SMITHSBURG, Md. – Tally-ho.
The motto of the Smithsburg baseball team in the Maryland playoffs this season was to hunt fastballs.
But, Tally-10?
The Leopards all but bagged their limit on Tuesday by scoring 10 runs in the first inning against Boonsboro in the Class 1A West II final enroute to a 18-3 victory that ended in 4 ½ innings via the 10-run rule.
The win gave Smithsburg it’s second straight West II title and advanced the Leopards to the state quarterfinals, where they will likely play on the road on Friday. Smithsburg made it to the state semifinals in 2025.
While fastballs may have been in their sights, the Leopards seemed to handle anything and everything the Warriors offered.
“We executed a game plan, flawlessly today,” said Smithsburg coach Patrick Moore. “You know, to come out here and think we’d beat Boonsboro 18-3 by the 10-run rule in five innings, I never thought we’d do that. We looked at the bracket, and Boonsboro was a team we didn’t want to play them. We knew what the roster looked like. That’s a very good baseball team.
“One through nine, we hit the ball. We took advantage of mistakes they made. In an 18-3 game, we still played small ball at times. It was this perfect execution, all around, from this group.”
It might have been a shock when Boonsboro went up 1-0 to open the game on Darion Gaskins’ home run off starter Heath Githens with two outs in the first.
But the Leopards took it in stride,
Smithsburg countered by sending 15 hitters to plate in the bottom of the inning as five hits were supplemented by four Boonsboro errors to make all 10 runs unearned.
But they all count.
Smithsburg scored in bunches, highlighted by a three-run triple by Ryan Darr and a two-run single by Luke Scott off Gaskins, Boonsboro’s starter. Two hit batters and a walk helped snowball the situation.
Gaskins was lifted after facing 11 batters and only securing one out. Garrett Ward came in in relieved and allowed an RBI single to Jaxon Teson before ending the inning.
“We’ve been locked in the last two weeks,” Moore said. “We locked in practice. We were locked in pre-game. Going down (1-0) is never a good thing. Our goal was to chase and hunt fastballs from Darion. That’s what we did tonight.”
Smithsburg came back with another five runs in the second inning, sending another eight batters to the plate. A sacrifice bunt by Githens that Boonsboro threw away brought home two runs, which was followed shortly by a three-run homer by Teson for a 15-5 lead.
The Leopards added three runs in the third when George Mantz hit a bases-loaded double to left center on a two-out, two-strike pitch.
“You’re going see pitching from the time to time. The guy (Gaskins) tonight is a DII commit to Shippensburg,” Moore said. “I wouldn’t want to face this group (the Leopards), especially right now. They’re locked in. They’ve got a job to do. We’re focusing really hard on practice, at the plate, and in the cage. It’s a fun group.”
Boonsboro rallied for two runs in the fifth, but the deficit was too great. Parker DeBaugh stroked an RBI double and scored on Logan Atkinson’s single to cap the Warriors’ scoring.
Gaskins got the win for the Leopards, allowing three runs on four six hits.
Martz and Teson had two hits and four RBIs each. Darr added two hits and three RBIs.
Only seven of the 18 runs allowed by Boonsboro pitching were earned.
Gaskins had two hits and an RBI for Boonsboro.
Now, the Leopards turn their attention at another trip into state competition. As of Tuesday night, Smithsburg is projected to travel to either Liberty or Mardela.
And Moore sees this edition of the Leopards to be ready for anything.
“Right now, we’re region champs, back-to-back, so that’s all that matters,” Moore said. “We’re going stay in the moment.
“Last year, I think we were happy to be (in the state semifinals). The experience is going to pay off. We know what to expect. We know the atmosphere. This group is locked in. They’re focused. They’ve got a bigger goal ahead of them right now compared to where we were last year.”
