Severna Park wins a thriller
Falcons top South River, 13-12, in nine innings to reach Class 4A state final
It was an unusual ending, but Severna Park softball’s had an unusual season.
After an up-and-down regular season, the Falcons have hit their stride when it counts the most. They slipped through Class 4A to become the last Anne Arundel County team standing, the last ones to stream from the dugout with screams and tears on Wednesday night.
Though South River seemed to be on a fast track to roll past Severna Park after two innings of the state semifinals, the Falcons rallied and battled through nine innings to upset the Seahawks, 13-12, at Bachman Sports Complex.
“We knew we could do it,” pitcher Christina Ballagh said. “We just had to figure out the right way to do it.”
The Falcons advance to face Sherwood in the state final at the University of Maryland on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The last time Severna Park made it this far, in 2018, it returned to Anne Arundel County as state champions.
This time, the Falcons didn’t do it with a once-in-a-lifetime star like Campbell Kline — they did it with sheer will. They took their licks against the county’s top teams, including South River, and converted that frustration into fuel.
“They had to earn it the hard way,” coach Meredith McAlister said.
After South River scored five runs in two innings against the Falcons on Wednesday, Severna Park bounced back and forth with the Seahawks until the ninth inning. Severna Park scored its international tiebreaker rules base runner on its side. Then, South River placed Sarah Brookman as its ninth-inning runner.
That proved to be a crushing and ultimately fatal mistake.
Per ITB rules, it is the last batted out — not recorded out — that is to be the runner put on base in extra innings. While Brookman was tagged out — caught at home plate — to end the eighth, technically Hannah Grambo, the inning’s final batter was meant to be the Seahawks’ automatic runner in the ninth.
Two pitches were thrown before it was called by the umpires; Brookman was ruled out due to the illegal substitution, which can only be ruled once a pitch is thrown. South River suddenly had its first out and no base runners. Soon, it would be three outs.