Boonsboro Take 1A Championship in Extra Inning Thriller
May 27, 2018
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A four-run ninth inning for the Boonsboro Warriors proved to finally be the difference in the 1A state championship as they defeated the St. Michaels Saints by a score of 12-9 in a back-and-forth exciting contest.
Two high profile offenses were on display in the state championship of 1A and both teams did not disappoint in this contest. The scoring was early and often as after the first inning as Boonsboro put one run across and St. Michaels responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to make it a 3-1 Saints advantage.
Boonsboro would respond quickly in the top of the second, making the score even off a two-out, two-RBI triple from the bat of TJ Kalagher that quickly evened the score up at three. The Warriors would quiet the Saints bats in the bottom of the second inning, then a Ryan Nolan RBI groundout would give Boonsboro a 4-3 lead in the top of the third.
St. Michaels would take the lead at 5-4 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the third, only to see Boonsboro tie it back up in the top of the fourth. St. Michaels would then respond by taking a two run lead in the bottom of the inning off a two-run homerun from the bat of Nathan Howeth and the Saints would go up 7-5. Boonsboro would cut the lead to one in the top of the fifth with a two out RBI double from Brendan Kemp to make the score 7-6.
St. Michaels would manufacture a run in the in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 8-6 heading to the top of the seventh.
Boonsboro was down 8-6 then a two out double down the line from Ben Burgan kept the warriors alive in the inning. Kemp would drive a deep double to left center in the bottom of the frame to cut the lead to 8-7 and Peyton Mason would go for a long at bat, then eventually drive the ball up the middle to tie the game up at eight.
That was what the score would remain until the ninth inning when Boonsboro would get on the board in the top of the inning. Nolan started it off with a one-out single. Burgan would follow with a single of his own to follow. An out and a walk would occur to see the bases loaded as Boonsboro's Josh DeRocher came up to the plate. with two outs, DeRocher sent a deep fly ball that sailed over the left fielders head and clear the bags to make the score 11-8 Boonsboro. They would add another run in the to make it 12-8. St. Michaels would get one back in the bottom of the inning, but the game would end with the Warriors victorious.
Overall there were eight lead changes in this wild game that truly was a back-and-forth affair. The victory marks the third state championship for Boonsboro in school history with the previous two coming in 1985 and 2002.