CUMBERLAND — Allegany’s young squad is learning lessons the hard way.
In a matchup between two of the last three Class 1A state champions, Clear Spring made the Campers pay for their mistakes, plating 10 runs after being gifted extra outs to pull away.
Led by Jay McConnaughey’s 4-for-6, six-RBI day that featured a two-run shot and a double, Clear Spring out-scored No. 1 Allegany, 11-1, over the final four innings to roll 17-9 on Friday.
“We’re consistently struggling with the same things,” Allegany manager Jon Irons said. “We’re taking mistakes and we’re compounding mistakes, whether it be walks, whether it be errors, strikeouts.
“It’s not as much what happened on the field as it is what’s going on in our heads right now. We schedule these games so that we can expose where we’re weak and we’re young. And we’ve got to work through some of that and get to the point where we are a mentally tough team who is ready to battle pitch one until the last pitch of the game.”
Allegany (6-3), the defending Class 1A state champion, and Clear Spring (4-2) have combined for three of the last four titles. The Blazers won it all in consecutive years in 2022 and ‘23.
Friday marked Allegany’s second consecutive three-hour defeat. However, it differed from the Campers’ 5-4, 10-inning loss to Northern Wednesday in that it went just seven frames.
Kohen Madden led the Campers going 3 for 4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Max Fradiska went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and three runs, Cole Ricker singled three times, and Daulton Harper singled and doubled.
Allegany out-hit Clear Spring, 12-10, and led 6-3 after the second inning and 8-6 going into the fourth.
The Blazers scored multiple runs in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and Allegany made mental or physical mistakes in five of them.
Those miscues included a lost pop-up in the sun with two outs, a balked in run, two innings that would have been three-up, three-down if not for gaffes, and poor bunt defense that loaded the bags with nobody out.
Allegany pitching also walked nine batters.
“We have to find a way to make that next play, get ourselves out of that situation and move on,” Irons said. “And we can’t walk guys after something bad happens.
“We’ve had several situations where one little mistake happens and then we give up three walks.”
Clear Spring made Allegany pay each and every time. Tyce McConnaughey, Cole Jesson and Chase Judd all added two RBIs each to Jay McConnaughey’s total.
“It was a good job of not letting up,” Clear Spring manager Brandon Glazer said. “This was a game that was kind of back and forth at the beginning. … That’s a solid club over there. We knew that coming into this that they were going to be competitive every pitch.
“I’m happy we got this game earlier in the year so guys can get that playoff-type atmosphere and get that under their belt. It was a good team win.”
Clear Spring right-hander Drake Weaver was the lone arm to allow one or fewer runs.
Weaver held Allegany to one run on five hits over the final 3 2/3 frames, and he earned the victory for his troubles.
Cole Ricker was tabbed with the loss for the Campers.
Allegany’s difficult slate has no let-up. The Campers draw defending area champion Frankfort on the road on Monday at 6 p.m.
“Another opportunity for us to take these things that we aren’t doing well and get better at them,” Irons said. “It’s good to have stretches like this where it simulates a playoff-type scenario where you’re trying to win and move on against really good teams, but you have to take those opportunities and you got to get the most out of them.”