THURSDAY, MAY 26 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU D7
high schoolsBY JACOB RICHMANWhen Sherwood played for
the Maryland 4A championship
in 20 21, Amari A llen was hurling
fastballs for DeMatha.
A year later, he was running
toward the crowd of Sherwood
fans at McCurdy Field in Freder-
ick after b eing the c atalyst o n the
mound during the Warriors’ 3-1
win over Churchill in the state
semifinals Wednesday.
After hearing stories from his
teammates about playing in a
state championship game last
year — which it won in extra
inning innings against Severna
Park — Allen will get his oppor-
tunity against Severna Park on
Friday at Regency Furniture Sta-
dium in Waldorf.
“It’s everything,” Allen said
about reaching the title game.
“It’s all about team first, though.
It’s all about us being together... but I’m ready to feel that
feeling that they had last year
that I wasn’t a part of.”
Wednesday’s s emifinal match-
up was the third meeting be-
tween No. 3 Sherwood ( 22-1) and
No. 2 Churchill (18-2), with the
teams splitting the first two.
Allen hadn’t taken the bump in
either matchup. He got the start
this time around and was the
X-factor.
After a troubling first inning
in which he loaded the bases
after walking back-to-back bat-
ters, the junior settled in for five
scoreless innings that included
eight strikeouts.
Allen’s bat was working just as
well as his arm. He went 2 for 3
before being intentionally
walked in the seventh.
“Amari’s a big piece of our
puzzle offensively,” Coach Sean
Davis said. “He’s a guy t hat teams
game-plan around, but we’ve got
other good players too.”
Leadoff hitter Niko Pernie
knocked in all three runs for
Sherwood with a two-run hit in
the second inning and a single
that sneaked through the infieldto score Jack Andre in the
fourth.
Churchill struggled to get any-
thing going off Allen after the
first inning. The Bulldogs man-
aged to load the bases in the
sixth inning against reliever Mac
Crismond but scored their only
run on a double play.
“We gave them too much. We
gave them very little, but it was
too much,” Churchill Coach Pat
Skellchock said. “They got a key
hit. We had opportunities; we
didn’t get a key hit.”Severna Park returns to final
Angel Santiago-Cruz lifted a
ball into the outfield, driving in
James Henson III and sending
Severna Park to its second consec-utive 4A title appearance.
A five-inning mercy rule win,
10 -0 over Dulaney, set up not just
consecutive trips to the champi-
onship but another shot at Sher-
wood for the Falcons (18-3).
Junior Seamus Patenaude led
the way on the mound, pitching a
shutout.Glenelg advances in extras
After a devastating 14 -inning
loss in the 2021 region final,
Glenelg was headed to extra
innings Wednesday with a spot
in the 2022 Maryland 2A cham-
pionship game on the line.
Glenelg wasted little time as
outfielder Todd Calhoun laid
down a perfect bunt to put the
Gladiators ahead before juniorJackson Kelley closed out a 4-3
win over North East to send
them to their first state final
appearance in nearly 25 years.
The Gladiators (18-5) were
cruising, leading 3-0 heading to
the bottom of the seventh, when
North East (20-2) rallied to tie
the game.
Kelley hadn’t b een used in the
playoffs to that point, but he was
ready.
“I’ve been telling him that
we’d need him in a moment like
this,” Coach Steve Tiffany said.
The first two North East bat-
ters got on base, but Kelley
retired the next three batters to
send the Gladiators through to
face top-seeded Patuxent in Sat-
urday’s championship game.MARYLAND BASEBALL SEMIFINALS
Allen gets his shot to craft his desired ending in first year with the Warriors
SHERWOOD 3,
CHURCHILL 1BY NOAH FERGUSONBefore the state playoffs be-
gan, Severna Park Coach Mer-
edith McAlister had a lengthy
talk with her team, which en-
tered the postseason with a
near-.500 record and relatively
low hopes for a state title bid.
“We preached a lot of growth
and a lot of energy,” McAlister
said. “They have to win six
games.”
Just weeks later, the Falcons
now stand one game away f rom a
state title.
In an extra-inning thriller
Wednesday against South River,
a team that had beaten it twice
during the regular season, McAl-
ister’s squad ousted its Anne
Arundel County foe at the Bach-
man Sports Complex in Glen
Burnie, 13 -12.
Severna Park will play Sher-
wood at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in
College Park in the 4A champi-
onship game.
South River (20-5) came out
sizzling in the opening frame,
driving home four runs and
another in the second. After
hanging 17 runs in their last
matchup against their county
foe, the Seahawks looked primed
to again roll over Severna Park.
