Once upon a time …
Usually, stories about days gone by have the tendency to make the younger generation roll their eyes.
The Smithsburg baseball team isn’t a charter member of that group. Instead, the Leopards are interested and riveted to this tale of the not-so-distant past.
In fact, they identify with it.
The saga entails another group of cleat-wearing, bat-swinging folks who fought their way out of obscurity, defeated odds and changed perceptions, all to obtain the ultimate success.
A state championship.
“Actually, having Coach (Jordan) Tapley on staff is huge for us,” said Smithsburg Coach Patrick Moore on May 15 after Smithsburg defeated Clear Spring 14-3 to win the Maryland Class 1A West Region II title. “He was on the team that won the 2014 state championship. He basically told them the story about what happened with that team … about they were an average baseball team in the playoffs and hit their stride late.”
Tapley would know. He was member of those Leopards. Now he’s the bridge between then and now.
No campfire needed to spin this yarn. It caught this group because the Leopards circa 2025 are in the same dugout.
The outlook for this Smithsburg team was bleak. The Leopards were considered very young and very inexperienced. They were a preseason afterthought.
“We were predicted to have six wins this year,” said first baseman Mason Oates after the region-clinching win. “We were predicted to lose to Brunswick, Clear Spring. We ended up losing to them, but something switched on the in the middle of the season, and that’s what brought us here today.”
And now, the present-day Leopards will be playing in the Class A state semifinals against No. 1-seed Allegany on Tuesday, May 20 at Frederick’s McCurdy at 7 p.m.
As former New York Yankees catcher and manager Yogi Berra would say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Smithsburg was disregarded in the playoffs because of a 9-11 regular-season record. Smithsburg started out 4-1 before losing five of its next six games. It closed out by alternating wins and losses over the last 10 games.
Those Leopards found the needed spark to win five straight in the playoffs, culminating with a 3-0 victory over Sparrows Point at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland.
For these Leopards, any memories of that team are faint.
“I’ve been living in Smithsburg all my life, and growing up, our team has not been that great,” said Smithburg junior Heath Githens. “It just feels amazing to be able to do this with the guys I love.”
There are some similarities between the two Smithsburg teams
The 2025 version of the Leopards started out 8-1 before hitting a snag, where it lost five of the next six. They pulled out of the nosedive to finish 11-8 for the season.
At that point, Tapley told the story.
“We hit a skid bump around midseason, around the Easter … Between the Easter tournament, the rain and things like that,” Moore said. “We rebounded well as a team. I think they are feeding on that conversation we had.”
The similarities of the seasons carried over into the playoffs.
The Leopards were the third seed to start the 2014 and 2025 postseason, although the two tournaments followed different formats.
In 2014, the regional produced one team winning the right to play in the state semifinals. In that tournament, Smithsburg had a first-round bye before defeating Clear Spring, Brunswick and Allegany to reach the semifinals.
These days, the setup has two teams from each region moving into the state quarterfinals, where those teams reseeded to create final bracket. Again, Brunswick, Clear Spring and now Allegany stand in the way of a title.
The Leopards opened this run by defeating Hancock in the opening round, followed a win over Brunswick before downing Clear Spring on May 15. The reward for that win was a 197-mile bus trip to Snow Hill on Maryland’s Eastern Shore on May 16, where the Leopards scored a 7-1 victory to set up the meeting with Allegany.
This one, though, is for the right to play in the Class 1A final on May 24 at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, Maryland.
The Leopards are riding a wave of momentum.
“It’s amazing. When I transferred here, that was the goal. I wanted to win the region, but I also wanted to win state,” said Oates, who came to Smithsburg after St. Maria Goretti shuttered. “Our best nine is be best nine in 1A state. I don’t think there is anyone better than us when we put our best out there.”
Despite all odds, opinions and expectations, the Leopards are representing that playoff time is their time.
The region title is nice, don’t get me wrong, but we got it going. We’re not done yet,” Moore said. “It’s been since 2014, 11-plus years since we had a region title. People often say we upset teams. We’re not upsetting teams. We’ve arrived, and we are going to be here for the next couple of years.
“Nobody believes in us, but we believe in ourselves. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
Now, those naysayers are trying to find a seat on the bandwagon to watch a possible Smithsburg’s sequel of 2014.
