North Hagerstown Hubs Baseball

Crawford named new Hubs coach

by Tim Koelble, Herald-Mail

HAGERSTOWN — A new coaching rivalry will develop next spring when the high school baseball season begins.

When North Hagerstown faces Smithsburg, the exchange of lineup cards at home plate should make for some interesting conversation.

That’s because Drew Crawford has been named North’s new baseball coach, succeeding Steve Myers, after spending three years under Trey Cobb as Smithsburg.

“I felt ready to take the next step and take over a program,” said Crawford, who teaches seventh-grade math at Northern Middle School. “I’m indebted to (Trey) and the impact he has had on me on and off the field.”

Crawford, 25, is a Smithsburg and Shenandoah University graduate with baseball in his veins.

“There is a rich heritage of baseball at North,” said Crawford. “There has been a lot of success.”

And the cupboard won’t be bare for Crawford, who will begin his tenure with J.T. Root, Ben Bushong, Charles Cvijanovich and Andrew Yacyk returning to the roster.

Most recently, North won the 2010 Maryland Class 2A state championship under Myers.

Myers, who will remain in coaching as an assistant in football, stepped aside to spend more time with his family after compiling a 37-23 record in three seasons.

“It’s a tough decision to leave, but football is my first love,” said Myers. “My oldest (of two children) will be going into T-ball and I want to be there. I’d like to think I did the best I could. I put every ounce of my heart into it.”

Hubs open with win over Wildcats

By TIM KOELBLE / March 21, 2012

WILLIAMSPORT — North Hagerstown head coach Drew Crawford picked up his first varsity victory on Wednesday after the Hubs got their bats warmed up.

Scoring three runs in the fifth inning and four in the sixth, North carved out an 8-3 victory over Williamsport in the season opener, which also happened to be an MVAL Antietam Conference opener.

“Williamsport gave us a fight, so it’s good to get the first win,” said Crawford.

North’s Alijah Benson hit the first pitch of the season from Zach Lucas over the fence for a 1-0 lead.

The score remained the same until Williamsport broke through for three runs in the fourth off J.T. Root.

The Wildcats left the bases loaded without further scoring when North shortstop Matt Daley made an outstanding putout at second base on a grounder by Nick Sauble.

Charles Cvijanovich led off North’s fifth with a single and Williamsport coach David Warrenfeltz removed Lucas, who yielded three hits and walked four in four-plus innings, but scrambled out of trouble in the second and fourth.

“It was the right time to make a move,” said Warrenfeltz.

Sauble entered and hit Andrew Yacyk with a pitch and gave up a one-out single to Alex Courtney to score Cvijanovich. Yacyk and Courtney each advanced one base on the throw home.

Matt Daley delivered a sacrifice fly to score Yacyk and C.J. Owings singled to score Courtney for a 4-3 lead.

In the sixth, North’s Zane Schreiber led off with a single and Benson had a bunt single before Sauble retired the next two batters.

Then, Philip Pietro launched a three-run home run to center and was followed by a solo shot from Courtney.

“Situationally, we couldn’t get the hit early,” said Crawford. “We made some adjustments when (Sauble) came in, trying to drive the ball more up the middle. The homers are nice, but that’s something we won’t rely on all year.”

Pietro, Courtney and Benson each had two hits as North collected 10.

“We had some opportunities early and we just didn’t execute,” said Warrenfeltz. “Sauble threw good and I thought North hit good pitches. We knew they’d be tough.”

John Britton came on in relief of Root and slammed the door with three innings of one-hit relief with no walks and five strikeouts.

“(Britton) did a really nice job,” said Crawford. “It’s nice knowing you have a strike thrower in the bullpen.”

Lucas had two of Williamsport’s five hits.

North Hagerstown 8, Williamsport 3
N. Hagerstown 100 034 0 — 8 10 1
Williamsport 000 300 0 — 3 5 2
Root, Britton (5) and Williams. Lucas, Sauble (5), Boward (6) and Butts. WP—Root (1-0), LP—Sauble (0-1), SV—Britton 1. HR—NH: Benson (1st, none on), Pietro (6th, two on), Courtney (6th, none on).

Yacyk, Pietro lead Hubs to 10-2 victory over Linganore

March 23, 2012---Andrew Yacyk keyed a six-run fifth inning with a three-run homer to lead North Hagerstown to a 10-2 victory over Linganore (1-1) on Friday.

Yacyk had three hits, including a homer, had three RBI's and scored three runs, Phil Pietro had three hits, including a double and triple, and drove in two runs in the victory.

Zane Schreiber added two RBI's and Aaron Jones had three stolen bases.

Jones struck out six and picked up the win in relief for the Hubs (2-0, 1-0).

Linganore 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 ---2 6 1
North Hagerstown 0 2 1 0 6 1 x --10 13 2
Bushong, Jones (4), Dopson (7) and Williams. Stephey, Soper (3), Rauch (6).
WP-Jones (1-0)
LP-Stephey (0-1)

HR: Yacyk (fifth, two on).

_________________________________________________________________

Boonsboro gladly accepts Hubs' generosity

by Tim Koelble, Herald-Mail / 3/27/12

BOONSBORO — There were pivotal errors during Monday’s baseball game, but none were more pivotal — or decisive — than North Hagerstown’s second miscue of the seventh inning.

A two-out throwing error capped a five-run outburst to give Boonsboro an 8-7 MVAL Antietam victory over North.

North (2-1, 1-1) had taken a 6-1 lead in the top of the sixth on two hits, a walk and error, before Dustin Gregory nicked North pitcher J.T. Root for a two-run double in the bottom of the inning.

After North scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh for a 7-3 lead, coach Drew Crawford called on John Britton to close out the game, just as he had done last week against Williamsport.

But Britton had little control, walking Ryan Ruiz and Scott Bennett to lead off the inning, followed by Justin Lewis’ infield hit that loaded the bases.

North shortstop Matt Daley committed an error off a ball put in play by Brian Cibula to allow Ruiz to score. Riley Stephenson delivered a sacrifice fly to score Bennett and Gregory added a ground-rule double to score Lewis and move Cibula to third.

Crawford make a pitching change, bringing in Aaron Jones, who promptly issued an intentional walk to Zach Poffenberger to load the bases.

Jones struck out Craig Anderson and induced Brad Enfield to ground to Daley at short, but an errant throw allowed Cibula and Gregory to score the winning runs for the Warriors.

“It just goes to show you can never have too many runs,” said Crawford. “Root was over 100 pitches and Britton has been reliable. They had only one hit in the seventh inning.”

It was a turnaround game for Boonsboro (2-1, 1-0) in its MVAL opener after losing a 7-0 lead to James Buchanan in an 8-7 loss on Friday.

