CLEAR SPRING – The Smithsburg baseball team isn’t wasting time talking these days
The Leopards are too busy walking.
Let’s make that marching.
For most of the season, the Leopards were considered an afterthought in Washington County baseball. They were too young, too green, too unproven.
Opinions may have changed Thursday, or May 15. Smithsburg moved into the forefront, charging out of the Class 1A West Region II pack to take down top-seeded Clear Spring with a resounding 14-3 victory in five innings to win its first region title since 2014.
“You know … Nobody believes in us, but we believe in ourselves,” said Smithburg Coach Patrick Moore. “That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
Seeing was believing on Thursday. The third-seed Leopards pounced on the favored Blazers with a four-run second inning to erase a 2-1 deficit and all but put it away with an eight-run fourth to claim their first hardware in 11 seasons.
““I think it’s amazing, When I transferred here, that was the goal,” said first baseman Mason Oates, who became a Leopard when St. Maria Goretti closed. “I wanted to win the region, but I also wanted to win state. Region was in mind to make a statement this year.”
Oh, by the way, 2014 is not only the last time Smithsburg won the region. It was the last time it won the Class 1A state title, too.
The game was scheduled for Tuesday, but was rained out twice. With the victory, Smithsburg advances to the state quarterfinals.
The Leopards are seeded fifth and are rewarded with a three and half-hour, 197-mile trip on Friday, May 16, to face No. 4 Snow Hill on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Smithsburg’s “march” featured a parade of baserunners as it weeded through five Clear Spring pitchers with 12 hits – led by Oates with three RBI singles – nine walks and two errors.
The Leopards also used a trio of pitchers, ending with Heath Githens who shut down Clear Spring for the final two and one-third innings in the game that was shortened by the 10-run rule.
Githens came on with two outs in the third to protect a 5-3 lead with Clear Spring’s tying runs on second and third. He immediately retired Jay McConnaughey on a grounder to third to end the threat.
“I try to clear (the situation) out of my head and play baseball,” Githens said. “I was just going in there with confidence. I was just playing baseball. I have been playing baseball all my life. I just went in with confidence, doing what I do.”
Smithsburg responded immediately by getting all the breathing room it needed by sending 14 hitters to the plate in the fourth.
Ryan Darr started the barrage with a leadoff single off McConnaughey before moving to second on a passed ball. Oates followed with a single to right for his second RBI hit of the game for a 6-3 lead.
“Honestly, I just went up there and reacted to whatever came my way and swung it,” Oates said. “I know other guys in our lineup have been hot, and I knew the two guys (George Mantz and Gavin Remarge) behind me were going to hit me in. The goal was only to get on base. I just happened to hit a few that found green.”
Mantz followed with a bunt single, and Jaxon Teson drew a one-out walk to load the bases and end McConnaughey’s day. Githens greeted Blazers’ reliever Jaren Wade with a two-run single.
Clear Spring’s backbreaker came after Chase Sarber walked to reload the bases. Isaiah Burger hit a grounder to third that was thrown over the catcher’s head to score two more runs.
Eli Bowman added an RBI groundout, Darr had an RBI double, Oates notched his second run-scoring single in the inning to close the rally for a 13-3 lead.
“Mason has been struggling of late,” Moore said. “We have been taking a lot of swings in the cage for the last week or so and to see Mason come out tonight and actually have a decent night was great to see.
“One of the best and worst things that happened to us was the rain. It allowed Heath to be eligible (for this game). We didn’t want to use him, but we knew at some point me may have to. He’s been a bulldog.”
Smithburg got out of the gate quickly in the first when Bowman drew a leadoff walk and stole second off Clear Spring starter Noah Sluzalis. Oates gave the Leopards a 1-0 lead with his first hit.
Clear Spring countered by taking 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Easton Metral hit an RBI single, and Izaac Lesher added run-scoring double against Remarge, Smithsburg’s starter who lasted just four hitters.
Smithsburg got four in the second on a bases-loaded wild pitch, a two-run single by Mantz and a balk for a 5-2 lead.
Clear Spring started to rally in the third against Smithsburg reliever Collin Burras, scoring Alex Smith’s RBI single before Githens entered.
Smithsburg got one last run in the fifth on a dropped popup.
Mantz and Githens had two hits and two RBIs each for Smithsburg and Darr added two hits and an RBI.
Tyce McConnaughey and Lesher each had two of Clear Spring’s six hits.
“The region title is nice,” Moore said. “Don’t get me wrong, but we got it going. We’re not done yet.
“The region is huge. It’s been since 2014, 11-plus years, since we had a region title, and I’m not sure how long it was before that. 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.”
