Seneca Valley Gets Past Paint Branch

With 12 Maryland 3A football titles, there is no shortage of championship banners on display at Seneca Valley. But after a dramatic 7-5 victory over Paint Branch yesterday in the Class 3A West Region final, the Screaming Eagles are only two wins away from adding their first baseball state championship.

Junior catcher Tyler Klitsch smashed a two-out, two-run home run over the left field fence to cap a four-run, two-out rally for the Screaming Eagles in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving them a 7-3 lead. Klitsch's homer -- the first of his career -- proved to be the difference as Seneca Valley withstood a late rally by the Panthers for the first region title in school history.

"It's amazing," Klitsch said of his home run. "I sprinted around the bases as fast as I could."

The Screaming Eagles (13-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by pitcher Brian Black and a two-run double off the bat of Erich Bacchus. Paint Branch rallied back to tie the score with three runs in the fourth, and the score remained deadlocked at 3 until Seneca Valley's sixth-inning outburst.

Black allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings to record his sixth win. Senior Richard Ridenour got the final two outs with the tying run at the plate, picking up his second save in three days.

The Panthers (12-7) threatened to send the game to extra innings in the seventh after Scott Barnes's one-out, two-run double to the wall in right-center closed the gap to 7-5. But Ridenour induced back-to-back groundouts to seal the victory.

Following a 2-6 start to the season, the Screaming Eagles now have reeled off 11 consecutive victories.

"We have been coming back all year long," said second-year coach Terry Changuris, who coached the football team to seven state titles. "We fall behind and we come back and so I never consider ourselves out of it."

Loftus Lifts South River

Sophomore Kevin Loftus hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, lifting visiting South River to a 2-0 victory over Leonardtown in the 4A East Region final yesterday.

Bobby Hite and Jake Sodeman had walked for South River (16-7) and advanced to second and third base. Loftus then brought both home by hitting a 3-2 pitch into left field. . . .

Marriotts Ridge (17-5) scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning and then won the game in the bottom of the eighth on a missed squeeze play as it beat Calvert, 3-2, in the 2A South Region final. . . .

Tyler Green's run-scoring single capped a three-run fourth inning and visiting Sherwood held on to beat No. 3 Gaithersburg, 3-2, in the 4A West Region final. Ted Fletcher threw a four-hitter and struck out five for the Warriors (15-5). . . .

Mark Anderson hit his seventh home run of the season and Nate Ryan pitched a three-hitter as No. 9 La Plata beat Northern, 7-2, in the 3A South Region final. J.P. Sapaienza added three hits for the Warriors (20-2). . . .

Josh Foster, Nathan Dula, Brian Paulhus and Nick Rippeon all homered as Linganore beat North Carroll, 10-4, in a 4A North Region semifinal. The Lancers will host C.M. Wright in tomorrow's region final. . . .

Mikey Kerdock hit a solo home run, his first of the season, as Eleanor Roosevelt beat Northwestern, 12-1, in a Maryland 4A South Region semifinal. The Raiders (19-1) will host Bowie (17-2) in tomorrow's region final. The Bulldogs advanced with a 6-3 victory over Laurel yesterday. . . .

Ben Winter allowed one hit in six innings, Mike Ross had a two-run double and Joe Couch and Jake Beck added two-run singles as Centennial beat Stephen Decatur, 9-0, in a 3A East Region semifinal. The Eagles will host Fallston in tomorrow's region final.

Staff writer Josh Barr contributed to this report.