Mountain Ridge splits games at Allegany Easter Tournament

Apr. 8—POTOMAC PARK, Md. — Mountain Ridge split its games at the Allegany Easter Tournament in the Hot Stove Complex on Friday, defeating Smithsburg 3-2 in the second game after opening with a 10-3 loss to Musselman.

"We battled all day today," Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. "We let up in the first game, had a couple miscues that gave them extra opportunities."

The Miners (3-4) began with the Applemen (11-3).

"We came up here and did what we needed to do," Musselman head coach Josh Hartman said. "Starting pitcher did his job, got us through five innings. We got the hits when we needed them. I'm happy with what we did."

It was tightly contested for the first three innings. After Jason Myers singled to give Musselman the lead in the first, Carson Bradley hit a double down the right field line to tie the game.

A sacrifice fly RBI by Kyle Lore tied the game in the second. Another sacrifice fly RBI by Trevor Boor the following inning gave the Applemen a 3-2 lead.

Walks and wild pitches were an issue for Mountain Ridge in the first three innings. It allowed four wild pitches and six walks.

"That's one of the things we've been pounding in the kid's heads," Snyder said. "If they throw strikes and not give the free bags, good things will happen."

Evan Cook tied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.

Musselman pulled away in the fourth with five runs. After loading the bases, an RBI single from Myers and a two-run single by Wyatt McClintax extended the Applemen lead to 6-3.

"When you get runners in scoring position and get that big hit out of it, it absolutely helps," Hartman said.

A throwing error after a fly ball led to two more runs for Musselman.

Another sacrifice fly RBI by Myers made it 9-3 in the fifth. With two outs in the sixth, a bases-loaded walk made it a seven-run game.

"Kids were patient at the plate," Hartman said. "Strike zone I felt was kind of tight, so they were patient with taking pitches they wanted to hit. When they saw pitches they wanted to hit, they did a good job of putting it in play."

Parker Ferraro went 2 1/3 innings as Mountain Ridge's starter. He gave up two hits, two runs, five walks and threw five wild pitches.

Tyson Shumaker went 3 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs and four walks with a strikeout.

"I was pleased with them overall," Snyder said. "There were way too many walks, but outside of that they kept their numbers down."

Tyler Cook pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and one walk.

Ferraro had two hits for the Miners, going 2 for 3 with a walk.

Bayden Hartman went five innings for the Applemen, allowing three hits, three runs and five walks with six strikeouts.

"Starting pitching has been pitching well," Hartman said. "They've done a good job for us all season long. That's our 10th win in a row, anytime our starting pitcher goes five innings — I like our chances at winning."

Connor Chancey pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts.

McClintax and Myers each had two hits for Musselman.

Mountain Ridge bounced back in its second game against the Leopards (4-5).

"We had two freshmen throw about six innings for us, so that's a plus," Smithsburg head coach Patrick Moore said. "We're happy with what we got from our freshmen."

In the second inning, a wild pitch scored the runner from third to give Smithsburg a 1-0 lead.

After a scoreless third inning, an RBI double to deep left by Trey Norton tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth.

The Miners took the lead in the sixth on an RBI double by Ferraro to deep left.

"We've been harping to him, be aggressive at the plate," Snyder said. "He got a little more aggressive and hit the ball hard."

Mountain Ridge added a run the following inning. An RBI single by Landon McAlpine scored a run as McAlpine was tagged out at second.

The Leopards opened the bottom of the seventh with two outs. They responded with back-to-back hits from Brian Schrodel and Sam Bono.

A hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, and an RBI infield single by Preston Githens cut Smithsburg's deficit to 3-2.

Aiden Custer struck out the next batter to end the game.

"That was big that he was able to come in and fight through a little bit of adversity," Snyder said. "I was pleased he was able to buckle down and get himself out of the jam."

Evan Cook went five 2/3 innings as the Miners' starter. He earned the win, allowing four hits, one run and four walks with two strikeouts.

Custer earned a save in 1 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one run with two strikeouts.

Shumaker and Ferraro each had two hits for Mountain Ridge. Ferraro also stole two bases.

"He set the tone for us today," Snyder said of Ferraro. "Caleb was like the second leadoff guy. He usually puts the ball in play so we took advantage."

Heath Githens went three innings for Smithsburg, allowing two hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

"Heath did well, he did everything we asked him," Moore said. "He kept us in the game early. He was efficient and he pounded the zone."

Chase Sarber went 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, two runs and two walks with two strikeouts. Brian Schroder finished the game.

Preston Givens had two hits for the Leopards.

The Miners return to Frostburg on Thursday to host Southern at 4:30 p.m.

"We've got to come ready to play," Snyder said. "It's a conference game, they'll be ready for us."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.