MPSSAA baseball playoffs: Washington County Public Schools roundup

Three Washington County baseball teams were in action Saturday as the MPSSAA playoffs continued with region semifinals. Here's what happened:

1A West Region II semifinals

Clear Spring 11, Smithsburg 8

The No. 2-seed Blazers got the offense going early, building an 11-2 lead through three innings, and held off the No. 6 Leopards, who battled all the way to the final out and had the bases loaded and the go-ahead run at the plate in the seventh inning.

Clear Spring (14-5) will travel to face No. 1 Brunswick in the region final Tuesday. It will be a rematch of the CMC Small School championship game, which ended in a 5-5 tie with the teams sharing the title.

The Blazers struck for four runs against Smithsburg (6-11) in the first inning. Konnor Sarber hit an RBI single, Isaac Lesher hit an RBI double and Jacob Bryan drove in two with a single.

The Leopards scored twice in the top of the second on Heath Githens' RBI single and Aiden Manspeaker's steal of home.

Landon Yates' RBI double gave Clear Spring one of its two runs in the bottom of the second. The other run scored on an error.

The Blazers scored five runs in the third to take their largest lead. Jay McConnaughey hit an RBI single and was one of two runners who scored on an error. Sarber followed by tomahawking a high fastball for a two-run homer.

"That's exactly what we wanted to do coming in. … We hit," said Clear Spring coach Brandon Glazer. "The bottom of the order hit. The middle of the lineup hit. Collectively, one through nine, I thought we were really tough at the dish today, and that's something we've been striving for every game."

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Manspeaker led off the sixth with a homer for the Leopards, who made things interesting by scoring four runs in the seventh. Preston Githens and Max Bono hit RBI singles, and runs also scored on an error and a bases-loaded walk.

Noah Sluzalis got called in relief with two outs and the bases loaded, and got a strikeout to end the win for Clear Spring. Sarber finished with two hits and four RBIs, JJ Hull went 3-for-3 and scored three runs, and Lesher also had two hits.

Jaxon Teson had two hits for Smithsburg. George Mantz and Bono combined to pitch 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits while striking out three.

3A West Region I semifinals

North Hagerstown 10, Tuscarora 7

Henry Ortiz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead the No. 2-seed Hubs' offense in a home victory over the No. 6 Titans.

North (13-7) will travel to face No. 1 Linganore on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the region final.

The Hubs pulled away from Tuscarora with a six-run fourth inning that gave them a 9-4 lead.

Noah Ferguson and Luke Bragunier each had two hits and an RBI for North. James Ortiz doubled and drove in a run, and Shawn Saylor and Luke Frazee each had a hit and an RBI.

Thursday

3A West Region I quarterfinals

North Hagerstown 12, South Hagerstown 2

Luke Bragunier went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Henry Ortiz had two hits and pitched a complete game as the No. 2-seeded Hubs (12-7) topped the No. 7 Rebels (2-16) in six innings.

North, the defending region champ, will face No. 6 Tuscarora in the semifinals Saturday at home.

The Hubs will be without star pitcher Mac Stiffler, who was ejected for his language by the home-plate umpire during his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday. Stiffler -- who finished 1-for-2 for the game with an RBI double and a strikeout -- will be suspended for either one or two games. He played center field Thursday, planning to save his arm for the next opponent.

"That ejection will definitely hurt us, regardless of whether it's one game or two games," North coach Justin Lewis said. "But it's all right. We've got other pitchers who can throw. Hopefully, it's only one game and we take care of (Tuscarora) on Saturday, and then he can bounce back for the following week."

Shortly after Stiffler was tossed, North assistant coach Shawn Reynolds also was ejected from the game.

The melee seemed to invigorate the Hubs, who were clinging to a 3-2 lead at the time. Ian Kelley hit an RBI double, and Bragunier followed with a two-run double to make it 6-2.

North then poured it on in the sixth, scoring six runs for a walk-off, mercy-rule win. James Ortiz ignited the outburst with an RBI triple.

His older brother, Henry Ortiz, was sharp on the mound, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five. Both of the runs he gave up were unearned.

"It's what I expected," Lewis said of the pitching performance. "He came out, threw a lot of strikes, got a few strikeouts and pitched to contact. That's what he does. Now, depending on what happens, we'll have to ride him a little more."

South starter Isaiah Licorish had 10 strikeouts in five innings.

2A West Region I quarterfinals

Francis Scott Key 10, Williamsport 5

The No. 6-seeded Wildcats (3-17) were eliminated on the road by the No. 3 Eagles.

Williamsport went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning, but FSK immediately answered with three runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.

After three scoreless innings, FSK broke the game open with a seven-run fifth, extending the lead to 10-2.

Trent Gelwicks had two hits and three RBIs for the Wildcats, while Nick Anderson had a double and an RBI single, and Jared Dangerfield doubled and scored three runs.

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1A West Region II quarterfinals

Smithsburg 12, Hancock 2

Chase Sarber drove in three runs and pitched a complete game, and Heath Githens went 3-for-3 with four stolen bases and four runs scored as the No. 6-seeded Leopards (6-10) defeated the No. 3 Panthers (8-11) on the road.

Preston Githens and George Mantz each doubled for Smithsburg, which capitalized on seven Hancock errors.

Sarber allowed two unearned runs, five hits and a walk while striking out six in seven innings.

Logan Hendershot hit an RBI double for the Panthers.

Smithsburg will travel to play No. 2 Clear Spring, the two-time defending state champion, in the semifinals Saturday at 11 a.m.

Catoctin 12, Boonsboro 2

The No. 5-seeded Warriors (7-11) were eliminated on the road by the No. 4 Cougars in six innings.

Carson Rhodes hit a double for Boonsboro, while Trevor Wilt and Dash Mussolino each had an RBI.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: MPSSAA baseball playoffs: Washington County Public Schools roundup