2A

South Carroll High School 5 - 6 Century High School

The Varsity Scrimmage, Edgewood vs. Long Reach, on March 17, was cancelled.

The Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC) has 14 teams, but three stood out this past softball season: Huntingtown, Chopticon, and Leonardtown. All three schools captured their respective class titles in May. Huntingtown Wins Class 2A Title 3-2 vs. Stephen Decatur After losing 4-2 to Rising Sun in the 2A title game in 2024, Huntingtown had the opportunity to redeem themselves against Stephen Decatur on the same stage and did so, beating them 3-2. "After losing last year, and just coming back and winning, it feels great," said senior pitcher Jordyn Greever. Greever threw a complete game, even managing to escape a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning to help her team win. After her performance, head coach Mike Johnson credited Greever, calling her the best pitcher in the state of Maryland. "I've been able to watch Jordan now for four years, progressively work harder and harder and harder to get to this point," voiced Johnson. This was the first time the Hurricanes had won the state title since 2019. It was also Johnson's sixth title with Huntingtown and tenth overall in Maryland. Chopticon Wins First State Title In 40 Years Chopticon had not won a state title in 40 years. However, their 5-3 win against Sherwood changed history. "I feel like it hasn't hit me, like how crazy it is," exclaimed senior pitcher Carrie Hayden. "The fact that it literally has been 40 years since we've won, and that we did win, like I don't think it's like, set in yet like how big of a deal it is." Throughout the season, the Braves only lost two games, both to Leonardtown. But those two losses helped the team strengthen its bond on the field and grow closer to one another. Chopticon had two chances within the last ten years to win the 3A title in 2016 and 2022, but fell short both times. When the opportunity came this season to return to the same stage, they dominated, giving Head Coach Kevin Cioppa his first state championship. Leonardtown Wins 4A Title Two Years In A Row For the second year in a row, Leonardtown softball won the Class 4A title, this time against Winston Churchill 5-0. This season, all of the Raiders rosters returned but one player, which benefited Head Coach Kim Woodburn and fueled the team's goal to become back-to-back state champions. "They worked really hard all year to make sure that happened, or I should say all season," stated Woodburn. One of those returners was senior pitcher Claire Radford, who finished her season and career at Leonardtown with over 500 career strikeouts and a 0.71 ERA. In the 4A title game, she threw a complete game, allowing only two hits and adding an RBI single to help seal the shutout win. "I think I push myself even harder to make sure that I was able to improve on what I had put into last year," Radford stated in regards to this season. The Maryland softball player of the year is taking her talents to the University of South Carolina-Aiken and credits Leonardtown for helping her grow into the player she is. "They definitely gave me a lot of confidence," said Radford. Conclusion Taking three out of the four state titles is rare for a conference to do, but that shows how competitive SMAC is. Many athletes across SMAC have played travel ball together, which helps gain a sense of familiarity within the conference and teams. Chopticon players Brooke Colliflower, Cassidy Wolfe, and Cioppa all emphasized how the success within each team, alongside the close games and competitiveness, add to that reputation within the conference. “I think that the SMAC conference is one of the best conferences in the state, and I think it has been for a long time,” said Cioppa.

After falling short in the Class 2A title in 2024, Huntingtown softball redeemed themselves with a 3-2 win against Stephen Decatur this season. “It feels awesome,” said senior pitcher Jordyn Greever. “Especially after the past years, and after losing last year, and just coming back and winning, it feels great.” After heartbreak towards the end of the 2024 season, the Hurricanes (18-3) came in with one goal: winning a state championship after losing one on the same stage. But last year’s experience made the team want to work harder. Coming into the season, they lost three seniors, but added three new freshmen who fit in well with the group. Throughout their season, their strength and bond was present on the field, leading them to an 18 win season, and a state title. During the 2A title game, Greever was able to throw a complete game, even when the times were tough. In the sixth inning, the Hurricanes had one out with bases loaded, but Greever was able to stay calm and composed to help secure the victory. After her performance, she received high praise from Head Coach Mike Johnson, who called her the best pitcher in the state of Maryland. “I've been able to watch Jordan now for four years, progressively work harder and harder and harder to get to this point,” said Johnson. For Huntingtown, this is their first state title win since 2019, and for Johnson, his sixth with the program, and tenth state championship overall in Maryland. “It was just amazing to sit back and watch. It's probably the most fun I've had in a long, long time coaching a team,” said Johnson.

