Allegany 14 16

Burlington 3 11



CUMBERLAND — The Allegany College of Maryland Trojans will be carrying some hot bats to Enid, Okla., for the NJCAA Division II World Series after pounding 39 hits in a 14-3 and 16-11 sweep over Burlington College of Pemberton, N.J., for the Northeast District championship on Friday afternoon at The Rock.

The Trojans are 5-0 in postseason play and will be taking a 47-13 overall record to their ninth World Series and second as a Division II school. They won the Region XX championship with a 7-6 victory over CCBC-Essex last week and were No. 8 in the final NJCAA poll. The double-elimination World Series will be staged May 23-30.

Luis Lopez led the Allegany onslaught with six hits and six runs batted in for the twinbill and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Sam Watkins and Brad Kling cracked home runs in the opener.

Ryan McNamara overcame some spells of wildness and went the route in the first game for his ninth win in 11 decisions. The sophomore right-hander allowed eight hits and had five strikeouts and five walks.

“First of all, we beat a great Burlington team that had a lot of hitters,” said Allegany coach Steve Bazarnic, who is looking for his first World Series title. “We played outstanding defense and we hit the ball. Ryan McNamara pitched well in the first game and in the second game we always answered the call when they scored.”

Kling had three singles to go with his three-run home run to lead the 19-hit Allegany attack and finished with four RBIs. Watkins whacked a single to go with his two-run homer, Lopez and Jerry Lloyd hit three singles, Taylor Wheaton contributed a pair of doubles while A.J. Czap singled twice. Lopez, Czap, Watkins and Wheaton drove in two runs apiece and Lloyd had one RBI. Matt Curtis hit a run-scoring single.

Allegany scored one run in the first inning with a single by lead-off hitter Ethan Newton, a walk to Czap and an RBI single by Kling.

In the fourth inning the Trojans scored six unearned runs with the aid of three Burlington errors to give McNamara all the support he needed. Czap cracked a two-run single, and Kling, Lopez and Lloyd all had run-producing basehits.

Czap’s single gave him a school record 85 hits for the season. The senior center fielder from Phillipsburg, Pa., was hitting .412 to share the team lead with Newton.

“We just came out hitting and did what we had to do to win,” said Czap, who also had a strong defensive game. “I think hitting is contagious and when we get confidence like that we can beat anybody.”

Burlington scored a three of its runs in the fifth inning with four walks, a fielder’s choice and a single by Drew Pettit.

Allegany added two runs in the sixth with Kling’s blast over the 365-foot sign after Watkins was hit by a pitch. In the Trojans’ seven-run ninth, Watkins hit his two-run shot, Wheaton sent in the final two runs with his second double, and Lopez had a two-run single.

In the second game, Allegany jumped out to 5-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed in a slugfest that featured 34 hits.

Lloyd hit a double and three singles, Cody Blickenstaff had four singles with a pair of RBIs to account for eight of the Trojans’ 20 hits. Lopez had a double and three singles and sent in four runs. Czap rapped two doubles and had three RBIs, Curtis contributed three singles and two RBIs, Wheaton singled twice and drove in one run, and Newton hit a two-run single.

Andy Lytle came on for starter Chris Kechisen with two outs in the third inning and finshed the game for his ninth win in 11 decisions. The freshman right-hander also struggled with control and had seven walks and five strikeouts. The Trojans defense got him out of a pair of jams with two double plays.

In the five-run first inning Kling, Lloyd and Wheaton hit run-scoring singles and Lopez drove in two with a basehit. Czap hit a two-run double in the third inning that had Allegany up 7-1 before Burlington erupted for five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Allegany pushed the lead back to six runs (12-6) in the fourth with two-run singles by Lopez and Newton and an RBI single by Blickenstaff. Curtis cracked a two-run single in the ninth to conclude the scoring.

“I felt good at the plate and my main thing was keeping the team motivated,” said Lopez, a sophomore right fielder from Lancaster, Pa. “Our defense also stepped up big.”

Burlington (39-20) scored three runs in the fifth one each in the seventh and eighth. Frank Sorrelli led the Barons 14-hit attack with home run and two singles and drove in four runs. Nick Hayduk hit three singles, while brothers Brett and Joe Knazeh had a double and single each.

“We have been a high-scoring team and we usually do a good bit of hitting,” said Burlington coach John Holt. “We did some things here and there and had a couple of errors that hurt us.”

Steve Luse is a retired Cumberland Times-News sportswriter. Contact Steve Luse at sluse@times-news.com.