The article incorrectly identified the winning pitcher for Broadneck High School in a softball victory over C.H. Flowers. Ashley Thomas was the pitcher.
Maryland Softball Roundup
Mitchell Cools Easton's Bats, McDonough Ekes Out Win in Rematch
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The McDonough softball players tried to tell themselves this semifinal was like any other game. But no matter how much they repeated the mantra, the fourth-ranked Rams wanted to prove they belonged in the Maryland 2A final for the second straight season by beating Easton, the team that left them heartbroken in the championship game a year ago.
Led by 17 strikeouts from All-Met Melanie Mitchell, the Rams secured a 1-0 victory at Bachman Sports Complex in Glen Burnie and redemption for their 2-1 loss to the Warriors in last year's final. McDonough (18-0) will try to capture its first state title since 1998 when it faces Landsdown at the University of Maryland on Saturday.
"I just wanted to show that you can't put us down," said Mitchell, who has 296 strikeouts this season. "Last year, we didn't feel as if we were beat, more just that we let ourselves down. We came back, and we wanted to show that we could do this, that we were supposed to be" in the final.
The rematch of the 2008 final couldn't have featured more disparate teams. McDonough recorded just 17 runs and 24 hits in its three wins in the tournament, while Easton batters slugged their way to the state tournament with 198 runs and 216 hits. Yesterday's contest was the first one-run game Easton played in all year; it was McDonough's sixth.
The lone run came early for McDonough as leadoff hitter Janice Spearbeck, a senior, singled in the bottom of the first, advanced on a walk, then raced home from second when Sam Kruemmel singled to the shortstop.
"For us older girls this win is really big," Spearbeck said. "We're so happy. Last year was a heartbreaker for us, but it wasn't like they blew us out. We knew we could get back to the final again."
Broadneck Closes In
Four days after its biggest victory in school history, Broadneck primed itself to claim its first state championship.
The second-ranked Bruins scored four runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, routing Flowers, 12-0, in five innings in their 4A semifinal. Ashley Thomas hit a two-run homer, and Kourtney Salvarola shut out the Jaguars (16-2).
Salvarola said it was difficult, initially, to focus after defeating arch-rival Chesapeake on Friday to claim its first 4A East region crown. The Bruins (19-0) had lost to the Cougars in that game each of the past two seasons.
Now, on the verge of the school's first title, with the initials of former coach Jim Ware, who died suddenly last summer, sewn on to their jersey sleeves, Salvarola said she and her teammates cannot wait for Saturday's final against North Carroll.
"We're all pretty excited for that moment to happen," she said. "We just want to finish it off."
Patriots Advance
Northern Coach Robert Earl Radford knew the defending 3A champions couldn't afford to go to the international tiebreaker in a still-scoreless semifinal. The Patriots wanted, perhaps even needed, to defeat Fallston in seven innings.