With the game tied 1-1 in the 4th, they broke away from Stephen Decatur in the 6th and never looked back — clinching the win 3-2! 🔥💪🥎

So we discovered Northeast HS 🥎🥎 team was having their Alumni Night while searching for a game to attend. The Sparrows Point Pionters battled the Northeast Eagles. The beginning innings were back and forth until Eagles led with a run. BOTH of the teams displayed excellent pitching. Not until the bottom of the 5th did the Eagles begin to pull away and go on to remain undefeated. It was a great night interacting with fans and watching some great softball. BIG SHOUTS to the POINTERS and the EAGLES. Continued success to the both of you. Enjoy the game highlights. #marylandhighschoolsports #millerflowvlogs #softball #highschoolsoftball 
FINAL SCORE: POINTERS - 0 EAGLES - 6 👀 MFV U📺🔗⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vswz5IjlRno

🥎🥎 AN AFTERNOON OF CLASSY SOFTBALL Wilde Lake vs Long Reach A great day for softball. We pulled up to Long Reach HS to see the Wilde Lake Wildcats face the Long Reach Lightning. Both teams chose to support and cheer their teammates on in excellence the large lead by the Lightning. Sportsmanship at its best. Great job ladies, BIG SHOUTS to the WILDCATS and the LIGHTNING. Enjoy the highlights!!!! #marylandhighschoolsports #millerflowvlogs #softball #highschoolsoftball FINAL SCORE: WILDCATS - 9 LIGHTNING - 20, 👀 MFV U📺🔗⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3CDtANq8LQ

Let's go girl's get this win

Let's go N.E

Abby Marmen finishes the first full week of the season batting .571 with an OPS of 2.007. She had 8 hits, including 1 triple and 3 OTF homeruns. Nine RBIs.

Pulled up to the Long Reach HS softball field for home opener softball game, as the Glenelg Gladiators faced off vs the Long Reach Lightning. A game of communication, as Glenelg established a 5 run lead in the 1st three innings. However, Long Reach began to make their mark scoring some key runs between the 4th and 6th innings. Unfortunately, MFV had another engagement to attend, so I was unable to film the finishing parts of the matchup. However, I found the score listed below was the final score (If wrong, just let me know). BIG SHOUTS to BOTH these teams, GLADIATORS and LIGHTNING. Keep working ladies. You guys did a wonderful job communicating on both sides. Thank you Long Reach HS for allowing us to come and film. FINAL SCORE: GLADIATORS - 11 LIGHTNING - 7, 👀 MFV U📺🔗⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4YlPgwXHyw

Abbie Frisvold pitched all seven innings for the win over Glenelg. Catherine Yourishin had a solo homerun with 3 hits totally. Keira Walsh and Shelby Granzow both had two hits a piece. It was a team win!

Major Highlights: Abby Marmen: 2 for 3. Single and game winning homerun in the bottom of the sixth, breaking a 1-1 tie and scoring two runs. Abby has homered in each of our first two games! Mary Pfaff: Winning pitcher. Pitched six full innings and hit a solo homerun in the 3rd inning to get Fallston on the board.

Abbie Frisvold pitched 4 scoreless innings with Annie Wethington to finish the game pitching. Annie Daigle had a day at the plate with 3 hits. While Abbie Frisvold, Cambell Sagin and Catherine Yourishin all had two hits a piece.

Rising Sun softball came into the spring 2024 season having lost 8 seniors and their whole pitching staff. Despite these loses, the team stepped up and players rose to the occasion, including two junior pitchers. Coach Paul Taylor noted that “we knew that we had to do more defense this year because years prior we had more strike out pitching, and defense came through. Hitting wise there was dominance in the top of the lineup and the bottom of the line up came through when we needed them, which was key.” In regard to the team’s mindset and attitude, Coach Taylor said the team has a “refuse to lose mentality. Even when we fell behind there was no panic or getting upset, just the straight will to win.” The team took each practice and game one day at a time, one game at a time, and one inning at a time, which was key when returning to the championship. A lot of the players had been at the big game before, allowing both the coaches and the players to come in more relaxed with the confidence that they knew how to win and also some players had been around to know the feeling of losing it as well. Throughout the season and until the end, some leading players in the team’s success that Coach Taylor mentioned include Jordan Lynch, Josalyn McMillan, Sam Dixon, Madison Ore, Taylor Stapleford, Bri Cole, and Aubrey McCoy. While these players were a huge help, it takes the whole team to win, and they came together and succeeded in earning a back-to-back championship title. Coach Taylor added “It was special how the team grew together. Jordan Lynch’s father had passed away at the end of the season (he was a lot of the teams travel coach for years), and the girls pulled together and played for him. This shows the drive they had, and this was a huge milestone in the culture that myself and Mike McBride have made for the team to want to come play and have fun with each other while being successful.” Photo from: Instagram (@kennypagesports)

With the win over Long Reach and the regular season ending Glenelg has officially won the 2024 County Title.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NN1bjArmDk

Franklin played their hearts out and left it all out on the field. They tried their best defensively but came up short.

8 innings Brunswick 6Middletown 5Ava Higgins, 2b, 1bTaylor Benson 3b, 1bMadi Kean, 1bSienna Russo, 2b, 1bEmy Minnick, 1bPitchingKassidy Barnhouse 5.1 innings, 9 KO’s, 2 hits, Sienna Russo, WP, 2.2 innings

Addi Pence hit her first high school home run. Reese Holden on her senior day hit a home run as well. Kaylee Brogan walked it off for the Gladiators with a double in the 6th to score the 13th run.