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The top-seeded Knights cornered the market on hits and scoring opportunities and did just enough to squeeze out a 4-2 victory over Williamsport on Tuesday in the Maryland Class 2A West Section II final.
It wasn’t pretty or majestic, but it was darn efficient.
“That’s a talented team over there and they are well coached,” said Williamsport coach AJ Jamison. “They didn’t miss the barrel (of the bat) when they took swings today.”
Middletown found a way to use most every facet of the game to its advantage.
The Knights (15-6) benefited from the outward-blowing prevailing wind. They moved runners with bunts. They got clutch hits when needed and ran the bases well. And they had some effective pitching, holding the Wildcats (14-9) to three hits.
Williamsport got five runners in scoring position — all in the first three innings — while Middletown seemed to have a continuous flow of runners reach at least second base ... nine to be exact, with four scoring.
“It was a hit here and a hit there,” Jamison said. “We stayed in it, but we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. Sometimes all it takes is one hit, one run, one sacrifice in the playoffs to hurt you. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of it.”
Middletown took advantage of the pitching tandem of Jackson McDaniel and Graham Brown to keep the Wildcats off balance. McDaniel used more finesse in his three innings, while Brown came on with more velocity and a quicker pace to take the game over.
Graham retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, setting down the final dozen to end the game.
Williamsport starter Bryce Romsburg held his own, but fell victim to the windy conditions.
The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom the first as Brown led off with a double to left aided by the wind.
Then with two out, Cole Crist hit a fly to right against the wind, which made the ball take a nosedive to the ground for an RBI single.
Williamsport jumped to a 2-1 lead in the third, starting with a leadoff single by Romsburg. After he stole second and Andrew Kelbaugh drew a one-out walk, Corey Walters laced an opposite-field double to left. Romsburg scored, but Kelbaugh was thrown out at the plate.
The call was disputed, as Williamsport claimed that Middletown catcher Chase Weller dropped the ball. After an umpires conference, the call stood.
Maddux Grove followed with a two-out single to score Walters for the lead.
The Knights got the runs back in the bottom of the inning as Luke Pryor led off with a single to right before taking second on Brown’s sacrifice bunt. Trevor Woelkers hit an RBI single and took second on a throw home.
With two outs, Crist cashed in with a double to make it a 3-2 game.
Middletown picked up an insurance run in the fourth as Keegan Waters led off with a single and advanced on another sacrifice bunt, this one by Pryor. Brown doubled to left to make it 4-2.
The rest of the game went to the pitchers. Walters came on in relief for Williamsport after the double and kept the Knights off the scoreboard — stranding two runners at third — despite three wild pitches.
Middletown collected eight hits, led by Crist with two and two RBIs. Brown also had two hits.
Brown got the victory with four inning of hitless relief and six strikeouts.
Romburg lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing three unearned runs on eight hits while striking out three. Walters had two walks and four strikeouts.
It put an end to another good season for the Wildcats, despite struggling for most of the season offensively.
“That’s the way it was all season,” Jamison said. “I’m really proud of these guys and how they worked to get us to the section final.”
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