“It’s a big win after the JB loss,” said Boonsboro coach Ben Leonard. “We haven’t started off the season hitting the ball that well, but we got one tonight. You don’t want to be in that position but now they see they can come back.”

Boonsboro had opportunities against Root in the first inning, loading the bases with none out, but Root kept them all stranded.

North held a 2-1 lead through three innings and 3-1 after five against the Warriors, despite five creditable innings by Stephenson, who allowed four hits and four walks with six strikeouts.

Root had five strikeouts and allowed five hits in six innings.

“We should be 3-0 right now,” said Leonard. “I think they started to see they could win the game in the sixth inning.

Gregory and Lewis had two hits each for Boonsboro, while C.J. Owings had three hits for North.

Cibula got the win with two inning of relief.

Boonsboro 8, North Hagerstown 7
North Hag  0 1 1 0 1 3 1 — 7  6  3
Boonsboro 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 — 8  7  3
Root, Britton (7), Jones (7) and Williams. Stephenson, Strunk (6), Cibula (6) and Gregory.
WP — Cibula
LP — John Britton.

Hubs drill South, 14-4

By TIM KOELBLE / March 28, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — What might have been the biggest smash off the bat did not result in a base hit on Wednesday.

And some of those smashes helped lead North Hagerstown to a 14-4 win over host South Hagerstown.

North leadoff batter Charles Cvijanovich ripped the second pitch of the game on a line at South starter Airin Martin.

The ball lashed at Martin’s left calf, who was in obvious pain, but was still able to throw for the putout.

Martin left the game, appearing dazed and confused, but he regained his alertness in a matter of 10 minutes.

“Losing Airin really hurt us on the mound and he’s also our No. 2 hitter,” said South coach Zack Swisher.

Swisher brought in Aaron Roby, who was scheduled to pitch Friday against Clear Spring.

“That was unfortunate for South because we knew Martin was a top arm,” said North coach Drew Crawford.

But North (3-1, 2-1 MVAL) roughed up Roby and began to take control of the game in the third inning to erase South’s 2-1 lead, provided by a two-run home run by Colby Johnson.

Roby walked three and committed a throwing error to allow North to produce the tying run while leaving the bases loaded with none out.

Philip Pietro stepped in and promptly hammered a ball over the center-field fence for a grand slam and a 6-2 lead for the Hubs.

“As the cleanup hitter, Pietro has been doing his job,” said Crawford.

The Hubs added two runs in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Matt Daley and Andrew Yacyk and a single by Alex Courtney.

South (1-3, 0-2) answered with two runs off North starter Ben Bushong on a walk to Johnson and two-run homer by Kenny Mack.

North put six runs up in the fifth against Roby and reliever Jimmy Rice, highlighted by Courtney’s two-run single and a solo home run by C.J. Owings.

“Roby struggled with control, but then again he didn’t think he’d be pitching,” said Swisher. “North is a good team. The grand slam hurt and we made some technical errors out there.”

North generated its offense on nine hits and eight walks. Daley, Pietro, Courtney and Owings each had two hits each, while Pietro had a career-day with six RBIs. Courtney drove in three.

“We still haven’t played a complete game yet,” said Crawford. “We still need to work on all three phases of the game to get in the mind set of putting people away. I don’t think the final score reflects us being that much better than them.”

Bushong went four innings for his second win, allowing five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Sean Przywieczerski had two of South’s six hits.

North Hagerstown 14, South Hagerstown 4
North 0 1 5 2 6 — 14 9 1
South 0 2 0 2 0 — 4  6  2
Bushong, Wagner (5) and Williams; Martin, Roby (1), Rice (5) and K. Johnson.
WP—Ben Bushong
LP—Aaron Roby

HR—NH: 3rd, three on), Owings (5th, none on); SH: C. Johnson (2nd, one on), Kenny Mack (4th, one on).

Courtney, Hubs slam door on Leopards

By BOB PARASILITI / March 30, 2012

SMITHSBURG— After four innings, the North Hagerstown baseball team decided to become judge, jury and executioner.

The Hubs allowed Smithsburg to hang around for half the game. It was time to hang the Leopards in the fifth and designated hitter Alex Courtney provided the finishing touches.

Courtney hit what became a game-ending grand slam to cap North’s eight-run fifth inning and lead the Hubs to a 15-5 win over Smithsburg on Friday in an MVAL Antietam game that was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.

“We were trying not to let (Smithsburg) hang around,” said Courtney. “We had to get back at them.”

The Hubs (4-1, 3-0), who hit four home runs, led 7-0 through 2 1/2 innings and looked to be en route to a quick, easy victory.

But Smithsburg (0-5, 0-3) got the timing against North starter Aaron Jones to score four runs in the fourth — capped by Devin Baker’s three-run homer — and one in the fourth to move to within 7-5.

“(Smithsburg) had all the momentum in the world coming into the fifth,” said North coach Drew Crawford. “All of a sudden it was a two-run game.”

North Hagerstown brought the game under control in the fifth by scratching out four runs before Courtney’s blast.

C.J. Owings, Matt Daley and Jones hit consecutive one-out singles off Smithsburg reliever James Shifler to produce the first run of the eight-run outburst. The Hubs added two more runs on John Britton’s grounder and an infield single by Alijah Benson to take a 10-5 lead.

Shifler was lifted after walking Charles Cvijanovich and was replaced by Bryan Tracey, who had pitched for the Leopards on Thursday. Tracey issued two straight walks to bring in the fourth run and load the bases for Courtney.

Shortly thereafter, Courtney brought down the hammer with his drive to left center.

“I was just trying to level off my swing and make contact,” Courtney said. “It was a fastball that came across the middle of the plate. I wasn’t thinking about a grand slam, but I did want a couple of RBIs.”

The homer all but deflated the Leopards. Britton, who relieved Jones with two outs in the fourth, set down Smithsburg — striking out two — in the fifth to end the game.

“(Jones) battled for us and nearly gave us four innings. He kept us ahead and got us to the bullpen,” Crawford said. “Britton came on and he throws strikes. He’s the shutdown guy.”

Smithsburg had a chance to make the game really interesting in the fourth as Zach Krall, Shifler and Brock Heiston all singled to load the bases, setting up J.R. Rinehart’s sacrifice fly for the second out.

Baker followed with a single but Shifler couldn’t score, which reloaded the bases. Britton relieved Jones and struck out Kyle Dinterman to end the inning.

“We were right in there,” said Smithsburg coach Trey Cobb. “We just had a little baserunning mishap. We were one swing away from really staying in the game. We are trying to find who will step up in that part of the game.”

