980-2011 until he died two weeks after his 64th birthday.