ABERDEEN, MD – It was a pitcher’s duel in the state championship. Mount Hebron gave Chopticon all they could ask for,as Hebron and Chopticon pitched their aces expecting a great game. Both pitchers delivered.

Mount Hebron went with Mark Smith, while Chopticon relied on Ljay Newsome. Both of these pitchers threw in the state semifinals so they were only eligible to throw seven innings in the championship. However, as the bottom of the seventh came around, and the score was still knotted at 0-0, it looked as though the championship would have to be won by the bullpens.

The game started with both teams being retired in order. For Hebron’s Mark Smith, that included a strikeout, and two groundouts. For Newsome, it was two strikeouts, and one groundout. The bottom of the second saw Newsome strike out two more batters, and the third pop out to the shortstop.  Newsome then gave the game it’s first base runner as he reached on an error by the Hebron third baseman. He advanced to third on a Jay Hammet flyout, but was stranded there when Nick Gray flew out to right field.

In the third, Newsome struck out the side, bringing his total to seven strikeouts through three innings. Chopticon managed to muster a base runner in the inning, but couldn’t get him off of first.

In the fourth inning, Hebron had the game’s first hit, as Jack Schroeder hit a bloop single into left field. He was stranded at second when Newsome struck out Jake Snyder. He struck out the side in this inning as well, and increased his total to 10 through 4. Chopticon couldn’t manage to get anything in the home half, and were being no hit through 4 innings.

Newsome threw nine pitches in the top of the fifth, and was sitting back on the bench as he struck out the side again. His ninth consecutive strikeout, and fourteenth overall. Chopticon managed a base runner in the bottom of the inning as Nick Gray stole second, and got him around to second on a stolen base. But Gray was stranded there as his teammates went down swinging to end the inning. 

The top of the sixth saw Newsome’s strikeout streak end at 10 as Hebron got two runners on, and then the infield turned a double play to get themselves out the jam. The bottom of the sixth saw the best opportunity for either team to score as the Braves loaded the bases with no outs. They also got their first hit of the game when CJ Hill hit a ground ball that found a hole in the infield. However, after a fielder’s choice, a shallow flyout, and a groundout, Chopticon had stranded the bases loaded and couldn’t push a run across. 

Newsome struck out the side in the top of the seventh, and ended his day with 17 strikeouts, one hit and one walk. He threw 106 pitches that night.

In the home half, Chopticon right fielder Nick Gray led off. On a 3-1 pitch, he saw a fastball, and hit all of it. His hit soared through the air and landed at the edge of the warning track, bounced against the wall, and back down to the ground. By the time Hebron’s center fielder had gotten the ball back in. Gray was standing on third base with a lead-off triple. His teammate Zach Jerew took the next pitch, and lifted a fly ball into the air. It was deep enough for Gray to return to third base, raise his hands in the air to egg his teammates on, and sprint home after the ball was caught. Gray scored without a play at the plate, and gave his team the state championship. The first baseball state championship in the program.

Following the celebration, Chopticon manager Ray Sapp said “ From a fan’s perspective, it was a great game to watch. As a coach, I am still in pain.”  Nick Gray said on his triple, “ It was a good hitters count, and I sat fastball. He threw a beautiful fastball, and we all see what I did with it.” Newsome said of his performance “ It was great, wasn’t it?”

Chopticon, as a team, will graduate nine seniors, but have a good core of players coming back next season.

Contact Max Tayman at news@thebaynet.com