Rinehart started for Smithsburg and was touched for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. Jones hit a two-run home run to right in the second as the Hubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Philip Pietro hit a solo shot and Matt Daley added a wind-aided two-run homer to highlight North’s four-run third for the 7-0 lead.

North finished with 14 hits as Daley and Jones finished with three each. Baker had two of Smithsburg’s nine hits and drove in three runs.

“I’m proud of how the guys stuck around and came back and stick with it,” Cobb said. “How many teams that are 0-4 would do that. We are not as bad as our record shows.”

North Hagerstown 15, Smithsburg 5
North 124 08 — 15 14 2
Smithsburg 004 10 — 5 9 0
Jones, Britton (4) and Williams; Rinehart, Lee (3), Shifler (4), Tracey (5) and Durning, Shifler (5). HR — NH: Jones (2nd, one on); Pietro (3rd, none on); Daley (3rd, two on); Courtney (5th, three on); S: Baker (4th, two on). WP — Jones. LP — Rinehart. SV — Britton.

Root mows down Catoctin, Hubs win 9-2
4/2/12

THURMONT, Md. — North Hagerstown senior ace J.T. Root pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts Monday in a 9-2 MVAL Antietam victory over previously unbeaten Catoctin (4-1, 3-1).

Root, a James Madison recruit, was dominant---retiring the final 18 batters he faced.

Phil Pietro, Charles Cvijanovich and Alex Courtney each had two hits for North.

The Hubs improve to (5-1, 4-1) and will face Clear Spring on Thursday afternoon.

North     0 0 0 1 3 3 2 — 9  10  2
Catoctin 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2   1   2
Root and Williams. Kennedy, Schubert (5), Welty (6), Cool (7), Johnson (7) and Johnson, P. Larramore (7).
WP—JT Root (2-0)
LP—Kennedy

Hubs blank Clear Spring, 10-0

By TIM KOELBLE / April 6, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — Even the best baseball team won’t cash in every opportunity.

After wasting a bases-loaded situation in the first inning without scoring, North Hagerstown broke through with seven runs in the third inning and went on to post a 10-0 five-inning victory over Clear Spring.

Clear Spring also loaded the bases in the top of the first, but failed to take an early upper hand on the Hubs.

“That was a shift of momentum to us getting out of their top half of the inning,” said North coach Drew Crawford.

North’s Ben Bushong showed wildness in a 30-pitch first inning with a pair of walks following a single, but he managed to get out of the inning with two of his four strikeouts.

Clear Spring’s Jared Brant went the same route with first-inning wildness, walking three Hubs in succession after two were out, only to whiff C.J. Owings to escape the inning.

But the Hubs (6-1, 5-1 MVAL Antietam) would not waste scoring chances again.

Brant retired the first two batters before he walked Philip Pietro, who stole second and scored on a single by Alex Courtney to break the scoreless tie.

Owings and Matt Daley singled, Aaron Jones and Hunter Williams each walked, Alijah Benson and Charles Cvijanovich had singles and some errant Clear Spring defensive plays led to a 7-0 North lead at the end of the frame.

The Hubs scored a single run in the fourth without a hit and finished off the game in the bottom of the fifth.

Benson had a one-out single, Cvijanovich walked and both moved up a base on a wild pitch. Andrew Yacyk stepped in and took Logan Appel’s first pitch to the fence in right-center on one bounce for a two-run double to close out the contest.

Clear Spring (3-4, 2-4 MVAL), coming off a win over Boonsboro on Wednesday, managed only three hits off Bushong, who went 4 1/3 innings for the win before reaching his pitch limit. Yacyk finished up in relief.

After his first inning dilemma, Bushong settled down with only two more walks while striking out five.

“He made an adjustment on his delivery as the game went on,” said Crawford. “He’s a heady pitcher and can do that.”

The Hubs reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time this season, combining seven hits with nine walks.

“We’ve been working on our hitting approach on two-strike counts, trying to get pitchers deeper into the pitch count,” said Crawford.

Each North starter contributed with a run scored or a base hit.

“Most everyone in the lineup is helping,” said Crawford. “We’re getting on base and driving in runs.”

Clear Spring coach Mark Shives is in the hunt for pitching and gave Brant his opportunity.

“We need to stretch him out, work on location and get some game experience,” said Shives. “Aside from that, to beat a team like North, you have to score in the first when we had chances. We won two games this week and I’m not sure we were ready to play today.”

North Hagerstown 10, Clear Spring 0
Clear Spring 000 00 — 0 3 2
North 007 12 — 10 7 1
Brant, Kees (3), L. Appel (5) and Elwood. Bushong, Yacyk (5) and Williams. WP —Bushong. LP — Brant.

Hubs blast Mountain Ridge, Allegany in Easter Tournament
4/8/12

Cumberland, MD---North Hagerstown notched two victories while scoring 35 runs to dominate Allegany and Mountain Ridge in the Mountain Ridge Easter Classic on Saturday.

North Hagerstown 14, Allegany 3
Phil Pietro and Matt Daley each had two hits and three RBI's to lead North Hagerstown to a 14-3 victory over Allegany.

Alijah Benson, Zane Schreiber, and Aaron Jones had two hits in the win. Schreiber had two doubles and Jones drove in two runs.

J.T. Root allowed only two hits, struck out six, and picked up the victory for the Hubs.

North Hagerstown 21, Mountain Ridge 5
The Hubs scored in all five innings and blasted five round-trippers to crush Mountain Ridge, 21-5.

Charles Cvijanovich hit two home runs, drove in six runs, and scored five runs to lead North to a commanding victory.

Zane Schreiber had three hits and two RBIs, Phil Pietro had a homer and four RBIs, C.J. Owings had two hits, a HR, and four RBIs, and Andrew Yacyk had two hits, a HR, and two RBIs.

J.T. Root and Matt Daley added two hits and Aaron Jones struck out six and recorded the win for the Hubs.

North improves to (8-1, 5-1).

Motherly advice pays off for Yacyk to Hubs' benefit

By BRETT NIEVES Herald-Mail Staff Correspondent / April 13, 2012

CLEAR SPRING — Andrew Yacyk launched two home runs and drove in seven runs for North Hagerstown on Friday, leading the Hubs to a 15-6 victory over Clear Spring in an MVAL Antietam contest shortened to six innings by darkness.

Yacyk walked, reached on an error and flew out to right field before coming to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. He mashed a pitch over the fence in right center for a grand slam.

“I haven’t been seeing the ball well all season,” Yacyk said. “My mom told me to go to the plate with a clear head, and that’s what I did.”

