From Staff Reports
CRESAPTOWN — Hilary Lyons’ grounder to second brought home Beth Szymanski from third to lift Allegany over Smithsburg 2-1 in eight innings Wednesday in the Maryland Class 1A West Region Semifinals at Carl Belt Field.
The second-seeded Campers will play top-seed Fort Hill at Long Field Friday for the West Region championship.
Hayley Stankan won the pitcher’s duel with Beth Garnand. Stankan struck out six and didn’t allow a walk while giving up only two hits. Garnand stood out as well, allowing just four hits.
“The girls played their hearts out,” said Allegany head coach Rick Twigg. “They left nothing on the field.”
Smithsburg led 1-0 after the third inning when Paige Decker led off with a single. On the second error of the inning, she scored putting the Leopards ahead.
Allegany tied it in the fourth when Haylie Harper scored on Bethany Landis’ Fielder’s Choice to right. Harper reached on a walk and moved to third on Katie Alkire’s double.
In the eighth, Szymanski started out on second as part of the international tiebreaker. Audrey Eisentrout’s sacrifice bunt moved her to third before she scored on Lyons’ game-winning ground out.
In the top of the inning, Smithsburg’s Decker began on second where she remained as Stankan struck out the side, with the last one caught looking.
Bailey Ellsworth had two of the Campers’ four hits with two singles. Alkire and Landis had the other two.
Allegany is now 18-3. Fort Hill, which beat Clear Spring, is 18-1. The teams split their regular season matchups with the Campers winning the first one 2-0 and the Sentinels taking the second, 4-3.