But spurred by a series of
bunts in the third inning, the
Falcons (13-10) soon got going
offensively. A five-run outburst
in the third knotted the game at
five apiece, quieting South Riv-
er’s dugout as the once-hushed
Severna Park cheering section
came to life.
The Seahawks and Falcons
traded blows in the subsequentframes — another five-run
Severna Park burst in the sixth
inning gave the Falcons an 11-9
edge heading into the bottom of
the seventh inning.
South River freshman Hanna
Grambo brought the tying run to
the plate with a rope single
down the left field line before
pitcher Brianna Ford lined a
single to right field. A one-out
groundout halved the Severna
Park advantage, and a throwing
error tied the back-and-forth
slugfest at 11 heading into extra
innings.
Severna Park scored in the top
of the eighth, and South River
matched.
In the ninth, Severna Park
scored on a fielder’s choice to
make it 13-12, and this time they
retired the South River side. As
the final groundout rolled into a
Severna Park glove, the Falcons
swarmed the field in jubilation.“It’s a full 18 [players] to get it
done,” McAlister said.Sherwood returns to final
It’s back to the 4A state cham-
pionship game for the Warriors.
Pitcher Kat Hanson con-
trolled the mound for Sherwood
(17-2), throwing a two-hitter
while striking out seven batters
to propel her team to a comfort-
able 5-0 win over Catonsville.
The six-time state champion
Warriors, who beat Churchill
17-0 to stake their claim in the
state semifinals, will look to take
home their first state title since
20 19.Damascus suffers first loss
Damascus’s bid for an unde-
feated season fell short at the
hands of Linganore, which
snapped the Hornets’ 22 -game
winning streak with a 4-0 victo-
ry in the 3A semifinals.I t was an all-too familiar fate
for the Swarmin’ Hornets (22-1),
whose season ended in the state
semifinals for the second con-
secutive season.
“Nothing to hang our heads
about,” Coach Lindsay Burns
told her team after the loss. “We
were in the same boat last year
and lost 1-0 in the same game, so
it certainly stings to [lose] two
years in a row, but we’ll be back.”
The usually potent Hornets
were stifled by Linganore’s
pitching staff. Damascus had
just seven hits.
“The one thing that didn’t go
our way that’s gone our way all
season was the bats,” Burns said.Calvert advances
Desperate to avenge its extra-
innings loss in last year’s state
championship, Calvert breezed
past Walkersville, 11-0, to give
itself another shot at a 2A title.“My kids were just absolutely
hungry,” Coach Lauren Robison
said. “March 1 couldn’t have
come soon enough for softball
season to start, and once it did I
feel like we just hit the ground
running.... T hey just wanted to
pick up where they left off and
leave no stone unturned.”
Robison was a two-time state
champion as a player at Calvert
in the mid- 2000 s. Though her
team’s quest to reclaim the
crown fell short last season, the
Cavaliers are using that as fuel as
their next opportunity ap-
proaches.
“When you coach a bunch of
girls that are as competitive as
my k ids are, it doesn’t t ake much
other than just showing them a
second-place medal,” Robison
said.
“ We remembered what it felt
like, and just [know] that they
want their names on a banner.”MARYLAND SOFTBALL SEMIFINALS
Severna Park stunningly advances behind abundance of ‘growth’ and ‘energy’
SEVERNA PARK 13,
SOUTH RIVER 12BY KYLE MELNICKbaltimore — Fifty-five seconds
after the Mount Hebron boys’
lacrosse team made its deficit
manageable Wednesday night,
Severna Park attackman Nolan
Zborai unleashed a rifle into the
back of the net.
The senior turned to Loyola
University’s bleachers late in the
Maryland 3A championship
game and placed his right index
finger over his lips. Nobody has
been able to hush Severna Park’s
dynasty.
The Anne Arundel County
powerhouse beat Mount Hebron,
9-6, for its sixth consecutive title
and Maryland-record 11th crown.
The Falcons tied Hereford (2008-
13) for the most consecutive
championships in state history.
“It’s awesome just carrying the
tradition all across these six
years,” said midfielder Ryan La-
Rocque, who had a hat trick.
“Kids want to keep coming and
playing for this program. That’s
what gives us fire and keeps us
going every day in practice.”
“It’s truly unreal,” attackman
Joaquin Villagomez followed.
“You don’t want to be the senior
class that didn’t win the champi-
onship. That’s what it’s become.”
Severna Park (16-4) has faced
many challenges during its run,
including the coronavirus, inju-
ries and coaching changes. This
spring, the Falcons faced a new
threat.
