SMITHSBURG, Md. – It’s hunting season for the Smithsburg baseball team.
Fastballs are in the crosshairs and the Leopards are approaching them in “Teddy Roosevelt” style.
They are walking softly and attacking the pitches with a big stick. And on Monday, Heath Githens carried the biggest stick.
Githens bashed a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning to break a 3-3 tie and vault the Leopards to a 13-3 win over Williamsport in the regular-season ending game. Smithsburg smashed two more homers in the six-run fifth to end the game by the 10-run rule.
“Late, we’re hunting fastballs,” said Smithsburg coach Patrick Moore. “We got some good swings and we go batters in good counts.
“That’s the team we’ve been looking for. Sadly, it took 19 games to do so, but the goal was to be ready this week. We’ve been preaching to them to go out and have fun. I just hope we do that the rest of the week and in the playoffs.”
Overall, the game was one where the teams pieced together pitching, trying to keep the arms fresh without overusing them. Many players, mostly for Williamsport, saw action in the finale that didn’t change any seedings for the postseason.
There was a bit of an uneasy feel on Monday as each team scored three runs in the second, but neither looked like the aggressor.
Githens, the ninth man in Smithsburg’s batting order, ended that with one swing of the bat.
Smithsburg loaded the bases, getting all three runners on after two outs in the third. Githens stepped to the plate and gave the Leopards a 7-3 lead with one swing of the bat.
“I was just seeing fastball. I just decided to swing,” he said. “Great things happen when I decide to swing.”
In this case, it was a deep fly, aided by a jet-stream to dead center field off Wildcats reliever Kruz Jackson. Williamsport outfielder Nathan Bowman drifted back on the drive but ran out of room as it sailed over the fence.
“The pitch was just down the middle,” Githens said. “I knew when fastball was coming … and I just swung. I was just trying to score a run, trying to hit a barrel.”
This time, he got the whole barrel on the ball.
Suddenly, the Leopards surged to a four-run lead and the whole world seemed brighter.
“That was a huge momentum swing by Heath there,” Moore said. “Wind’s blowing out to the dead center tonight. That’s what we call a ‘Smithsburg home run.’ But the other team has the same opportunity there as well.
“So, kudos to him getting a pitch he could elevate and drive.”
Smithsburg carried the lead into the fifth inning, where they finished off the season on a high note.
It all started with Gavin Ramarge greeting reliever Ian Rhea with a leadoff homer to left. A wild pitch and an RBI double by Chase Sarber made it 10-3 with two outs.
Gavin Blumenaur drove in Barger with an infield single, before Jaxon Teson ended the game with a two-run homer.
“J.T. made a great swing,” Moore said. “He was struggling earlier in the game and he let a couple of fastballs get by. But he was hunting fastballs … and he got it.”
Williamsport jumped off to a 3-0, knocking out Smithsburg starter Desmond DeJesus without recording an out in the second. Colten Hahn and Reid Bowman single in runs. Bowman stole second and was sacrificed to third by Cameron Face – the first batter to face reliever George Mantz – before scoring on an error.
Smithburg countered in the bottom of the inning against Williamsport starter Cash Ostrum.
Mason Oates singled and Ramarge doubled to open the inning and both scored Collin Burras reached on a one-out outfield error. Burras scored to tie the game on single by Sarber.
None of the runs charged to Ostrum were earned.
The Wildcats were held to three hits – one each by Hahn, Face and Reid Bowman, who also has an RBI.
The Leopards ripped 13 hits, with Githens, Teson, Sarber, Ramarge, Oates and Luke Scott getting two each.
Now it’s on to the playoffs and the Leopards, who lost in the 2025 state semifinals, will be the third seed in the Class 1A West Section II bracket and are projected to host sixth-seeded Catoctin on Thursday. The playoff pairings will officially be announced on Tuesday.
“Catoctin going to be a scrappy, tough team. They can play,” Moore said. “They beat us once this year. They won by one run here and we won on a walk-off. They are going to come at us and we’ll still going to have to play our best game.
“The goal was to be ready this week and keep it going in the finals.”
