East II

Five hundred career strikeouts are just a number, but for Alyssa Blaney, it was her milestone accomplishment. "This has been a goal, my long-term goal since I started high school. I was like I want to hit 500," said Blaney. In the spring of her senior year, the utility player hit that goal. Blaney began playing t-ball at the age of five. Growing up, she always played with girls a year above her age, as she thought it would make her better. Her want to pitch was what made her fall in love with the sport. "Ever since I was little, I would watch, like, college softball and be like, I want to do that," stated Blaney. "So, I basically self-taught myself how to pitch." During her time playing recreational softball, she gained experience not only within the circle but also at other positions, such as third base and shortstop. Those skills and lessons carried over into high school, where she played almost every position; however, she faced some trials and tribulations across those four years. In her sophomore year, Blaney had five stress fractures in her foot, which caused a setback. "She played for a month on five fractures, thinking it was a bruised toe because that's what they kept telling her when she was going to get it checked," said her father, Billy Blaney. "It was a bruised toe, and then finally, they got an MRI." Alyssa ended up playing through this pain for another month, which taught her how to support and help her team from afar rather than on the field. However, another issue arose: North Point's softball coach had stepped down, leaving a vacant spot. Her dad, Billy Blaney, who has coached Alyssa since she was ten, stepped in to be the North Point softball head coach when she was a junior. He had been helping some of the girls train during the off-season, helping develop that trust. When that position became available, it was clear that the girls wanted him to coach. "I received a lot of support from the girls. A lot of the girls were going to Alyssa and asking if I would be interested in taking over and coaching the North Point program. So, I did take that over," he said. During his time as head coach, not only has he seen Alyssa thrive, but she has also accomplished many milestones, including her 500th career strikeout. "I knew where I was, I knew I needed one more strikeout, and it was the first inning, first batter," Blaney stated. Blaney ended her softball career not only with the 500 strikeout milestone but with a First Team All-SMAC award and the Charles County Player of the Year. After four stellar years at North Point, she will be taking her talents to Shepherd University in the fall to play softball.

Leonardtown softball had been one of the top teams in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC) all season. With only one loss to Huntingtown, they captured the SMAC title and the Class 4A title for consecutive years. "Last year was not an expected experience, and that is something that they shock themselves with," said Head Coach Kim Woodburn. "They had that desire to continue and to reach for those same goals again, and they worked really hard all year to make sure that that happened." This year, Woodburn had all but one player return on her roster to make all those milestones happen. One of those returners was MaxPreps' Maryland softball player of the year, Claire Radford. The senior pitcher has been a part of the Leonardtown softball program all four years. When she first began with the team, she started at shortstop but was actively pitching then. It was not until the senior pitcher quit that she realized the opportunity had opened. "I kind of had to step up towards the end of my freshman year and finish out the season pitching-wise," she explained. Radford began to see growth within herself while pitching freshman year. That growth continued to show during her time at Leonardtown. During her junior year, she hit 200 career strikeouts, even throwing a five-inning perfect game in the 2024 Class 4A title game against Eleanor Roosevelt. During the 4A title game this year, Radford added to her resume, tallying 16 strikeouts and only allowing two hits. She finished her senior season with a 0.71 ERA and more than 500 career strikeouts to end her career at Leonardtown. "I'm just really proud of myself for being able to show that I can… still make a difference in the Leonardtown program, and even in just SMAC," Radford says. Radford is heading to the University of South Carolina-Aiken in the fall and is looking forward to growing as a pitcher.

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.

Senior Claire Radford strikes out 16 in a complete game shutout, leading Leonardtown to a 5-0 win and the Class 4A softball title again! 🔥🥎

With the sun shining and bats ready, the Leonardtown Raiders stormed into the Girls 4A Softball State Championships this week with a win against the Churchill Bulldogs by 5-0! Leonardtown also finished with 15 strikeouts. What a showdown!

We PULLED UP to Broadneck HS for a softball thriller. The undefeated Northeast Eagles faced off against the one-loss Broadneck Bruins. See the highlights on MFV YT page: youtu.be/1bJYQ-PWRj4 FINAL SCORE: EAGLES - 7 BRUINS - 2 #marylandhighschoolsports #millerflowvlogs #softball #highschoolsoftball 👀 MFV U📺🔗⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJYQ-PWRj4

Leonardtown was down 6 to 4 in the top of the seventh. Lindsay Hunter hit a three run home run to take the lead.

Leonardtown delivers an absolutely stunning performance in the softball championship! They secure a remarkable 14-0 win in just 5 innings, playing a perfect game!