On April 29, Severna Park fell
to Broadneck in its first county
loss since 2015 — ending a
6 1-game winning streak. It also
dropped its first matchups
against private schools since
April 20 19. That u nfamiliar heart-
break reminded players they’re
beatable — and motivated them
to avoid that feeling.
When Severna Park met Broad-
neck again in the county champi-
onship game May 9, the Falcons
won, 13-6. Before every game,
Coach David Earl posts a sheet in
the locker room that lists the
team’s 16 goals for the game. The
Falcons accomplished about
70 percent of their objectives inmost early-season games. Against
Broadneck, Severna Park met
nearly 90 percent of its goals as it
began to peak.
“We were definitely doubted,”
said Villagomez, a Towson com-
mit. “We lost a lot of players last
year. Everyone kind of just came
together this whole season and
just put that behind us. We creat-
ed a new team and we were able
to just go on and continue that
tradition of playing hard all sea-
son... and just finishing off with
a bang.”
Severna Park built a 6-1 lead by
the third quarter’s conclusion
against Mount Hebron (17-2).
When the Vikings cut their deficit
to three goals with 6:24 remain-
ing, Zborai reminded spectators
of Severna Park’s dominance.
While their previous titles came
in Maryland’s highest classifica-
tion, the Falcons dropped to 3A
this season.
Soon after the game, players
raised six fingers for photos with
the trophy.
“Our arms are getting tired,”
they yelled, having added a sec-
ond arm to complete their cham-
pionship finger count.MARYLAND 3A BOYS’ LACROSSE FINAL
For Falcons, six is the magic number
SEVERNA PARK 9,
MOUNT HEBRON 6BY KYLE MELNICKbaltimore — Anxiety flooded
Marriotts Ridge attacker Sofie
Bender when she drew a foul in
the final minute of a tie game in
the Maryland 3A championship
game Wednesday night. Then
teammate Hayley Lettinga ap-
proached the junior and stared
into her eyes.
“I’ve seen you score
1,0 00 eight-meters,” Lettinga
said. “You can do this.”
Lettinga’s encouragement in-
stilled confidence in Bender, who
scored moments later on a free
possession with 54.8 seconds re-
maining. That goal secured Mar-
riotts Ridge’s 11-10 win over
Severna Park at Loyola Univer-
sity as the Mustangs secured
back-to-back titles and the fifth
in program history.
“You can believe in yourself all
you want, but when your team
says something to you, I literally
go, ‘There is no missing this goal,’” said Bender, a Florida Institute
of Technology commit. “That is
not an option.”
Marriotts Ridge (15-4) lost to
Severna Park (18-3) by 10 goals
March 29. The Mustangs used
the start of the season to accom-
modate defenders who didn’t
play on last year’s squad, which
beat C. Milton Wright for the 3A
title.
After an inconsistent start,
Marriotts Ridge closed on a
1 0-game winning streak after
falling to Howard County rival
Glenelg on April 20.
“If you were to be in the locker
room right before we went out
onto the field, of course every-
body has nerves.... But with
everybody dancing, there was no
telling how the game was going
to go,” Marriotts Ridge midfield-
er Maisy Clevenger said. “We just
needed to go out there and give it
our all. And we did.”
Still, Severna Park seemed on
track for its 15 th state title when
it claimed a 10 -8 lead with
11:29 remaining. With 4:05 left,
Clevenger, a Maryland commit,
scored the last of her four goals.
Fifty-two seconds later, Lettingaadded her fourth goal. Mustangs
midfielder Sophia Baxter con-
trolled the ensuring draw before
Bender drew a foul while attack-
ing the goal.
After Bender slotted the ball
into the bottom left corner of the
net, teammates rushed to em-
brace her. When she returned to
the opposite side of the field, the
referees paused the game.
Nerves returned to Marriotts
Ridge coaches and players, but
the officials checked — and
cleared — Bender’s stick, spur-
ring another round of cheers
from players. Coach Amanda
Brady had reminded her players
Tuesday night to ensure their
sticks met state regulations.
The celebrations intensified
with 12 seconds r emaining, when
Marriotts Ridge forced a turn-
over and players stormed the
turf.
“We definitely knew we
weren’t 10 goals worse,” defender
Emi Moran said. “The first time
we played t hem was v ery early on
in the season, so we had a lot to
work on. But going in, we knew
this was our game. We weren’t
giving up.”MARYLAND 3A GIRLS’ LACROSSE FINALThe power of belief propels MustangsMARRIOTTS RIDGE 11,
SEVERNA PARK 10JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POSTTalan Livingston (19) helped Severna Park tie Hereford for the most consecutive titles in state history.
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Marriotts Ridge, which fell to Severna Park by 10 goals in March, won its second consecutive 3A title.