D10 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 29 , 2022
Erik Peters made 13 saves and
Alexander Vardaro scored twice
for the fifth-seeded Tigers (11-5),
who were making their first
semifinal appearance since
2004.
That lengthy absence was ex-
tended when thunderstorms in
the area sent the Cornell-Rutgers
game into a 3-hour 38-minute
delay just after halftime began.
Instead of starting around 2:30
p.m., Maryland and Princeton
didn’t get underway until 6:28
before an announced crowd of
21,668 — the smallest for a
semifinal without pandemic re-
strictions since 2001.
When the game finally started,
Maryland pounced on the Tigers,
building a 5-1 lead by the end of
the first quarter after defensive
midfielder Bubba Fairman de-MARYLAND FROM D1 posited a transition opportunity.
Far more concerning than any
other on-field development was
the departure of short stick de-
fensive midfielder Roman Pug-
lise with a shoulder injury.
Tillman said he did not know
whether Puglise would be able to
play Monday.
“He could break his leg and
want to play,” Tillman said. “I
love him to death, and I love his
passion. We’re going to have to
protect him from himself — may-
be steal his helmet or some-
thing.”
The Terps stretched their lead
to 7-2 before Princeton caught its
biggest break of the game. Mary-
land long pole John Geppert was
flagged for a three-minute non -
releaseable penalty for an illegal
body check to the head of Prince-
ton’s Beau Pederson.
The Tigers got within 7-4 byhalftime but missed their other
three shots on the man-up. When
they got their first even-strength
possession of the third quarter,
the Terps quickly got a goal back
when Jonathan Donville found
Wisnauskas in the crease.
“We overcommunicated, and
that was kind of what we were
trying to do,” McNaney said. “Out
there it was a little loud, but
props to our defensive guys. I
don’t think they got a shot on
goal in that three-minute period
[after the goal].... I think that
was very big for us in terms of
momentum. Our offense and de-
fense kind of fed on that.”
Maryland then ripped off
three goals in a 61-second span —
the last two by Owen Murphy in a
seven-second stretch — to go up
11-4.
“Those were critical,” Tillman
said.Wisnauskas passed Jared
Bernhardt with his 203rd goal
with 1:32 remaining. Entering
his final game Monday, Wisnaus-
kas ranks fifth in NCAA history
in goals.
Saturday also demonstrated
McNaney’s fondness for NCAA
semifinals. The junior’s career
high for saves had been 17
against Duke, which came in last
year’s semis on the same field.
Now, Maryland faces the chal-
lenge of finishing the job for the
first time since 2017 — and
cementing its place among the
best teams in recent history. Only
three teams have completed a
perfect season as champions in
the past 30 years: 1997 Princeton,
2005 Johns Hopkins and 2006
Virginia.
On Memorial Day, the Terps
will have a chance to join that
group.Terps men one win short of perfectionJOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
The Terrapins built a 5-1 lead by the end of the first quarter against the Tigers after Bubba Fairman deposited a transition opportunity.BY NOAH FERGUSONThere’s a hill by Calvert’s soft-
ball field that the Cavaliers make
their way to after each home game.
Win or lose, the players jog up and
down it just moments after the
final out, helping them refocus
and decompress.
That experience helped the
Cavaliers reach the summit of
Maryland 2A softball Saturday,
when they ousted Rising Sun, 5-4,
in an eight-inning thriller at Mary-
land Softball Stadium in College
Park to claim their third state
championship. Grace Atherton
had the winning hit, a bloop single
that set off the celebration.
“We have focused a lot, this year
especially, on the mental health
aspect of our game,” Coach Lauren
Robison said. “I don’t think that
it’s a coincidence that we have seen
success, because it is an open con-
versation of how our girls are feel-
ing both mentally and physically.”
To Robison, Calvert’s first state
title in more than a decade was a
product of that emphasis on men-
tal health.
“If you could’ve been a fly on the
wall in the dugout, you would have
seen interactions that just would
have taken your breath away,” she
said. “From teammates picking
each other up, from the emotions
of being up and down... we
weren’t going to let that go.”
Calvert (22-1) started strong:
Senior star Karlee Hughes cracked
a double off the fence that led to a
first-inning run. Rising Sun (17-3)
responded in the fifth, breaking
up Emma DeBoer’s shutout bid to
knot the score at 1.
