Allegany drops pitchering duel to Clear Spring, 1-0, in state semifinals

May 25—FREDERICK, Md. — Even when everything goes according to plan, the baseball gods often have other ideas.

In a scoreless pitchering duel between Allegany right-hander Griffin Madden and Clear Spring southpaw Hutson Trobaugh in the Class 1A state semifinals, one moment of misfortune in the fifth inning decided the contest.

A lead-off hit-by-pitch by Clear Spring No. 9 hitter Chris Hose and an error put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Madden pitched a ground-out that was handled by third baseman Alex Kennell and thrown to first, and the Campers appeared to have the lead runner doubled off trying to take third base.

However, Allegany shortstop Darian Bauer slipped on the slick infield dirt dampened by rain earlier in the day, first baseman Caeden Wallace's on-target throw went into foul territory and Hose crossed home plate.

Trobaugh was un-hittable, striking out 16 in seven innings of two-hit ball, and that one run was enough for Clear Spring to down Allegany, 1-0, at McCurdy Field on Tuesday night.

"We've gone over all year long how the little things will eventually matter a whole lot," Allegany head coach Jon Irons said. "A couple of little things got us, and we usually put the ball in play better than that. Credit to their arm, he threw a heck of a game. He kept us off-balance, he did a nice job tonight.

"We did feel like we were going to get him late in the game. I'm confident in those guys. I've believed in them all year long. ... I felt like if we played a clean game the whole way through, we would've got him eventually."

While Allegany, which finishes the season 19-2, lost the game on the scoreboard in that fateful inning, the story of the game was Trobaugh, and the Campers' inability to put the ball in play.

The left-handed Radford commit had a string of eight straight strikeouts that spanned parts of the first and fourth innings. Madden bookended the stretch with a two-out single in the first and a one-out base knock in the fourth.

Other than that, only hit-by-pitches to Demetri Bascelli in the fifth and Josef Sneathen in the seventh resulted in baserunners.

"We made a couple mistakes there, but you know what, if we get the ball in play like we normally do, it's a different game," Irons said. "We didn't make them field a whole lot."

When the Campers did put the ball in play, Clear Spring displayed fine glovework.

Hose, the Blazers' third baseman, made an incredible diving stop on a hard ground ball by Wallace in the 5-6 hole for a web gem to rob what was possibly an extra-base hit, recording the second out in the sixth.

Madden needed to expend more energy than Trobaugh to put up zeroes, but he was up to the challenge. The junior James Madison commit allowed one unearned run on five hits with nine strikeouts and one free pass in seven innings of work.

"Two special arms went at it today, and we just happened to get a run across and win," Clear Spring head coach Mark Shives said.

Clear Spring may have tallied its winning score on a fluky play, but its win was no fluke.

After Madden came out and struck out the side in the first, the Blazers were all over the base paths in the second through fourth innings.

Damien Pittsnogle led off the second with a single up the middle, Dawson Kehr walked on four pitches and Kannon Shives laid down a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position with one out.

However, Madden induced a pop-out and right fielder Demetri Bascelli made a running grab in foul territory, narrowly avoiding a spill after sliding in the gravel beside the batting cage in right field.

A lead-off knock by Hose and a one-out single by Trobaugh — who would swipe second soon after in a first-and-third scenario — produced the same situation an inning later.

Madden tossed a fly-out to right, and Bascelli made a strong throw home to hold the tying run at third. The right-hander struck out the next batter to strand two more.

Clear Spring made it three straight frames with the lead-off man on with a single by Kehr in the fourth. Like clockwork, Shives bunted him over. Kehr took third on a dropped third strike, but Madden once again got out of the jam with a K.

Allegany couldn't walk the tight rope one more time, as a HBP to Hose in the fifth eventually resulted in the game's only score.

If fate hadn't stepped in, the game may still be ongoing.

"I think that was going to be a double play," Irons said of the run-scoring sequence. "He lost his footing there and the ball ended up going over his head. Everything we did was right, he just slipped and sometimes that just happens."

Trobaugh had complete mastery of his pitches Tuesday, placing his fastball, slider and change-up wherever he wanted to. With the left-handed maestro conducting his symphony, the Allegany hitters appeared to be second-guessing themselves all night.

"I had everything working," Trobaugh said. "I felt good from the beginning. Everything was working tonight."

Allegany appeared to regain some momentum in the sixth when Madden retired the side in order. With the top of the line-up coming up, it seemed like now or never for the Campers.

Trobaugh and his batterymate Pittsnogle capitalized on the Campers' eagerness to get something started, using Trobaugh's off-speed stuff to pitch backward and put Alco in early holes.

The 6-foot-3 junior lefty struck out the side in order to eradicate any momentum. Allegany got a runner on in the seventh with a HBP, but he couldn't get past first.

"They're an aggressive-swinging team, so he kind of had a chance to pitch backward a couple times, which was huge," Mark Shives said. "Locating the baseball early and often for a strike was huge."

Allegany finished with no runs on two hits with two errors. Clear Spring tallied one run on five hits with one error.

The Campers were young this year, as Bauer, Bascelli and McClay were the only seniors in the starting nine. Irons hopes those fourth-years will leave a lasting legacy for future teams to follow.

Next year's squad certainly won't be lacking for motivation.

"They're a really good group of kids," Irons said. "I'm proud of them. This isn't how we wanted to end. They battle, and they fight, and they don't back down from anybody.

"Those seniors, in all respects, led this team. ... I'm hoping now, these younger guys will carry that on. They have set a great example. Those seniors, I'm going to miss them."

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.