Following his grand slam, Yacyk entered the batter’s box in the sixth with two runners on and went yard again.

“I recognized the pitch, put a good swing on it and let it ride,” Yacyk said.

Yacyk’s grand slam sparked North (10-1, 6-1), which had been held scoreless the previous two innings.

Phil Petro belted a pitch over the fence in left immediately after Yacyk’s slam, and Alex Courtney later scored on a wild pitch to cap the Hubs’ six-run fifth inning that put them ahead, 11-3.

“It took us awhile to get some hits,” North coach Drew Crawford said. “We had guys on, but not being able to put teams away early has been our Achilles’ heel all season.”

The Hubs had six hitters reach base and scored a run early in the game before they even registered a hit. Clear Spring gave up five walks and hit a batter.

Charles Cvijanovich drove in two runs with a single and Petro and Alex Courtney had back-to-back RBI singles to put North Hagerstown up 5-0 after the second inning.

Clear Spring (4-5, 3-5) got on the board in the third on Nick Hill’s sacrifice fly. The Blazers added two more runs in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk and Brent Mentzer’s RBI single.

The Blazers actually held a 5-4 hitting advantage over North Hagerstown at that point, but according to coach Mark Shives, the problem wasn’t at the plate, but on the mound.

“We’re out-hitting them in the fourth and then we’re down 10 runs. It’s not hard to figure out what the problem was,” Shives said.

Clear Spring added three runs in the home side of the fifth to cut the lead to 11-6, but North’s four-run sixth inning spelled the end for the Blazers and the sunlight.

North Hagerstown 15, Clear Spring 6
North Hag   1 4 0 0 6 4 — 15  9   1
Clear Spring 0 0 1 2 3 0 — 6   7   3
Bushong, Britton (4), Dopson (6), Yacyk (6) and Williams. L. Appel, Williamson (2), Shanholtz (5), Kinna (6) and Stouffer.
WP — Ben Bushong
LP — Logan Appel

Root hurls no-hitter, Yacyk leads offense as Hubs destroy Century, 18-0

Sykesville, MD---J.T. Root pitched a five inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts and Andrew Yacyk went 4-for-4, with three HR's and six RBI's to lead North to an 18-0 victory.

Zane Schreiber, Charles Cvijanovich, Phil Pietro, C.J. Owings, and Cory Staubs had two hits each.

Owings had a grand slam and drove in five runs, Troy Carbaugh had a grand slam and drove in four runs, and Schreiber had a HR and drove in two runs in the victory.

Root's no-hitter was the first pitched by a Hubs pitcher in 12 years. The last North pitcher to pitch a hitless game was Steve Heefner in April of 2000.

Yacyk became only the third North player ever to homer three times in the same game and is now one HR from tying the North single-season record of eight, held by Randy Butts (1982) and Matt Tedrick (2002).

The 13 total bases by Yacyk in Monday's game broke Matt Johnson's single-game record of 12 set in 2001. His 13 RBI's over two games are the most in Hubs history over a two-game stretch.

Charles Cvijanovich record streak of reaching base safely ended on Monday at 17. Cvijanovich obliterated the old mark of nine set by Eric Showe in 1989 and tied by Chris Palmer in 2006.

The Hubs improve to (10-1, 6-1).

North Hagerstown 2 2 4 1 9 ----18  17  0
Century                  0 0 0 0 0 ------0   0    0
Root and Williams. Thomas, Ricks (3), Slade (5), Northrop (5) and Ogle.
W--JT Root (4-0)
L--Thomas

HR--Yacyk 3 (1st, one on; 4th, none on; 5th, one on), Owings (3rd, three on), Carbaugh (5th, three on).

Hubs make hits count

By JACK HILL III Staff Correspondent / April 19, 2012

HAGERSTOWN— The North Hagerstown baseball team finally got its bats going against Tuscarora’s Bailey McAullife in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday.

The Hubs came back from a 2-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the fifth and then contained a rally by the Titans to hold on for a 5-4 victory.

McAullife took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth, before Zane Schreiber started North’s rally with a one-out single to center. After Schreiber stole second, Hunter Williams and Austin Stone both drew walks to load the bases.

Senior second baseman Charles Cvijanovich then cleared the bases by belting a three-run double to left to put the Hubs on top 4-2. Cvijanovich took third on the relay throw to home plate and then scored when Matt Daley hit a sacrifice fly to left.

“He threw me a fastball and I just put the ball in play,” Cvijanovich said. “We were just able to hit when we needed it. We just showed a lot of character in battling back. We have a strong team and we have a shot at going to the state tournament.”

North coach Drew Crawford said he was disappointed that the Hubs weren’t hitting as they are capable of doing.

“Offensively, our approach was awful today,” Crawford said. “We only had two hits coming off of a 17-hit attack in the previous game. But we were able to scrap out enough runs to get the victory. I still feel that we have got room to improve in every phase of the game. We are going to have to play more consistently if we are going to make a big run in the Maryland Class 3A playoffs.”

Senior pitcher Aaron Jones got the win for North (11-1) to raise his pitching record to 4-0. Jones gave up only three hits and had seven strikeouts in five innings. After John Britton pitched an inning of relief for the Hubs, Andrew Yacyk pitched the final inning of relief for the Hubs and picked up his first save of the season.

Zach Woodward had two hits and two RBIs for Tuscarora (1-10).

Matt Clemons singled to center and Randy Baugher walked to start a rally for the Titans in the top of the sixth. One out later, Woodward singled to center to drive in Clemons and send Baugher to third. The Titans then pulled off a successful double steal as Woodward stole second right before Baugher stole home to cut the Hubs’ lead down to 5-4. But the Titans would not get any closer than that.

“Our pitchers threw the ball well today,” Crawford said. “We made the defensive plays as well when we had to.”

North Hagerstown 5, Tuscarora 4
Tuscarora 000 202 0 — 4 4 2
North 010 040 x — 5 2 1
McAullife and Smith. Jones, Britton (6), Yacyk (7) and Williams. WP — Jones (4-0). LP — McAullife. S — Yacyk (1).

North's 12-run inning is more than enough
4/20/12

HAGERSTOWN — North Hagerstown baseball coach Drew Crawford had a simple pregame message for his players prior to taking the field against Boonsboro on Friday.

Having suffered its lone loss to Boonsboro on March 26, Crawford said he told the Hubs “to look at the big picture and learn from the mistakes we made to lose the game.”

The Warriors gave it their best shot for a season sweep, but North went ballistic in the bottom of the fourth inning. In all, 18 batters stepped into the box and the Hubs scored all 12 of their runs in a 12-0 MVAL Antietam victory in the inning.

