CUMBERLAND — After a 17-game winning streak, a return to the state tournament and another Western Maryland Athletic Conference title, Allegany was the runaway pick for the area championship.
The title is Allegany’s third and a row and eighth all-time, moving it out of a tie with Frankfort for second-most. Only Southern with 11 has more area championships.
“The past three years we’ve been on a good little run,” Allegany head coach Jon Irons said. “Winning the area has kind of been our expectation at Allegany since before I’ve got here under Scott Bauer. We’ve done a great job of continuing that.
“These seniors have been a big part of that the last three years, in some way shape or form. Some were role players, some were major contributors right away.”
The area championship is determined by the final area sportswriter poll, which is chosen by a panel of six voters: Jeff Landes, Jordan Kendall, Kyle Bennett and Alex Rychwalski (Cumberland Times-News), Chapin Jewell (Mineral News Tribune), and Trevor King (Garrett County Republican).
Allegany received five first-place votes for 29 poll points, followed by Frankfort (22-9), which got the other one, at 23 points, East Hardy (23-7) with 19, Keyser (18-5) with 13 and Northern (11-8) with five.
Southern (11-9) was the only other school to receive a vote, getting one point.
Frankfort made a late surge for the area crown winning the West Virginia Class AA state championship, but the voters appeared to take into account Allegany’s head-to-head 18-6 and 10-1 wins over the Falcons.
The Campers set themselves apart throughout the season with a pitching staff that had a 1.82 ERA and a defense that averaged just one error per game.
Junior Myles Bascelli had the lowest ERA on the team at 0.98, allowing just six earned runs on 24 hits in 42 2/3 innings pitched. The right-hander struck out 65 and walked 24.
Senior Bryce Madden, who will continue his career at Glenville State next year, was the team’s ace and ended with a 1.04 ERA. Madden, a RHP, gave up six runs on only 12 hits in 40 1/3 frames with 65 Ks and 14 walks.
Another future college baseball player in senior RHP Caden Long (Frostburg State) filled out the area’s best starting rotation. He logged a 2.44 ERA with 66 strikeouts to 23 walks in a team-high 46 innings on the mound.
“We are very big on three things,” Irons said. “Pitch the ball well, make every single routine play, and we have to make the little things right offensively. We emphasize our pitcher development, and we have had natural talent, and that’s a big part too.
“Assistant coach Ryan Miller does a great job with our pitchers and catchers.”
Madden and Long are part of a four-player senior class that has had a part in area championships, three WestMAC titles, a state semifinal appearance, a state quarterfinal trip and a 56-10 record.
Madden, a shortstop when he wasn’t pitching, batted .437 with four doubles, three triples, 19 RBIs, 30 runs scored and stole 20 bases from the lead-off hole.
Senior first baseman Caedon Wallace (Allegany College) was Allegany’s top power threat clubbing an area-high seven home runs and four doubles on a .409 average. He had 33 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Catcher Josef Sneathen (Garrett College) was a three-year starter behind the plate and drove in 15 runs — four of which came around on a grand slam at Northern on April 10.
“This team, of the three, was probably the one that people didn’t expect to achieve what they did,” Irons said. “I got a lot of before the year, ‘Do you think we’ll be any good this year?’ This year was a lot of fun. When you have seniors like we had, every day is fun. That’s what made the last game so difficult.”
The last game Irons referenced was a 3-1 upset at the hands of Patterson Mill, which started the postseason as the No. 4 seed in its own region and ended up finishing second in all of Class 1A.
While Allegany hasn’t been able to break through in three years under Irons, it’s been knocking on the door consistently.
“Obviously we have talent, but we have kids who really buy in and work the last three years,” Irons said of Alco’s sustained success. “Not just in March but all 12 months. We’ve also had great senior leadership, from Darian Bauer, Alex (Kennell) and Griffin (Madden), then Wally (Caedon Wallace) and Bryce (Madden). Culture is a big part of it.”
Irons also credited his coaching staff of Miller, Blake Geatz and Brandon Reed, as well as junior varsity coaches Cody and Roy Jeffrys, Cody Ellsworth and Matt Wright.
“I can’t say enough about coaches,” Irons said. “Our JV coaches do a great job of development, not just trying to win. You have to try to trust your assistant coaches, and I do. They do a great job. I’m so fortunate to have those guys.”
This Allegany team, like the two before it, featured a blend of young talent with a collection of seniors.
Freshman Kohen Madden started every game and batted .382 with 26 RBIs and 20 runs scored, and juniors Bascelli (.297 AVG, three home runs), Jackson Resh (.357), Eli Imes (.308) and defensive standout Landyn Ansel (.208) were key contributors who will return.
Freshman Kane Williams also appeared in 20 games and showed flashes of power with four extra-base hits.
“That’s a little bit by design,” Irons said. “You kind of have to have guys to replace players, and you have to give young guys a chance. When you look at your program, you’re not going to have too many years when you have nine seniors. We have good talent coming, going all the way down to Braddock being undefeated and winning the championship.
“We hope to keep it rolling, doesn’t end here. Hopefully, we can check that one last big box here and keep it moving forward.”