LAVALE — Northern put a scare into Allegany’s 31-game conference winning streak, but one Mackenzie Monahan swing lifted the Campers to victory.
Allegany trailed 3-0 entering the fifth inning. Sparked by three straight inning-ending defensive plays, the Campers tied the game entering their final at-bat.
Monahan belted the first pitch she saw over the left-field fence for a home run, completing No. 2 Allegany’s 4-3 comeback victory over No. 3 Northern on Monday evening at Lions Field.
“Very gutty win,” Allegany head coach Dave Winner said. “We got down, we weren’t really swinging the bats that well. Bailey (Champlin) had us off balance. … We stayed the course.”
Allegany improved to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Western Maryland Athletic Conference play. The Campers are 32-0 in the WestMAC since the league was formed in 2020.
Northern fell to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the WestMAC.
Monahan, a Frostburg State signee, was 0 for 3 at the plate entering her decisive at-bat, which ended with a no-doubt shot that gave Allegany the walk-off victory.
“I’ve been struggling a lot in the beginning of this season,” Monahan said. “I haven’t been able to make good contact yet. Going into that at-bat, I knew the first pitch was going to be the best pitch. … Tyiss Jessie’s dad told me, ‘You need to go ahead and jump on that first pitch.’
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone. The adrenaline was going, and I saw my dad over there at third. It was a great day.”
The Huskies had chances to add onto their early offense in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but were thwarted by Allegany’s glovework.
Camper right fielder Mykah Baker made a diving catch for the final out of the fifth, robbing Demi Ross of extra bases and an RBI.
That play ignited the Allegany offense, which plated three runs in the bottom half to tie the game. Monahan and Tyiss Jessie had RBIs, and the tying run scored on a dropped pop fly with two outs.
“Our bats came alive early on, but then we kind of lost it,” Northern head coach Kadi Cosgrove said. “We didn’t string together hits at the end. They’re a good team, and they know how to compete.
“One of the game-changing moments I think was the diving catch in right field. We would’ve scored. I think that kind of changed the outlook of the game.”
In the sixth, the Campers ended the frame with a double play, with second baseman Maylee Blank catching a Northern runner in a rundown after they were moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt.
And in the seventh, Allegany right-handed pitcher Jordyn Sneathen pitched around a lead-off single and walk with back-to-back strikeouts and a putout on a comebacker off the bat of Rain Ritchey to preserve the 3-3 scoreline.
Sneathen had command issues early but settled in to earn the complete-game victory. She allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out 10 and walking three.
Northern scored two runs in the first inning. The first crossed on a slicing double by Ritchey down the right-field line, and Ritchey later scored on a wild pitch.
The Huskies made it 3-0 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Lily Chambers.
Sneathen held Northern to no runs on one hit over the final four innings to give Allegany a chance.
Her counterpart, Champlin, threw four straight scoreless innings to start before running into trouble in the fifth and sixth.
Champlin was dealt a no-decision, surrendering three runs (two earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 frames.
Ritchey relieved her in the sixth inning and was tabbed with the loss.
Avery Miller and Des Hilton had two hits each to top the Allegany offense. Blank doubled and stole two bases, and Monahan scored twice and had two RBIs.
Ross had two hits for Northern, and Marisa Perez scored two runs.
Northern is back in action at No. 1 Frankfort (5-0) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Allegany hosts Saint James on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
With both teams fielding talented young rosters, Monday’s late-game thriller could be a preview of a budding rivalry between the WestMAC squads.
“Northern is a much improved team,” Winner said. “They’re going to get better every year, and this is how it might be.
“Congratulations to them. They’re a good team. They’re going to win a lot of games too.”