Chesapeake will try to defend its 4A title against Sherwood Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Maryland.
Lauren Gibson went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and pitched a complete game.
By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.comIt wasn’t too long ago that Chesapeake was going through what it considered a bit of a slump at the plate.
The Cougars had to come from behind to beat Severna Park in the regional quarterfinals and didn’t score until late and only pushed across three runs to beat Arundel in the regional semifinals.
But that seems like forever ago now after an 11-4 win over a tough Linganore team in Wednesday’s 4A state semifinals at Bauchman Park in Glen Burnie.
“We had our scares; we’re just ready for everything now,” Chesapeake senior Angela Yannone said. “We finally got those clutch hits and now everybody is getting clutch hits. We kind of molded as a team since and we’re even better now. It’s like hitting is addicting.”
Chesapeake (23-2) will attempt to defend its crown against Sherwood, whom it beat in last year’s state semifinals, 3-2, in the 4A state finals at the University of Maryland at 6:30 p.m. With Wednesday’s win, the Cougars reached their fourth state final in the past five years.
“I’m so excited to win another state championship,” Yannone said. “It’s my senior year so I’m looking to go out with a bang.”
Bang was the magic word Wednesday as the Cougars banged out 11 hits. They scored the game’s first run in the second inning on an RBI single by Alexis Matula and then got two more runs via Linganore (18-2) errors. Erika Stasch brought home the inning’s fourth run with an RBI groundout and Lauren Gibson drove home another with a double.
Gibson, who entered the game batting a team-high .484 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs, went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. She also pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits while striking out nine batters.
“As the year goes on we get more intense and we get better and better just because we’re closer to states,” Gibson said. “I think with closer games everyone gets their nerves out and as the year goes on we become more of a team and start working together and start scoring more runs.”
After Chesapeake’s five-run outburst in the bottom of the second, the Lancers responded with three runs of their own. The first three batters reached base, two on bunts, and were driven home on a Ashley Crawford single and Sam Staub double to bring the score to 5-3.
The Cougars went down in order in the next inning and Linganore put its first two runners on base and scored on an RBI single by Kristin Fraley to make the score, 5-4. Linganore wasn’t going to make it easy.
“It’s definitely harder [to reach the state finals again],” Chesapeake junior Kelly Hickaman said. “Everyone is out to get us. They’ve been out to get us since the beginning of the season, but we pull through.
That’s just when the bats broke the game open. Chesapeake sent all nine batters to the plate in the fourth, started by a Samantha Pettie single, in which she scored on a Gibson RBI triple, which she hit despite Linganore's efforts to intentionally walk her. Hickman followed with an RBI triple of her own and Amanda Montgomery drove in a fourth run that inning with a single that put the game out of reach at 9-3.
Asked what changed between the start of the playoffs and now, Chesapeake Coach Don Ellenberger said he didn’t know
“But I hope we do it for at least one more game,” he added with a laugh. “We went into a little slump there for a while. Then, all of a sudden, the bats are starting to wake up. I think a lot of it has to do with the kids and their confidence.”