Rams softball blanked in 1A North final

Manage only one hit, fan 15 times versus Bohemia Manor

In their bid to capture the Class 1A North Region softball title and advance to the state semifinals, the McDonough High School softball team had traveled along a clear path until Friday afternoon when the Rams ran into a buzzsaw.

McDonough (12-8 overall) had coasted into the region final courtesy of two byes and an 11-1 victory over Surrattsville High School of Prince George’s County. But the Rams found themselves on the other end of the spectrum against Bohemia Manor freshman hurler Maddie Penta, who limited the local squad to one hit while fanning 15, all the outs required in a 14-0, five-inning setback on Friday in Cecil County.

“She might be the best high school pitcher that I’ve ever seen,” McDonough head coach Julie Snavely said. “She was just so overpowering, but she had great command of all of her pitches. She’s definitely going to get numerous Division-I offers. We got one hit and we had one girl bunt, but other than that she was just dominant.”

McDonough senior center fielder Stephanie Adams had the lone Rams hit in a contest dominated by Penta and disrupted by a two-hour rain delay. McDonough will part with Adams and three other seniors, including battery mates Sarah Chen and Eliza Shontz, all of whom garnered plenty of praise from Snavely even in defeat.

“When the season began we had a number of goals,” Snavely said. “We wanted to have a winning record, which we did, and we wanted to get back to the region final, which we did. We faced a lot of good competition in our conference and we played well during the season. My seniors were a big part of that and they’re going to be missed.”

McDonough will remain among the 1A schools next season. But Snavely is optimistic that the Rams will have plenty of corps players to build around, including freshman hurler Hayley Arnold, who recorded a complete-game victory over Thomas Stone in the May 9 season finale.

“One thing about the group of girls we have coming back is they got a lot of good playing experience this year,” Snavely said. “They were able to get a sense of what it’s like playing in our conference. They even saw a Division-I pitcher in the region final. Our goal will be to win more games than we lose and hope to get back to the region final again.”