Marriotts Ridge Gets Title Shot Via Forfeit

ABERDEEN, Md., May 23 -- The players on the Marriotts Ridge High School baseball team had turned in their uniforms and thought their season was over after losing to South Hagerstown, 14-10, in their Maryland 2A semifinal Wednesday. But when doing some bedtime reading Thursday night, Mustangs Coach Paul Eckert realized his team might be playing in Saturday's state championship game after all.

While looking through old newspaper articles because he lacked other reading material, Eckert saw that a pitcher from South Hagerstown High had pitched 15 innings in a seven-day span, one more than state regulations permit. He alerted school officials, who informed the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association and, by Friday afternoon, South Hagerstown had forfeited its victory over Marriotts Ridge.

"They just lost track of it," said Mike Tesla, South Hagerstown's athletic director. "It was just an oversight. It wasn't malicious or anything, but it cost us."

Instead, Marriotts Ridge (18-5) will play Kent Island for the Maryland 2A title at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.

"I suppose if there was a Sports Illustrated or Consumers Report, or any other magazine I read, I would have been reading that and we wouldn't be playing tomorrow," said Eckert, who added that he re-read stories about all of the Mustangs' possible playoff opponents. "I felt my obligation to the boys I'm coaching that we do the honest thing and let the MPSSAA know."