North’s Ben Bushong and Boonsboro’s Scott Bennett had been locked in a pitcher’s duel, with Bennett having faced the minimum nine batters through three innings.

From the Boonsboro vantage point, the 12-run inning should never have happened.

Charles Cvijanovich led off with a bouncer to third that Brian Cibula fielded cleanly, but he took too much time getting the ball out of his glove to retire the speedy Cvijanovich.

With Matt Daley up, Cvijanovich broke for second, taking the second baseman out of position as Daley delivered a single to right.

“You need to know (Cvijanovich) is fast, so you have to make the throw quickly,” said Boonsboro coach Ben Leonard. “Then, that opens up second base with a grounder that becomes a base hit. We should have had two outs.”

Andrew Yacyk then delivered a double that scored Cvijanovich to break the scoreless tie.

Philip Pietro, who looked away in disgust after fouling off a pitch, then smacked a two-run single for a 3-0 lead.

After two walks and a single scored Pietro and reloaded the bases, Bushong lifted a weak blooper over Cibula’s head into short left to plate two more runs.

Against relief pitcher Nathan Hardy, Yacyk came to the plate with the bases loaded and drilled a three-run triple to right center. Yacyk scored when the relay throw to third was wild.

Alex Courtney scored the final run on a single by C.J. Owings, who along with Cvijanovich, Daley, Yacyk and Pietro had two hits in the inning.

“The second time through the order you know what (Bennett) had the first time and you adjust,” said Pietro. “Hopefully you take advantage of seeing him again.”

Crawford took note of Bennett’s performance.

“My hat is off to him, he was impressive,” said Crawford.

Pietro also singled in the second, and his three hits pushed his Washington County-leading batting average to .629.

“I was injured a lot last year, so I worked hard during the offseason,” said Pietro.

Boonsboro managed three hits and got three walks, but couldn’t break through against Bushong.

North Hagerstown 12, Boonsboro 0
Boonsboro 000 00 — 0 3 1
North 000 (12)x — 12 14 0
Bennett, Hardy (4), Butrick (4) and Gregory. Bushong, Wagner (5) and Williams. WP — Bushong. (5-0). LP — Bennett (1-2).

Hubs cage Leopards, 12-1

By TIM KOELBLE / April 25, 2012

HAGERSTOWN— The parade of hits and runs keeps on coming for the North Hagerstown baseball team.

The Hubs rapped out 10 hits and, along with seven walks, put them all to good use in reaching their season scoring average, knocking off Smithsburg 12-2 on Wednesday in five innings.

“From the top of the order to the middle, we’re strong, and I think we’re getting better at the bottom,” said North coach Drew Crawford.

North (13-1, 8-1 MVAL Antietam) took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and then put together a four-run third and six-run fourth to make it a short afternoon.

J.T. Root exended his hitless streak to 13 1/3 innings with four innings of work to gain his fifth win.

He allowed a first-inning run with wildness, issuing two walks, throwing two wild pitches and committing a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that plated a run for Smithsburg.

After two good innings, Root again was wild in the fourth, walking one and hitting two batters before leaving the bases stranded.

“J.T. battled through four innings,” said Crawford. “He was wild high with his mechanics. Having to battle through that problem, it might have been good for him to experience those problems now.”

When he was in the mechanical groove, Root made it hard on Smithsburg batters, striking out eight.

“(Root) threw a heck of a four innings,” said Smithsburg coach Trey Cobb.

North’s Andrew Yacyk doubled in Matt Daley for a run in the first and Root scored on a single by Alijah Benson in the second for a 2-1 lead.

Charles Cvijanovich earned a leadoff walk in the third from Smithsburg’s Josh Miller, and he was followed by Matt Daley’s double, a walk to Yacyk to load the bases and a two-run double by Philip Pietro.

North made it 5-3 on a groundout RBI by C.J. Owings and an RBI double by Root for a 6-3 lead.

Benson started the fourth for North with an infield bunt single, and he scored from first on a double by Cvijanovich. Daley walked and Yacyk smacked a two-run double for a 9-1 lead.

Yacyk, Root and Benson had two hits each for the Hubs.

The Leopards (2-13, 0-9), in the midst of one of the their worst years in recent memory, had one ball hit out of the infield.

“The way we played, it didn’t look like we wanted to win today, and that’s a shame,” said Cobb. “We could have fought harder. We weren’t ready to hit the ball and didn’t give (Miller) any support. We know we can win, we just have not played well.”

North Hagerstown 12, Smithsburg 2
Smithsburg  1 0 0 0 1 —  2   0  0
North Hag    1 1 4 6 x — 12 10 1
Miller, Tracy (4), Lee (4) and Shifler. Root, Schreiber (5) and Williams.
WP—Root (5-0)
LP—Miller (0-2)



______________________________________________________________________

Hubs get to the Root of things with win over Cats

by Will Robinson, Herald-Mail  / 4/30/12

HAGERSTOWN, MD — The wins keep piling up for North Hagerstown baseball.

Behind an impressive six innings from J.T. Root, the Hubs housed the Williamsport Wildcats 7-1 in Monday’s MVAL Antietam contest.

Despite his hitless streak coming to an end at 13 1/3 innings with Brandon Greene’s leadoff single, Root settled in and found his groove, totaling 11 strikeouts and four walks for his sixth victory without a loss.

“They’re going to get hits, that’s just part of the game,” said North coach Drew Crawford. “The big thing for J.T. was getting out of instances where (Williamsport) could have big hits. He was able to minimize the damage by getting the outs early in innings.”

North (14-1, 9-1) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Charles Cvijanovich and Andrew Yacyk each scored on errors and Philip Pietro hit a sac fly to score Matt Daley. The Hubs added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning on RBI-singles by Root and C.J. Owings.

“We had a lot of good team at-bats,” said Crawford. “We were able to execute situational baseball in getting those three runs early and grabbing the momentum.”

Williamsport’s lone run came in the top of the fourth inning on a solo home run by Tyler Byers. The Wildcats were in position to add to their total with Riley Arnone on third and Nick Williams on second with one out, but Root struck out Colby Byers and induced a 6-3 groundout from Nick Sauble.

“I think J.T. pitched a heck of a game. He really had us off-balance with his speed and location,” said Williamsport coach Dave Warrenfeltz.

The Hubs added another run in the bottom of the fourth when Yacyk singled to knock in Daley, who reached base on an error. Root’s second RBI single in the fifth scored Alex Courtney for the final score.

Zach Lucas took the loss for Williamsport (9-7, 6-5), though only two of his seven runs were earned. The Wildcats totaled five errors in the game which led to four runs.