On Wednesday, April 17th the Broadneck Bruins faced the Annapolis Panthers at home, marking the second time the teams have faced each other this season.Junior Addie Cornelius started the game, pitching the first three innings, going 3 up 3 down in all three and striking out 7 of the 9 batters she faced. Senior Sam Waters completed the game, pitching the 4th and 5th innings, striking out 6 of the 7 batters she faced, giving up just one hit in the fifth with a blooper to shallow right.On offense, the Bruins’ juniors earned all the RBIs of the day. Abby Favazza led the team with 3 RBIs, and had a standup double up the left field line in the bottom of the fourth. Amanda Ford drove in 2 runs, and Cornelius, Lily Kisling, Elena Durkin, and Chiara McIntosh each earned an RBI. Kisling and senior Mara Gilkey led the team in steals with 4 a piece.Tomorrow the Bruins face the South River Seahawks on the road at 4:45

Varsity softball had a nailbiter on the road as they faced the Northeast Eagles on Thursday, April 11th.Freshman Rylan Crisafulli pitched the whole game, striking out ten, and walking four.On defense, the Bruins committed no errors, and had a number of impressive plays. In the third inning, senior shortstop Mara Gilkey fielded a comebacker to Crisafulli. Also in the third, junior Aliceanna Weibley caught 2 fly ***** to thwart the Eagles chances of extending their 2-0 lead. She also made a diving catch in shallow right in the fourth. In the fifth inning, junior Bella Herrera made a diving stop at third, and still made the throw to first in time, with the scoop by junior Lily Kisling, the first baseman. In the sixth inning, with bases loaded, Kisling made a double play herself, first snagging a hard hit line drive to first, and then quickly stepping on the bag before Northeast’s runner had a chance to make it back.On offense, the Bruins’ bats were quiet the first three innings with the exception of Weibley’s line drive single to center and Gilkey’s liner to left. In the fourth inning, the Bruins, down 2-0, had three hits in a row that put them ahead. Junior Grace Purdum tripled to right, well over the fielder’s head. Weibley, up next, bunted on the first pitch, getting on base. Kisling, with two runners on, doubled to right, bringing Purdum in for the first run. Weibley advanced to third on the hit, and an overthrown ball to third brought her in for the second run. Senior Hailey Adamson’s sacrifice bunt advanced Kisling to third, and when the first baseman tried to throw out Kisling, the ball skipped past the third baseman, allowing Kisling to score the third run. In the seventh inning, up 3-2, Crisafulli doubled to left, bringing in Adamson, who had walked, for the fourth run.The momentum for both teams ebbed and flowed throughout the game, with the Bruins leading 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Eagles’ last at bat, brought in three more runs, sealing a 5-4 win.Tomorrow the Bruins play at home, facing Old Mill High School at 4:45.

In their first game of the season, the Broadneck Bruins varsity softball team traveled to Southern High School, where they defeated the Bulldogs 13-0.Senior Sam Waters pitched a complete game shutout striking out 10 while only giving up 2 hits and walking 2. Junior Abby Favazza called a masterful game as catcher, keeping the Bulldogs off the bases.On offense, Junior Addie Cornelius led the team, going 3 for 5 at the plate. Senior Hailey Adamson secured the first RBI of the game in the second inning with a bunt that brought home Junior Grace Purdum. Waters’ single to right center brought the Bruins two more runs with Junior Lily Kisling and Adamson scoring. Other notable hits included Kisling’s double on a line drive to left, bringing in Purdum again. In the fourth inning Junior Bella Herrera lined to left, putting another run on the scoreboard with her single. Purdum and Senior Mara Gilkey led the Bruins with the most stolen bases of the day, and each had two hits. In the sixth inning, Junior Aliceanna Weibley hit a hot one past the shortstop, reaching first. At the top of the seventh inning, Junior Malayna Owens, with her second hit of the game, doubled right down the third base line, driving in one run, and Gilkey doubled with a liner to left, driving in two more runs.The Bruins’13th and final run of the game was scored by Weibley, who was brought home by Purdum’s single. Freshman Rylan Crisafulli got her first varsity hit of her high school career, with a hit down the center in the 7th inning. Sophomore Diana Owens, pinch-running for pitcher Waters, effortlessly sped around the bases,scoring twice.The Bruins travel to Annapolis High School on Monday, March 25th, where they will face the Panthers at 4:45.

This game was played on 4/22/2023. Lindsay Hunter had 2 home runs and Sarah Fortescue and Morgan Moritz each had a homerun. Several solid hits by the whole team lead to the win. countysports.zone/scores/view/TadbMHAk3xqXyH91Gih_l

Brianna Ford throws a one hit shutout for the Seahawks. countysports.zone/scores/view/xeuNVsWp2meEJ-0NVfvqt

Caroline Morey pitched a no-hitter in her first start with 12 strikeouts. countysports.zone/scores/view/5B2O7sis1DXnM1Hbge_2F

Kayleigh Rishel had 13 SO countysports.zone/scores/view/FoIL9iDQAUx3zjA7ejweF