No. 2 Allegany Beats No. 3 Fort Hill, 4-2, In Region Semis

CUMBERLAND — Allegany outscored Fort Hill by 29 runs during the regular season, but at the midway point Saturday, the Sentinels held a 2-1 lead.

The Campers responded by tying the game in the fourth on a Landyn Ansel sacrifice fly, and they took the lead for good after Jackson Resh's two-out, two-RBI single in the fifth.

Myles Bascelli retired the final 12 Fort Hill hitters, striking out the side in the seventh, and No. 2 Allegany came back for a 4-2 victory over No. 3 Fort Hill in the Class 1A West Region I semifinals on Saturday.

"When you get into playoff baseball, the games play different," Allegany manager Jon Irons said. "We tried to have the right mental focus, not expecting anything to be easy, expecting challenges and being willing to perform in those situations and not panic.

"I thought we did a nice job of that. We maintained our composure after things didn't go our way early, and we found a way through."

Fort Hill (11-8) was routed by Allegany (14-4) during the regular season in a pair of run rules, 15-1 and 16-1, the latter occurring just eight days prior to Saturday.

In single-elimination playoff baseball, the Sentinels were right there with a chance to send their rivals home.

It was 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Fort Hill right-hander Carson Bender retired the first two Campers, but an error extended the inning.

Kane Williams followed with a double, his second of the game, bringing Resh to the plate with two men in scoring position.

Resh pounded a 2-1 pitch into the infield grass, and it bounced high over the Fort Hill third baseman and into left field.

"Need to be simple," Resh said of his approach. "If they give me a pitch, hit it somewhere in play and give us a chance. ... It wasn't struck very well, but it got the job done."

Bascelli, who relieved Kohen Madden on the mound with two outs in the third inning, slammed the door with a pair of one-two-three innings, striking out five of them.

The right-hander earned the win throwing 4 1/3 shutout, no-hit innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Just one Fort Hill batter reached base on him, a hit by pitch to lead off the fourth inning.

"I just wanted to go in there and pound, throw strikes," Bascelli said. "I knew my team was going to back me up on defense."

Fort Hill led twice Saturday, first taking the lead on a two-out single by Jacob VanMeter that scored Bobby Brauer in the opening frame.

Bascelli kicked off the bottom half of the first with a double and came around on an RBI groundout by Madden to tie the score.

Fort Hill regained its advantage in the second via a Coye Resh RBI single up the middle and held it until Ansel's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.

"I thought it was a solid game for both teams," Fort Hill manager Tanner Brode said. "They got a very fortunate hit, a fortunate bounce and it drove in the two winning runs. Not taking anything away from them. That was tough."

Allegany out-hit Fort Hill, 9-6, and neither team issued a walk. The Campers had one more error, 2-1.

Williams and Liam Buck had multiple hits for Allegany. Ansel doubled, and Williams scored twice.

Brauer went 2 for 3 for Fort Hill.

Bender took the loss despite five solid inning of work. He allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Brauer pitched a scoreless sixth.

Madden gave up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in a 2 2/3 inning no decision.

Both Madden and Bascelli threw under 60 pitches, so both will be available in Tuesday's region championship game at Northern (18-2), which won 7-6 over Southern Saturday.

Fort Hill finishes with an 11-8 mark — the program's most wins in 20 years.

"Going into the season, we really felt like we were going to have a rough year," said Brode, who played seven underclassmen Saturday. "For them to have grown as much as they have this year, we're excited for the future.

"This whole week, we really talked to the sophomores about remaining balanced and trying to stay consistent. In this game, there's a lot of highs and lows. I think we did a pretty d*** good job."

Allegany, which has won 11 of its last 12 games, is looking to avenge a pair of regular-season losses to Northern.

First pitch is slated for Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

"We played Northern twice, but it was very early in the year," Irons said. "We're not the same team we were those first two games, but they aren't either. Beating Northern in the playoffs is always a challenge.

"I feel like these kids are going to embrace that. They'd like nothing more than to get back at Northern for those two losses early in the year."