By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

There were so many lead changes in his 3A West state semifinal game that Paint Branch baseball coach Tommy Rey couldn’t remember what exactly happened.

“It was back and forth the whole game,” Rey said. “That’s all I know.”

What mattered was that by the end of Thursday’s game, Paint Branch was on top, beating Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 8-7, to advance to Saturday’s regional finals against Seneca Valley, who defeated Damascus 4-3 in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The game was a microcosm of Paint Branch’s season, which has also had its share of highs and lows.

“We’ve had a roller coaster season,” Rey said. “I knew we had a good team in the beginning of the season but it was just a matter of putting it together. We didn’t put together that perfect game for a while. It only happened once or twice.”

Paint Branch took a 2-0 lead in the first inning but found itself down a run entering the fifth. The Panthers (12-6) scored one run in the fifth and then took the lead when Salisbury-bound catcher Michael Brown singled to right field to bring home Ricky LaSorta.

Brown went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Paint Branch’s starting pitcher Travis Hart pitched a complete game and went 3-for-3 with a double, walk and two RBIs.

B-CC, who knocked off top-seeded Frederick, was seeded eighth in the bracket. Paint Branch was a No. 4 seed. The Panthers lost to Seneca Valley, 5-4, during the regular season after leading for much of the game but making costly errors late.

“We found out some deficiencies we had,” Rey said. “We worked in practice on more defensive drills and made some switches in the lineup three weeks ago. Once that happened, we started playing some really good ball.”