“I think we did a good job on the mound, but defensively, even on plays without an error, we had some mental mistakes,” Warrenfeltz said. “Zach did a great job and so did Ryan (Boward, who pitched two innings of relief) behind him. We just didn’t give them help.”

Williamsport           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1  5  5
North Hagerstown 3 0 2 1 1 0 x — 7  6  0
Lucas, Boward (5) and C. Byers. Root, Yacyk (7) and Williams.
WP — Root (6-0)
LP — Lucas.

HR — T. Byers (4th, none on).

Hubs defeat Brunswick, 6-0

BRUNSWICK, Md. — J.T. Root tossed four innings of no-hit ball to lead North Hagerstown to a 6-0 shutout of Brunswick on Wednesday in a game that had been suspended with North leading 5-0 after four-plus innings.

Root added two hits and Andrew Yacyk had a double for the Hubs.

In the regularly scheduled game, North was leading 5-1 before the game was suspended by rain.

North 6, Brunswick 0
Brunswick 000 000 0 — 0 1 3
North 041 001 x — 6 7 0
Darling, Wenner (5) and Strahin. Root, Britton (5) and Williams. WP — Root (7-0). LP — Darling (1-3). S — Britton (3).

North rallies to keep South from rising

By TIM KOELBLE May 5, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — South Hagerstown went toe-to-toe with rival North Hagerstown for nearly three innings but that’s simply not good enough to match a team like the Hubs.

What started off as a back-and-forth battle became all North as the Hubs took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the third inning to start a march to an 11-6 victory Saturday afternoon, clinching at least a tie for the MVAL Antietam title.

North (16-1) stands at 11-1 and holds a two-game lead over Catoctin with two conference games remaining.

North’s Aaron Jones and South’s Zach Sines were the starters but somewhat ineffective through the first three innings.

The Hubs’ Matt Daley led off the third with a double to start a rally with Philip Pietro, Alex Courtney and Alijah Benson collecting RBIs to take the lead.

Jones, who allowed a two-run double to Jordan Dickens in the second, survived a potential threat in the third with the help of a nifty 1-6-3 double play to escape by allowing just one run.

North seized the momentum in the top of the fourth as Jones finally got through an inning without a score.

“We played maybe the best team in the state for three innings and then we began to make too many errors,” said South coach Zack Swisher.

Indeed, the South defense had some holes at inopportune times, despite turning a pair of double plays.

North knocked Sines out of the game with a five-run fourth inning, started by Hunter Williams’ single, a walk to Charles Cvijanovich and Daley’s sacrifice bunt that turned into two runs when Sines threw wildly past first to give the Hubs a 7-4 lead.

Yacyk reached on an error to score Daley and Philip Pietro followed by sending a pitch out of the park for his sixth home run of the year and 10-4 lead.

“Jones getting through the fourth was big but we knew how we needed to approach (South) at the plate,” said North coach Drew Crawford. “It was Jones’ first start in two weeks so he had some rust on him in the beginning.”

North added a final run in the sixth when Pietro was hit by a pitch, broke for second on a steal and scored when South (6-14, 4-10) made two errant throws.

“You always have a good feeling with Philip that everytime he comes up something good is going to happen,” said Crawford.

North still has to complete a suspended Antietam game at Brunswick. It will also face Catoctin in the regular season home finale on Wednesday. The Hubs also play at Thomas Johnson on Monday.

South ends the regular season and will wait for the playoff assignment. The draw will be conducted on Wednesday.

North Hagerstown 11, South Hagerstown 6
South 121 000 2 — 6 6 6
North 113 501 x — 11 8 2
Sines, Hess (4) and K. Johnson. A. Jones, Britton (5), Dopson (6), Wagner (7), Yacyk (7) and Williams. WP—Jones. LP—Sines. HR—NH: Pietro (4th, one on).

Hubs win Antietam Conference without playing

May 7, 2012---Without throwing a pitch or hitting a baseball on Tuesday, North Hagerstown claimed the MVAL Antietam Conference baseball championship.

The Hubs were scheduled to continue a rain-suspended game at Brunswick on Tuesday but it was wiped out because of the weather and will not be played.

The no-verdict left North with an 11-1 Antietam record and Catoctin in second place at 10-3. Catoctin visits North today in the regular-season finale.

On Monday, North (16-1-1) had a 4-4 stalemate with Thomas Johnson (9-8-1) through eight innings. That game will be counted as a tie.

The Hubs rallied to take a 4-2 lead with four runs in the seventh but TJ tied it in the bottom of the seventh.

Andrew Yacyk, Alex Courtney and Zane Schreiber had two hits each for the Hubs.

Bushong, Hubs dedicate win to No. 6

By BOB PARASILITI May 9, 2012

HAGERSTOWN— The minute Ben Bushong took the mound, the Catoctin baseball team was outnumbered.

That’s because the North Hagerstown starter wasn’t alone on the hill.

Bushong dedicated his last regular-season start to Williamsport’s Brendon Colliflower, who died along with Samantha Kelly in a car crash last weekend. He responded by allowing three hits over six innings on Wednesday in the Hubs’ 6-2 victory on Senior Day.

Bushong switched uniforms, trading his normal No. 19 for No. 6, the same number Colliflower wore as a pitcher for Williamsport. The Hubs also wrote a No. 6 on the mound.

“We wanted to do something nice for Brendon and Sam because we all knew them,” Bushong said.

Playing a strong game may have been the best honor of all as the Hubs played errorless ball and did what they needed to for a win in a meaningless MVAL Antietam matchup.

North erased a 1-0 deficit with two runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings against an army of Cougars pitchers to take control of a game that was played entirely in the rain.

“I told the guys we had to approach this game as if it were a playoff game,” said North coach Drew Crawford. “If Catoctin would be in our (playoff) bracket, they would be the second seed. If we could play them tough, we can play with anyone.

“It all starts with the starting pitching. Ben pitched his tail off. When our pitchers do that, we know that we only have to score three or four runs to win.”

Bushong was strong from the start, but Catoctin managed to manufacture a run in the second. Josh Latamore led off with a double down the left-field line and scored on consecutive sacrifice bunts by Seth Schubert and Jonathan Carroll for the 1-0 lead.

“I was feeling my stuff and just pitching to contact,” Bushong said. “I knew if I did that, the defense behind me would get the outs.”

North (17-1-1, 12-1) took the lead in the third with two runs off reliever Andrew Weaver. Aaron Jones drew a leadoff walk and stole second before scoring on Charles Cvijanovich’s single to left that was bobbled.

The Hubs took the lead when Alex Courtney drew a bases-loaded walk.

