HANOVER — Garrett County had one of the finest defenses in the state tournament, but there’s no defense for base on balls.
Post 71/208/214’s pitching walked eight Old Mill batters and plunked two more — seven of those free passes ended up scoring — as Garrett County fell 8-1 in a Maryland American Legion state tournament elimination game on Sunday at Joe Cannon Stadium.
Garrett County finished 1-2 on the weekend to end the summer with an 18-7-1 record.
“We knew we’d have to piece some stuff together (on the mound),” Garrett County manager Phil Carr said. “But again we didn’t hit. You get to this game, you know you’re not going to throw a shutout.
“The first inning sets the tone. We did it yesterday. They did it today.”
The defeat was a repeat of Garrett’s opening-day loss to St. Mary’s on Friday, when the Mountain District squad fell behind 3-0 after the top half of the first inning and never recovered in a 9-1 defeat.
Garrett was only out-hit 9-7 and had multiple runners on base with less than two outs in each of the first three innings, but unlike the club’s 11-1 drubbing of Severna Park on Saturday, it couldn’t find the big hit.
A sacrifice fly by Devin McKenzie in the third inning accounted for Garrett’s lone run, but it ran itself out of the rally.
McKenzie’s fly ball to center field came with the bases loaded and one out, and the Garrett runner at second tried to tag up, thinking the throw from the outfield was coming to home plate.
It was cut off and the throw to third easily beat the runner.
Garrett pitching walked five in the first three innings and hit two more.
Garrett starting pitcher Ryan Bird showed flashes of his potential with five strikeouts in two-plus innings, garnering frequent swings and misses with his curve ball, but free bases caught up to the right-hander.
“He was getting swings and misses with his breaking ball,” Carr said. “He was battling. You root for the kid. He’s been very good coming up through, and he’s got time to figure it out. That’s why you play in the summer to try and figure some stuff out.”
Reliever Liam Stewart entered with the bases loaded and one out in a 3-0 game in the third inning, and he nearly got out of it, spinning a strikeout for the second out.
However, Adam Cozzone lined a two-out pitch into center field for two runs.
Coby Thompson tripled in a run in the fourth, and Brady Tingen and Russell Stratman tacked on runs with RBIs in the fifth to extend Old Mill’s lead after Garrett cut the deficit to 5-1.
Garrett, meanwhile, was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and 0 for 6 with two outs.
Stewart was the lone Garrett County hitter with multiple hits, going 2 for 3. Jake Chambers scored the team’s run.
“Our pitchers kept us in the game for four innings, but we couldn’t get the bats going,” Carr said.
Tingen, Old Mill’s starting pitcher, didn’t miss many bats, but he was around the strike zone, walking three over six innings. He allowed a run on six hits and struck out three.
Bird took the loss on the mound, and Stewart and Jared Haskiell followed him in relief.
Garrett’s best arm on the day was Cole Parks. The right-hander played junior varsity baseball for Southern in the spring, but he put up two scoreless innings to end the game.
Center fielder Ben Lohr rewarded Parks’ confidence in the zone with a diving catch in the seventh, and Garrett turned a double play to cap his second inning of work.
“He had a good mentality of going in there and throwing strikes as a freshman,” Carr said.
Despite the disappointing tournament run, made more difficult by injuries to pitchers Luke Ross and Haskiell, Garrett County’s summer was a success, capturing the program’s first district title since 2021 and ending back-to-back state champion Fort Cumberland’s run.
“We had a great season,” Carr said. “I commend the kids. We had a great turnout all summer. They committed to baseball. We rarely had less than 14 players at any one time, and if we were missing players, it was because they were playing in another league.
“Guys were committed, and that’s why we’re here. Yesterday we showed that we could be a good team.”