North Point baseball knocks off Lackey

Doss hits two home runs in Eagles victory

On a day when autumn made an early arrival in the region, the North Point High School baseball team got two solo home runs from Zach Doss and a solid relief appearance from Lance Lynch to edge visiting Lackey, 7-5 on an overcast day in Waldorf on Wednesday in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division contest.

North Point (7-10, 5-4 Potomac) scored one run in the bottom of the first inning on Doss’ first solo homer of the day and then overcame a brief 2-1 deficit by scoring three runs in the third as Doss delivered another solo shot. The Eagles sophomore first baseman had a single in his third at-bat and drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth in a productive afternoon.

“I went deep in the count against him [Lackey pitcher Isaiah Hawkins] both times,” Doss said. “The first time up he got a pitch up a little and then next time he tried to get me on a curve ball away. But I was able to make good contact both times. If we play like we’re capable of playing, we’re one of the best teams in SMAC.”

Lackey (3-11, 2-7) scored two runs in the top of the second against North Point starter Cody Bottorf, who departed with a 4-2 lead after four complete innings. While Bottorf was efficient, southpaw reliever Jon Martinez encountered troubles in his two innings of work that enabled the Chargers to get back into contention.

In the top of the fifth, Lackey’s Seth Weingarden had a one-out single then Devin Conner and Hawkins both worked Martinez for walks to load the bases. Lackey’s Scotty Pickle then popped out to second, but Weingarden attempted to tag up and score on the play and was nailed easily when E.J. Hampton’s throw reached catcher Gavin Moore in plenty of time to retire Weingarden.

North Point added to its lead in the home half of the inning when Doss singled with one out, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Moore.

Martinez then encountered far more serious trouble in the sixth. Lackey’s Pierce Hill opened the inning with a single, then Carl Jones and Kevin Chen both worked Martinez for walks, prompting North Point head coach Wade Nadolsky summoned Lynch into the game with the bases loaded and none out.

Lackey’s Dylan Will plated Hill with a sacrifice fly to center field. Wes Johnson then reached on a fielder’s choice grounder to third, with Jones coming around to score on a throwing error by Hampton. Lynch avoided further trouble when he induced Weingarden

On Wednesday at the baseball field at Northern High School, the Leonardtown Raiders fell behind early and almost made it all the way back before ultimately dropping a 6-5 decision to the Patriots. Northern pulled off an unconventional double play, taking a runner off of second base when the Raiders had a second and third with no out threat, before ultimately stranding the potential tying run at third.

The win evened up Northern’s record with the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference’s Chesapeake Division at 4-4. More significantly, it dropped Leonardtown’s division record to 6-3 with three games to play, leaving the Raiders two games behind Huntingtown in the loss column in the race for the division crown, which will earn a team a spot in this year’s SMAC championship game.

While the conference split into divisions for football a few years ago, this year marked the first year the divisional format was employed for most other sports. In football, schools are split by size, with the