North extended the lead in the fourth against Joseph Johnson as Bushong led off with a single and gave way to courtesy runner Troy Carbaugh, who scored on a Cvijanovich double. Cvijanovich eventually scored when working a double-steal play with Matt Daley, who reached on a walk.

Catoctin got a run back in the fifth before the Hubs iced the game with their final two runs. Philip Pietro led off with a single and scored on a Courtney double. Courtney scored when Cvijanovich drew a bases-loaded walk.

Bushong began to struggle late in the game while dealing with the cold and wet conditions, but still only walked three while striking out seven. Dylan Dopson pitched the seventh inning.

Courtney and Cvijanovich each drove in two runs.

The Hubs were awarded the top seed in the Maryland Class 3A West tournament and received a bye in the first round.

“We haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Crawford said. “We got our goal to be seeded and we did that. Now it’s time to turn the page. We haven’t reached any of our postseason goals yet.”

Hubs, Courtney pummel Northwood, 11-0

By TIM KOELBLE May 16, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — As a designated hitter, Alex Courtney has nothing but time on his hands during North Hagerstown baseball games.

“I’ve only got one job as a DH and that’s to hit,” said Courtney. “I get a chance to think about my previous at-bat and I get a chance to closely study the pitcher.”

But Courtney said some of the classroom studies always helps with his approach.

“Baseball is a mental game,” Courtney said. “Studying calculus makes me sharp, integration through trigonometric substitution.”

Courtney, a junior, ripped a home run and a pair of doubles and had three RBIs to go with three runs scored as North (18-1-1) opened its playoff quest in the Maryland 3A West with an 11-0 romp over Northwood in 4 1/2 innings on Wednesday.

North will host Thomas Johnson (13-8-1), which downed Seneca Valley on Wednesday, in the semifinals today at 4 p.m. The teams played to a 4-4 draw earlier this month.

The game was finally played after a postponement on Monday, followed by Tuesday’s wipeout. The game actually started later than the scheduled 5 p.m. first-pitch on Wednesday.

Half of Northwood’s team did not arrive until shortly after 5 — only some dressed to play — because of AP testing.

North backed the pitching of Aaron Jones and Troy Carbaugh with a 13-hit attack to immediately put Northwood (6-13) to the test.

Charles Cvijanovich walked and eventually scored the first run on Andrew Yacyk’s groundout. Philip Pietro and Courtney hit back-to-back doubles with two outs to produce a second run before Zane Schreiber singled to score Courtney for a 3-0 lead.

Cvijanovich set the tone in the second with a leadoff triple. He scored on a single by Matt Daley, who came home on Yacyk’s bomb that carried 400 feet to an electric pole in dead center.

The Hubs scored two more in the inning and also left the bases loaded for a second straight inning.

In a three-run third, Yacyk tripled and scored on a single by Dylan Wagner, who then trotted home on Courtney’s home run.

“We found the gaps with the bats by squaring up at the plate,” said coach Drew Crawford.

Jones pitched three innings, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out five. With the game in hand, Crawford was able to save Jones for later in the week.

Carbaugh drew praise from Crawford after his first pitching appearance of the season. He allowed two hits in his two-inning stint.

“This was his first game of the year,” said Crawford. “He has worked his tail off. He is the epitomé of what a team player is about.”

North Hagerstown 11, Northwood 0
Northwood 000 00 — 0 1 1
North 353 0x — 11 13 0
Garcia, Stinson (2) and Winich. Jones, Carbaugh (4) and Williams, Stone (5). WP — Jones. LP — Garcia. HR — NH: Yacyk (2nd, one on); Courtney (3rd, one on).

Yacyk leads Hubs to commanding 21-6 victory over TJ

By TIM KOELBLE May 17, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — The scoring parade continued on Thursday afternoon on the North Hagerstown diamond.

Andrew Yacyk slammed a pair of three-run home runs in the third inning and the Hubs decimated Thomas Johnson 21-6 in the Maryland Class 3A West Region semifinals.

The Hubs will host Rockville in the West final today at 4 p.m. with the winner advancing to the state semifinals.

Yacyk said he’d enjoy the victory until “about the time I get home and then start to focus on (Friday). It’s a new day.”

North (19-1-1) highlighted the day with a 14-run third inning by batting around the order twice as 19 batters came to the plate.

The Hubs led 5-2 heading into the third until Thomas Johnson left fielder Brandon Berney — who had hit a two-run homer in the top of the inning — dropped Zane Schreiber’s fly ball.

The flood of hits followed as C.J. Owings and J.T. Root singled to drive in Schreiber for the 6-2 lead. After Aaron Jones sacrificed, Charles Cvijanovich doubled for two runs before Matt Daley walked.

Yacyk, who also homered in Wednesday’s win over Northwood, belted his first three-run shot off TJ reliever Heath Dahlgren to give North an 11-2 lead.

Yacyk set North’s single-season record with his ninth homer.

North kept pounding TJ pitchers, no matter whom coach Jim Foit brought in trying to stem the huge uprising.

Against John Willis, three singles, including a two-run effort from Root, and a two-run double by Jones made it 15-2. A TJ error and a single by Daley made it 16-2 to bring up Yacyk. He greeted reliever David Larson with another three-run smash to center for a 19-2 lead.

“I got fastballs on both and they both felt good off the bat,” said Yacyk.

All told North rattled 20 hits around the field, three each by Yacyk, Philip Pietro and Owings. Pietro and Root each had three RBIs.

“Today was a prime example of production one through nine in the order,” said North coach Drew Crawford.

“Usually in high school, you have holes but for us this is a major strength, Crawford said. “This is the closest we’ve been to our potential. It was an impressive offensive display.”

Root picked up his eighth win with 3 1/3 innings of work, some of which wasn’t his best of the year. The right hander allowed six hits and walked five to go along with four strikeouts.

“I’m sure the break didn’t help him but he got his work in,” said Crawford, who said lefty Ben Bushong would start today’s game.

Root allowed four of the six runs in the fourth, coming out to after North’s 45-minute inning.

“We got the bats going again and my defense played great behind me,” said Root. “I was a little off. My pitch selection could have been better.”

North and TJ had played to a 4-4 tie through eight innings in a regular-season game on May 7.

The Hubs are averaging 11.2 runs per game this year . It was the second time they have scored 21 runs in a game.

North 21, Thomas Johnson 6
T. Johnson 002 40 — 6 6 3
North 32(14) 2x — 21 20 1
Omelchenko, Parker (3), Dahlgren (3), Willis(3), Larson (3) and Larson, Omelchenko (3). Root, Dopson (4) and Williams, Stone (4). WP—Root (8-0), LP—Omelchenko. HR-TJ: Berney (3rd, one on); NH: Yacyk 2 (3rd, two on, 3rd, two on).