A three-run outburst in the bot-
tom half gave the Cavaliers some
breathing room; a bloop single
with the bases loaded capped a
three-run inning that put Calvert
ahead. But Rising Sun wouldn’t go
away. With two outs in the sev-
enth, the Tigers roared back with
back-to-back doubles to tie the
score at 4.
It was similar, Robison said, to
Calvert’s 2-1 eight-inning loss to
Queen Anne’s in this game last
season. But in the eighth Saturday,
Atherton’s single dropped just
inches in front of a Rising Sun
glove to secure the Cavaliers’ first
state title since Robison was a
player 16 years ago.
“I threw my helmet off and was
running down the first base line
before she even touched home,”
Hughes said. “I had no doubt in my
mind that [Atherton] was going to
walk it off.”
The Cavaliers’ dedication to
keeping a positive mind-set was
paramount for Hughes in her
growth as a player while their
dazzling season progressed.
“I have a tendency to put a lot of
pressure on myself, especially
playing at such a high level,” she
said. “It’s actually helped my game
improve because my identity isn’t
softball and it’s just something I
get to do for fun.”
When Atherton’s single rolled
harmlessly into the grass, there
were no more hills to climb.
“This one means the world to
me,” Robison said, “because it’s for
them and for kids that haven’t had
much in the past two years. To go
through what they’ve gone
through, getting this is a cherry on
top.”MARYLAND 2A SOFTBALL FINAL
Cavaliers reach summit
in extra-innings thriller
CALVERT 5,
RISING SUN 4 (8)DOUG KAPUSTIN FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTA single by Grace Atherton, right, dropped just inches in front of
a Rising Sun glove in the eighth inning to seal Calvert’s state title.
BY NOAH FERGUSONChopticon had one last chance
to extend a wild extra-innings
championship game further with
the bases loaded in the bottom of
the eighth inning. But a tapper
back to Linganore’s pitcher
sealed the Braves’ fate on a night
when they were a bounce away —
multiple times — from becoming
champions.
Despite leading the Maryland
3A state title game until the final
moments of regulation, Chopti-
con was shocked, 9-8, at Mary-
land Softball Stadium in College
Park on Saturday.
“I was so proud of how well
they played all year, all the heart
and determination they’ve
shown,” Chopticon Coach Kevin
Cioppa said following the loss.
“We’ve been a team with a lot of
comeback wins and a team that
never gives up.”
The Braves were one out from a
championship in the top of the
seventh. With two on and two
down, Linganore’s Kelli Durbin
lifted a flyball to right field, and
the Braves watched it drop into
the outfielder’s glove before jar-
ring loose, falling into the grass as
multiple Linganore runners
scored.
The game moved into extra
innings, and Chopticon’s hopes of
securing a state championship
were quelled in the eighth.
The Braves’ state title try start-
ed out with promise — Karlie
Wolfe spurred an early Chopticon
charge with a two-run double
into right field. Moments later, an
RBI single gave the Braves a
three-run edge in the opening
inning.
Chopticon’s early momentum
spilled over into the third inning.
With two on and two outs, Chel-
sea Bassford launched a three-
run homer over the center field
fence — sending the Braves’ dug-
out into a frenzy.
But the strong start fizzled.
Linganore (19-5) responded with
a four-run fourth to get within
striking distance. Durbin’s hit
pulled the Lancers back even
with the Braves as the sun set.
After the missed opportunity
to put away the game in the
seventh, Chopticon (19-4) again
came agonizingly close to a game-
winning play. With two outs in
the bottom half and the Braves
threatening, Linganore right
fielder Katie Healy made a diving
snag to end the inning.
Healy continued her roll for
the Lancers in the eighth: She
belted her third triple to give her
team the lead. A squeeze bunt
made it 9-7, and Chopticon
couldn’t close the gap.
A stream of red Lancers jerseys
piled on the field.
“We always battle, and we did
against [Linganore],” Cioppa
said.MARYLAND 3A SOFTBALL FINAL
Braves let opportunities
slip through their grasp
LINGANORE 9,
CHOPTICON 8 (8)BY GENE WANGOn a typical fight night when
Dusty Hernandez-Harrison was
still in the ring, the welterweight
contender from the District would
have been in the locker room re-
viewing strategy, limbering his
body and summoning the mental
fortitude required to thrive in
hand-to-hand combat.
But Saturday afternoon, the un-
defeated boxer turned promoter
was in search of ice. That request
came from pugilists and their han-
dlers several hours before the first
bout of “Beltway Battles: Round
2,” the second of three local cards
Hernandez-Harrison is promot-
ing at Entertainment and Sports
Arena with the aim of restoring
the sport’s profile in the nation’s
capital.
