CUMBERLAND — When Fort Hill won the 2008 Maryland 1A State Championship using a roster void of seniors the expectations for 2009 would be tough to live up to.

This past season’s edition, with six seniors this time around, left an even bigger mess in it’s wake as it tore through area competition for the Sentinels’ second consecutive Cumberland Time-News Area Softball Championship; losing only two games on their way to a second appearance in the 1A State finals.

The Sentinels received all four first-place votes as the unanimous choice. They beat out Mountain Ridge Miners for second place, who edged the Allegany Campers for third. East Hardy and Keyser rounded out the top five.

Third-year Head Coach Mike Bittner has led the Sentinels softball team to one of the most successful periods in the history of Fort Hill girls athletics. The past two seasons have seen his team gather a 40-5 record with at least a share of the Cumberland City and the Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference in both seasons, and two Maryland 1A West Region titles. The 2008 title was the first for a Sentinels’ girls team since 1954.

“Morgan Wootten has these ‘quotes of the day’ he uses at his summer camps and one that sticks out is ‘The will to win is not at important as the will to prepare to win.’ This team had that characteristic,” Bittner said.

After falling to 1-1 with a 2-0 loss to Allegany in an early season pitching gem, the Sentinels would go on to reel off 19 straight victories before losing to Pocomoke 2-0 in the finals. Not only did Fort Hill manage to win 19 straight, but it was fairly rare when the Sentinels didn’t easily win any one of them.

Throw out wins over Hedgesville (3-1) and Thomas Johnson (3-2) and the only games not won by at least four runs against area competition were a 6-4 win over Mountain Ridge, and a 4-3 win over Allegany.

But despite the success he, had in winning a championship in 2008 Bittner never let a thought of undefeated enter his mind.

“We weren’t losing anybody from the state championship team,” he said. “I knew we would be good again, but when you have to play teams like Allegany and Mountain Ridge just to get out of the region then undefeated is tall order.”

There’s another reason

Bittner wasn’t thinking about going unbeaten.

“I don’t look that far ahead. We went 1-1 after losing to Allegany in our second game, and we threw a one-hitter. Our only loss of the year and we threw a one-hitter. When losses happen in that manner, you don’t think about the games until the season’s over.”

At the root of most Fort Hill success was senior pitcher Shari Beavers. While responsible for both of the teams losses, Beavers was unhittable for long stretches and earned 13 of the team’s 20 victories. While most softball teams rely on one arm to carry them through the season, Bittner had the ability to look to a second quality arm in Cierra Miller.

Miller, a junior, was almost as dominating as Beavers. She put forth a 7-0 record in working just under half of the innings that Beavers did.

Bittner claimed Cierra was one of the most overlooked players in the area.

“She had an earned run average of 1.09 and 95 strikeouts in 45 innings. Those are dominant numbers, but I think because of Shari and Hayley Stankan at Allegany, she doesn’t get the credit she deserves.

Bittner will count on Miller as his ace next season.

“I think she’s going to have a big season, and everyone will remember her name.”

Bittner also points to a 15-1 record by his jayvee team as another sign that Fort Hill will remain strong.

He’s also adamant that the softball team needs the continuing support in order to be successful.

“We have fantastic support from the Fort Hill community, and from the F Club. When you get the support from them, and Principal Steve Lewis that makes us all one program, and that makes us a better team.”

“I’d also be lost without the support of my family. They are behind me all the way, and I thank them for having to deal with this every year.”

Bittner also pointed out how fortunate he is to work besides his coaching staff.

“I gotta thank Ed Huber, Dave Lewis, Mike Pannone, Jeff Fisher, Buck Jankey and Rocket for all the help they give each year.”

“Barry Lattimer was also big for us this year. He helped the girls get on a routine, and it had great results for them.”

It’s those results that Bittner knows the team will remember for a long time.

“It was a great accomplishment for this group of girls. That they did it against the schedule they faced, and with the local teams giving us a run for our money is even more impressive. They stepped up to play and took the challenges and did very well for it. As they continue to strive for goals in their lives I want them to remember to always have integrity, likeability, drive, willingness to sacrifice, accountability and character. If they take care of those the wins and losses will take care of themselves.”

Chris Appel is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. Write to him at cappel@times-news.com.