Hubs defeat Rockville 8-3 for 3A West Regional Title
Yacyk drives in five, breaks state record for RBIs in a season

By TIM KOELBLE May 18, 2012

HAGERSTOWN — North Hagerstown got in the groove early, fended off a pesky Rockville nine and then put the finishing touches on a Maryland Class 3A West region championship on Friday.

The Hubs (20-1-1) earned a spot in the state semifinals with an 8-3 victory over Rockville and will meet the winner of Friday’s North Harford-Towson game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Joe Cannon Stadium in Harman, Md.

“The key, going all the way back to when we met the first day as a team, was to be prepared and to do whatever it took to reach this goal,” said North first-year coach Drew Crawford.

And doing whatever is exactly what the Hubs have done — whether it’s been with the bats, on the mound or defensively.

Andrew Yacyk once again was on his game with the bat with a first-inning, run-scoring double and a home run in the second inning with the bases juiced.

Charles Cvijanovich opened the bottom of the first with a ringing double and, after Matt Daley flied out, Yacyk stroked a double off of Rockville’s Sam Kane for a 1-0 lead.

“It always seems that whenever Charles gets on base I’m able to drive him in,” said Yacyk.

He did it again in the second when the Hubs mounted a two-out rally.

With Ben Bushong on first following a single, Cvijanovich got a base hit and Daley walked to set up Yacyk’s grand slam to center field, his 11th homer of the year.

“The pitch was a fastball in on my hands but I was waiting for it,” said Yacyk.

The slam gave him five RBIs for the game and 51 for the season, eclipsing both Kevin Goode of Brunswick’s MVAL record of 47 RBIs set in 1999 and the state single-season mark of 48, set by Hammond’s Jason Maxey in 2001.

“(Yacyk) is a big time player and he carried us in the three games this week,” said Crawford.

The Rams (13-6) threatened against Bushong in the second but failed to score. They got on the board with three runs in the third, set up by a leadoff error and followed by two singles, a double and force play.

Rockville put up a serious challenge in the fourth with two runners on, but Bushong was able to escape when Greg Brown hit a one-hop smash that Yacyk flagged down at first to retire the Rams.

Kane collected himself after the Yacyk homer and retired the Hubs easily until North broke loose for three runs in the fifth.

Alex Courtney opened with a single and was sacrificed to second by Zane Schrieber. John Britton then delivered a run-scoring single for a 6-3 lead.

Troy Carbaugh, who was pinch-running for Britton, advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out. Austin Stone walked and, with Kane in a set position, broke for second.

Kane made the throw to second where Stone was ruled safe. Carbaugh came in from third on the play for a 7-3 lead and Cvijanovich made it 8-3 when he drove in Stone with a single.

Cvijanovich has been excellent in the leadoff position from the midpoint of the season and added three hits Friday.

Hubs eliminated by Mooney's gem

By TIM KOELBLE May 22, 2012

HARMANS, Md. — Kevin Mooney rendered North Hagerstown’s hitters helpless on Tuesday night.

North Harford’s senior right-hander showed the Hubs how he’s mounted impressive numbers this season during the Maryland Class 3A state semifinal.

When Mooney struck out Andrew Yacyk for a third time in the top of the seventh inning, he finished off a perfect game as North Harford posted a 4-0 victory over the Hubs at Joe Cannon Stadum.

“Never in 26 years have I seen a performance like that,” said North Hagerstown coach Drew Crawford.

Mooney came into the game with an 8-0 record — the same as Hubs starting pitcher J.T. Root. Mooney had a 0.27 ERA and allowed only 18 hits while striking out 96 in 51 innings before the semifinal.

On Tuesday, he struck out 11 and helped save the gem himself in the seventh.

Charles Cvijanovich led off and hit a chopper to the right side of the infield that Mooney had to field. He momentarily overran the ball, but retreated quickly enough to make the toss to first and beat Cvijanovich.

Other than that, Mooney’s 74-pitch gem seemed easy. He often used a breaking ball early in the count, backed it with a 90 mph fastball, and got punchouts on curveballs.

“We came here as prepared as much as we could be,” said Crawford. “He throws a ball that just comes in and up on you so fast.”

Mooney’s worst count in the game came immediately after making the play on Cviajnovich.

Facing Matt Daley, he fell behind 2-0 before he came back to strike out Daley, then Yacyk on a called third strike.

The best-hit ball by the Hubs (20-2-1) all night came in the fourth, when Cvijanovich sent a fly ball to medium-deep center.

Root (8-1) was the hard-luck loser with all four runs against him unearned — two each in the sixth and seventh innings — after he went toe-to-toe with Mooney.

In the sixth, an error by Aaron Jones with one on and one out, followed by a hit batsman, left the bases loaded.

North Harford’s Alec Mouring tried a squeeze bunt and hit it foul, but tried it again two pitches later and was successful, pushing across Mooney with the first run while Yacyk tried to scoop the bunt to the plate. Brian Shaffer then dropped his own squeeze bunt down in front of Jones — who charged in from third — that scored Jon Hammer with the second run.

In the seventh, another error, a stolen base, an RBI double and an RBI single produced two more runs and finished off Root.

“Those bunts were indefensible,” said Crawford. “I tip my hat to them.”

Root went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits, walking only one and striking out seven.

“J.T. had a heck of an effort tonight,” said Crawford.

North Harford (23-2) moves onto the championship game Saturday at Cal Ripken Stadium against J.M. Bennett, a 6-1 victor over LaPlata in the other semifinal game.

North Harford 4, North Hagerstown 0
N. Harford 000 002 2 — 4 10 0
N. Hagerstown 000 000 0 — 0 0 0
Mooney and Hammer. Root, Britton (7) and Williams. WP — Mooney (9-0). LP — Root (8-1).

Hubs Courtney named MVP in MABC Diamond Stars Game

May 28, 2012----North Hagerstown’s Alex Courtney had two hits and three RBIs for the American team to win won Most Valuable Player trophy in the Diamond Stars game.

National led 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning until Courtney started a comeback by ripping a two-run single to left to reduce the deficit to two runs.

“I knew that we were down big and we couldn’t get any momentum going during the game,” Courtney said. “It was a changeup inside and I pulled it down the line.”

American scored with the help of an outfield error before Courtney crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to right by Rob Ricciuti to tie the game.

Courtney added an RBI double in the third.

American’s Tyler Byers, of Williamsport, and National’s Brad Spickler, of Smithsburg, each pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the tie.

“I thought that all day we were one or two hits away from getting back into the ballgame,” American coach David Warrenfeltz said. “We finally got some big hits there in the eighth.”