“I was a firm believer being a
fighter was the hardest job in the
world,” said Hernandez-Harrison,
who has been inactive since Feb-
ruary 2020, when he improved to
34-0-1. “It was a 24-hour job. Your
lifestyle is changed. I now know it
is the second-hardest job. Excuse
my language, but this [expletive]
sucks. You don’t realize how much
goes into it.”
Hernandez-Harrison was
speaking partially in jest, but the
many duties he is responsible for
include handling the fighters’
travel arrangements, ensuring
proper medical care at ringside
and arranging arena security. He
even made the rounds in the sur-
rounding parking lots, speaking
with attendants.
Hernandez-Harrison is the
founder of DHH Promotions,
which has partnered with other
promotions, including Rising Star
and TCMBF Boxing, for three
cards featuring fighters from in
and around the District headlin-
ing the main event and co-feature.
Appearing in Saturday’s co-fea-
ture was Anthony Peterson, the
37-year-old D.C-born and -raised
super lightweight who ended a 9^1 / 2
month hiatus to dispatch Saul
Corral via sixth-round knockout
in the card’s penultimate bout.The main event between Bowie’s
Greg Outlaw and Wilfrido Buelvas
of Colombia ended in an anti-cli-
mactic no contest in the first
round. Referee Michelle Myers
stopped the fight at 2:28 when
medical officials in both corners
declared the fighters could not
continue after Buelvas accidental-
ly head-butted Outlaw, opening a
gash above his right eye that be-
gan bleeding profusely.
“It’s something I’ve always
wanted,” Peterson (39-1-1, 25
knockouts) said of highlighting a
local production. “It’s something
I’ve felt like was past due. While I
was waiting for those big fights, I
feel like these were the times that I
missed. We could have been put-
ting on these smaller shows and
building our fan base stronger —
and not only are you building a fan
base but you’re knocking off rust.”
Peterson’s trainer is his older
brother Lamont, 38, a retired two-
division champion whose victory
over Amir Khan via split decision
in December 2011 at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center
produced one of the most memo-
rable moments in the storied his-
tory of boxing in D.C.
That triumph brought majortitle belts back to the District,
which was the birthplace and/or
home base of world champions
during the 1990s such as flyweight
Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, super
lightweight Sharmba Mitchell, su-
per welterweight Ronald “Winky”
Wright and middleweights Keith
Holmes and William Joppy. The
nearby suburbs can claim S ugar
Ray Leonard, a native of Palmer
Park and one of the most accom-
plished and celebrated champions
in boxing history, as well as former
heavyweight champion Riddick
Bowe of Fort Washington.
Underscoring the area repre-
sentation Saturday night was a
10-bell salute honoring late train-
er Gary Russell Sr., who died re-
cently. Russell was the patriarch in
a family of fighters and most nota-
bly trained Gary Russell Jr., who
held the WBC featherweight title
from 2015 until losing it in Janu-
ary.
“Our goal is to get D.C. back to
when we had five, six champions,”
said Hernandez-Harrison, whose
housemate Donnell Poe was on
the undercard and won his four-
round bout, the second of his ca-
reer. “A lot of them are here to-
night. I think it’s good to connectthe new and the old. That’s pretty
much my job now — mentoring
young fighters. I tell them the mis-
takes I made, things I did wrong.”
Securing Entertainment and
Sports Arena, the home court of
the Washington Mystics and the
Capital City Go-Go and the prac-
tice facility of the Washington
Wizards, was at the top of his list of
priorities. With one more show
scheduled for August, the four-
year-old facility in Congress
Heights provides a seating capac-
ity (4,200) suited to showcasing
contenders bidding for title fights
in addition to unproven locals
seeking to gain experience in a
setting accessible to family and
friends.
The amenities also are far more
fan-friendly than some dated ven-
ues in the area that have hosted
boxing cards in recent years.
“That’s what D.C. needs. D.C.
needs to be active in this sport,”
said Holmes, pointing to his 16
bouts over two years that prepared
him to become a champion.
“These fighters need to fight. They
need to stay busy.... I’m thankful I
went through what I went
through. I just hope everyone
keeps this thing going.”‘Beltway Battles’ aims to give D.C. a fighting chance
RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST
Super middleweight Nadim Salloum c onnects on Elie Augustama a t Entertainment and Sports Arena.P eterson wins his bout,
b ut main event is halted
after an early h ead butt