

Allegany defeated Southern 10-5, capitalizing on Southern's early mistakes. Allegany scored five runs in the first inning and added more throughout the game.
OAKLAND — Baseball games are frequently decided by which squad makes fewer mistakes, and Southern’s first inning to forget put Allegany in the catbird seat.
Six of Allegany’s first seven batters reached safely, and the lone hit was an infield single. Four walks, a hit batsman and three errors set the stage for Eston Powell to rope a two-RBI double, and before Southern lifted a bat it faced a 5-0 deficit.
Allegany added insurance runs in four of the final six innings, and its relief duo of Powell and Trevin Cox allowed the fourth-ranked Campers to hold on and defeat Southern, 10-5, on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely good to get a win after we went through the struggles there,” Allegany manager Jon Irons said. “We put two in a row together. That’s obviously a positive.
“Still have some things we’ve got to clean up. We’re not playing a totally clean game at this point, and that’s our goal by the time we roll in the playoffs. We’re moving in the right direction, but we’re not there yet.”
Allegany improved to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the Western Maryland Athletic Conference. The Campers are 2-0 since dropping four straight and five of six prior to their win 4-3 over Broadfording on Friday.
Southern’s third consecutive loss drops it to 6-7 (2-5 WestMAC).
Three hitters recorded multi-hit games for Allegany, which out-hit Southern, 12-6. Powell was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Cole Ricker singled twice, scored twice and swiped two bases, and Max Fradiska had a pair of base knocks.
Southern’s Reece Tasker belted an opposite-field solo home run over the right-field fence as part of a 2 for 3 day. Andy McCartney went 2 for 4 with a double.
The Rams’ arms walked just one batter after the first inning, but their defense committed six errors.
“The game’s really hard when you give the other team more outs because you don’t catch the ball, throw the ball or hit the ball,” Southern skipper Hayden McLaughlin said. “It’s tough when we play ourselves into holes.”
Southern started to dig out of its self-inflicted ditch after Tasker’s homer in the third pulled it to within three, and it trailed 8-5 entering the seventh inning.
That’s when Allegany benefited from a two-out error on a grounder struck by Liam Buck that netted a pair of insurance runs.
They were runs Cox didn’t need, however, as the right-hander retired Southern in order — aided by a caught stealing by Buck after a lead-off walk.
Powell was the winning pitcher, allowing two runs on three hits in 3 1/3 innings of middle relief. The right-hander struck out four and walked two.
Cox, a RHP, recorded a six-out save, striking out four and walking one across two no-hit frames of work.
“For the most part, we pitched pretty well today,” Irons said. “Our relievers did a nice job coming in and doing what they needed to do.”
Right-hander Ryan Bird was tabbed with the loss for Southern.
Southern's first inning included four walks, a hit batsman, and three errors, contributing to a quick 5-0 deficit.
Eston Powell was notable for his two-RBI double and strong relief pitching, alongside Trevin Cox.
Manager Jon Irons expressed satisfaction with the win but acknowledged the need for improvement before the playoffs.
Allegany secured their victory by scoring runs in four of the last six innings and maintaining a strong relief pitching performance.


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Left-hander Cade Leader pitched 2 1/3 solid innings in relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Righty Hayden Williams followed with 4 1/3 strong frames of work, allowing three unearned runs on seven hits. He fanned three and walked one.
“Pitchers can’t go out there and gruel and bulldog through 35-, 40-pitch innings when we’re not making plays behind them,” McLaughlin said. “It’s different if you’re getting hit around.”
Allegany controlled the game on the base-paths. While Southern’s catcher Tasker threw out two runners, the Campers swiped six bags.
Alco also forced four Southern errors on the bases, and Ricker stole home on a first-and-third play.
“We wanted to start getting a little more aggressive with so many young guys,” Irons said. “We were a little more conservative early in the year, teaching them how to get reads and get jumps and those sorts of things.”
Southern can get back into the win column in a hurry, as the Rams host Pendleton County on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and Hancock on Friday at 4:30.
Allegany turns to its road matchup at city rival Fort Hill (8-4-1, 3-2 WestMAC) on Saturday at noon in a key game with seeding and conference championship implications.
Both clubs are chasing Northern in the WestMAC, which has a 5-2 mark.
“We’ve been talking about after that four-game losing streak how every game now is a big game and we’re trying to approach every game like a playoff game,” Irons said.
“We’ll do the same with Fort Hill on Saturday. We have to win if we want to be a top seed.”