Trojans Rally to Defeat Whitman

All-Met pitcher Kevin Brady came on in relief and pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings and started the game-winning rally with a single in the bottom of the fifth as third-ranked Gaithersburg rallied from a four-run deficit to beat visiting Whitman, 6-4, in a Maryland 4A West Region semifinal game yesterday.

With Brady limited to five innings yesterday because state regulations limit pitchers to 10 innings in three days, Gaithersburg was forced to turn to its ace in the second inning after falling behind 4-0. Brady kept Whitman off the board for the next four innings, yielded to Delvin Downs in the sixth then returned and struck out three in the seventh to end the game.

Sean Wynne's one-out double off the left field fence scored Nick Vergelli to break a 4-4 tie and lift Gaithersburg to the victory.

The Trojans (20-1) will take a 17-game winning streak into today's 4 p.m. regional final against visiting Sherwood. The Warriors beat Wootton, 5-2, yesterday.

The Titans' Achievement

After T.C. Williams beat West Potomac on Wednesday night to advance to the Virginia AAA Patriot District semifinals and secure a Northern Region tournament berth, Coach Scott Grossi informed his team that 2008 would mark its first trip to regionals since 1998.

The history lesson did not particularly rile the Titans.

"Looking at their faces, I don't really think they understood the magnitude of it like the coaches do and some of the fans who have been around for awhile," Grossi said. "But I think after awhile they'll finally understand how much it actually means."

T.C., the fourth seed in the Patriot, did not back its way into the regional. The second half of the season, the Titans beat West Springfield and South County, the eventual second and third seeds, respectively, in the Patriot.

In the district semis tonight, T.C. will play top seed Lake Braddock at 8 p.m., after South County and West Springfield meet at 5. Both games are at West Springfield.

The Patriot final is at 7 p.m. Monday at West Springfield. The 16-team Northern Region tournament begins next Friday. . . .

Dani Ashbaugh pitched a five-hitter to lead sixth-ranked Linganore to a 3-2 victory over visiting Westminster in a Maryland 4A North Region semifinal last night. Ashbaugh (7-0) struck out three and walked none.

Nick DeVries doubled twice and Taylor Henry had a double and drove in two runs as the Lancers (16-3) won their seventh game in a row and advanced to today's regional final against North Carroll. . . .

Travis Hart pitched a complete game and went 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBI to lead Paint Branch to an 8-7 victory over visiting Bethesda-Chevy Chase in a Maryland 3A West Region semifinal. Michael Brown went 3 for 3 and Richard Lasota had a single, a double and scored twice for the Panthers (12-6), who play today at Seneca Valley at 12:30 in the regional final. Seneca Valley advanced with a 4-3 victory at Damascus. . . .

Mike Boyden struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings and hit his third home run of the season as ninth-ranked La Plata beat visiting Huntingtown, 5-1, in a Maryland 3A South Region semifinal yesterday. J.T. Sapaienza hit his fourth home run of the season for the Warriors (18-2), who will host Northern in today's regional final.