FREDERICK — Allegany’s bid for its first state championship in 35 years returns to the familiar confines of McCurdy Field on Tuesday.
The Campers (16-4), the top seed in Class 1A, draw fifth-seeded Smithsburg (15-8) in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. in Frederick’s historic stadium.
Allegany is one of the state’s hottest teams, winning 13 of 14 games, but there is no team more battle-tested than the Leopards — who knocked out the last two state champions on their way to a region title.
“You get to this point and everybody’s good,” Allegany manager Jon Irons said. “They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t. We’ve done our homework, and we know what we’re getting up against here. It’s going to be a difficult game for us. Hopefully we can go out and play some clean baseball.”
Allegany benefited from some bracket luck to claim the state’s No. 1 spot in the quarterfinal reseed after Liberty, Clear Spring and Brunswick were all clipped in their respective regional tournaments.
The Campers made good on their good fortune, crushing No. 8 Academy for College and Career Exploration, of Baltimore, 20-0, to advance to their first state semifinal since 2022.
Allegany fell to West Region II champion Clear Spring, 1-0, at McCurdy Field in the ‘22 semis, and the Blazers went on to win their first of two consecutive Class 1A state championships.
The Campers are 3-1 in state semifinals all-time, winning the 1989 and ‘90 Class 2A titles under Toby Eirich and falling in the 2013 1A championship game under Scott Bauer.
Smithsburg, which has won five in a row and six of seven, took out each of the last two state champions on the road in its region playoffs.
The Leopards upset defending champ Brunswick, 4-3, in West Region II semis and run-ruled Clear Spring — which won the prior two state titles — 14-3 to claim the region title.
It’s the first time Smithsburg has won a region championship since 2014, the same year it captured its lone state title.
Smithsburg, slotted fifth in the quarterfinal reseed, then had to hit the road to the Eastern Shore, winning at Snow Hill, 7-1, on Friday.
“They’ve obviously gotten hot at the right time,” Irons said. “You don’t get through Brunswick and Clear Spring without playing good baseball. I feel like we’ve hit our stride late in the year too.”
Pitching probables
Both teams have everyone available.
Allegany is still undecided on who it’s giving the ball to start, and it could do what it did in its 6-3 win over Northern in the West Region I final, throwing three arms.
Sophomore right-hander Kohen Madden, who threw 3 1/3 shutout, no-hit frames in that win over the Huskies, has been Allegany’s most consistent arm, registering a 1.23 ERA in 45 2/3 innings with 54 strikeouts to 16 walks.
Left-hander Kane Williams has been the Campers’ top reliever with a 0.34 ERA in 20 1/3 frames.
RHP Landyn Ansel (Davis and Elkins signee) tossed a four-inning no-hitter in the Campers’ win over ACCE and has a 4.14 ERA in 22 innings of work.
Myles Bascelli, a first-team All-Area right-handed pitcher as a junior, arguably has the best stuff on the staff but has struggled with consistency. Bascelli threw 4 1/3 no-hit, shutout innings of relief to lift Allegany over Fort Hill in the region semifinals.
Smithsburg will likely throw some combination of Heath Githens and Gavin Ramarge, both junior RHPs.
Githens totes a 2.97 ERA in 37 2/3 innings, and Ramarge has a 3.95 ERA in 28 1/3 frames. Githens reportedly has better control, and Ramarge has more velocity.
Hitters to watch
Allegany is now up to seven players in its lineup with a .300 batting average or better in Cole Ricker (.435), Williams (.424), Madden (.394), Jackson Resh (.370), Ansel (.317), Eli Imes (.312) and Bascelli (.304).
Bascelli and Madden lead the Campers with seven doubles each, and Williams has team highs in RBIs (29), triples (five) and home runs (four). Bascelli has scored a team-high 30 runs.
Smithsburg also has seven .300 hitters: Ryan Darr (.368), Eli Bowman (.367), Mason Oates (.346), Githens (.345), Jaxon Tesson (.333), George Mantz (.333) and Chase Sarber (.304).
Ramarge leads the Leopards with five homers and is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 22. Oates and Sarber have scored 21 runs each.
Why not us?
Both squads have played with chips on their shoulder this season.
Allegany has spent most of the season third in the area poll behind Northern and Frankfort and had to hit the road in the region finals for the first time since 2021.
“This year has felt different than the previous three given we weren’t the total favorite the entire time going through the season,” Irons said. “The kids have embraced an underdog role a little bit. This group of guys is very hungry. They have that dog in them. They hate to lose, and they feel like it’s their opportunity.”
Smithsburg manager Patrick Moore expressed a similar sentiment after the team’s region championship win in a postgame interview with longtime Washington County sports reporter Bob Parasiliti.
“You know … nobody believes in us, but we believe in ourselves,” Moore said. “That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
“People often say we upset teams,” he continued. “We’re not upsetting teams. We’ve arrived, and we are going to be here for the next couple of years.”