St. Joe claims sole possession of second place in A Conference; St. Paul's walks-off Severn in B Conference showdown

by Nelson Coffin

Despite falling, 6-3, in the first game of a three-game series against Archbishop Spalding (13-5, 8-4 league), Mount St. Joseph (13-3, 9-3) captured the last two games of the series and nabbed second place behind league-leading Calvert Hall (16-3, 10-2) just beyond the midpoint of the A Conference campaign.

The Gaels’ lineup provided nine hits and took advantage of seven walks, two hit batsmen and four errors to overcome a robust Spalding rally from a 7-1 deficit that deadlocked the score, 8-8, in the top of the fifth in the middle game.

Braeden Ashburn’s 3-run homer and additional clutch hitting by St. Joe standouts Chase Nemec, Evan Whipp and Michael Goldsmith were key components of a slugfest that also featured some solid turns at the plate by Spalding’s Jonah Lewis, Tyler Jones and M.J. Marll.

The Gaels went on the road to secure a 5-4 triumph at Spalding on Friday, claiming the second spot in the standings, a game ahead of Cavaliers and John Carroll, which enjoyed another fine outing from senior Pierce Quinn, who extended a streak of not allowing more than one earned in his last five starts in John Carroll’s 4-1 triumph over Gilman. 

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander yielded two hits and struck out seven in a six-inning gem to halt  the Greyhounds’ three-game home winning streak. The Patriots won the middle game as well, 8-3, before Gilman responded with a convincing 14-5 win on Friday to salvage the final game.

Hot hitting by senior Colby Shilling (2-for-4, 2 2B’s, R, RBI) and junior Will Kelly (1-for-3, 2B, 2R, 2 RBIs) paced Loyola Blakefield’s 6-5 win over Archbishop Curley in the opener of a three-game set. 

In addition to those heroics, Jalen Watson enjoyed his first hit of the season for the Dons (6-9, 5-7), who also prevailed in the final two games, 11-6 and 12-2.

Calvert Hall completed a three-game sweep of McDonogh (1-12, 1-11) by edging the Eagles, 5-4, on Friday after taking the first two games by a combined 23-1.

Sophomore 2B/SS Luca Miller delivered a bases-loaded walk-off single with two outs in the seventh to propel St. Paul’s (10-3, 6-0) past Severn, 4-3, in a battle of B Conference division leaders.

Senior P/OF Andrew Mitchell reached on a three-base error to open the inning with the Crusaders trailing, 3-2, before junior OF/INF Jonah Spitulnik was hit by a pitch and senior OF/P Eli Livingston was walked intentionally. Mitchell scampered home on a wild pitch to tie the score before Miller ended the contest.

Senior reliever Charles Warner battled his way out of a bases-loaded jam run in the sixth for Severn (11-4, 7-1) by striking out junior DH Antonio Carpenter. Livingston doubled to get things started before junior C/1B Jaidyn Thornes was issued a free pass and senior SS/2B Brendan More had an infield single before Warner quashed the rally.

The Admirals had jumped ahead in the fourth on junior pinch hitter Samuel Fisher’s clutch two-run single.