Westminster, Eastern Tech fall
Huntingtown tops Owls, 5-0; La Plata defeats Mavs, 3-2
Westminster’s softball team started the season with a last-minute coaching change, and fielded a roster with three seniors, devoid of juniors, and filled with sophomores.
The Owls struggled to put together even a handful of wins last spring, but this year’s bunch opened the spring with a different approach. They contended for a Carroll County Athletic League title, then won a regional championship and a state tournament game to reach the Class 3A final.
Friday night’s game against Huntingtown at Maryland Softball Stadium was a rematch from two years ago, when Westminster ended that spring with a championship. This time, the Hurricanes from Calvert County were improved — and tougher.
The Owls scratched out two hits but nothing more against junior pitcher Tori Fletcher, who led her team to a 5-0 win.
Westminster (14-7) beat Huntingtown10-5 two years ago for the title, and was going for another crown after an impressive regular season and playoff run. The Hurricanes reversed that outcome and ended the high school career of Westminster’s three seniors — Jill Haines, Olivia Herman, and Bailey Whalen — on a disappointing note. But Haines said the season was not a disappointment in the least.
“We have a whole new team, we have a whole new setup,” said Haines while clutching the state finalist trophy. “Coming in here, we didn’t know what to expect at first from it … but we just came out here and tried our hardest.”
LA PLATA 3, NO. 10 EASTERN TECH 2: Mavericks coach Jack Meyers turned to his players in the third-base dugout before the home half of the sixth inning and implored them to find a way to get back into Friday’s Class 2A state championship game. Eastern Tech nearly pulled it off. After scoring a run in the sixth inning to pull within one of the Warriors, the Mavericks got the tying run to second base with one out. But La Plata pitcher Ava Krahling thwarted the comeback and led her team to a 3-2 victory at Maryland Softball Stadium, giving the Warriors their second title in three seasons.
Eastern Tech (14-4) stranded six base runners in the final — a runner at third in the second and third innings, a runner at second in the fourth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh.
Still, the Mavericks made it close in the seventh. Senior Amaya Chmielewski led off with a walk and advanced to second on Samantha Hargis’ sacrifice bunt. Krahling and La Plata (20-3) stiffened from there, however. Miranda Burton struck out looking, and Sydney Edmond sent a fly ball down the left-field line that Sydney Bales caught in foul territory to clinch the victory.