CUMBERLAND — Saturday’s Fort Hill-Allegany playoff game came down to one pressure-packed pitch: Colt Resh made a perfect one.
Allegany, trailing by two, loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, and with the count full, Resh dotted the outside corner to freeze the batter and send his Fort Hill teammates into a frenzy.
After two straight years falling to its arch rival in the postseason, third-seeded Fort Hill finally got the monkey off its back, upsetting second-seeded Allegany, 7-5, Saturday in the Class 1A West Region I semifinals.
“It feels good to finally get over that hump,” Fort Hill manager Tanner Brode said. “That’s the standard program in this area. … The message today was just own who we are, and they did. They’ve answered a lot of challenges this year. They always answer the call.”
Fort Hill (11-9-1) had lost 18 consecutive games to Allegany (11-7) dating back to May 8, 2017, when the Sentinels’ Brayden Poling out-dueled Cameron Bratton in a pitcher’s duel for a 2-0 win.
Now, Fort Hill advances to play No. 1 seed Northern (14-6) in the region final on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Accident. The Sentinels are searching for their first region title since 1998.
Saturday’s contest was divided into two distinct segments.
The opening three innings were defined by timely hitting and nervy sequences in the field, and the game was level at 5 after the offensive flurry.
Fort Hill scored the only two runs from that point on, the go-ahead and ultimately winning tally crossing on a two-out RBI single by Resh in the top of the fourth.
Bobby Brauer added a sacrifice fly for an insurance run in the fifth.
Allegany loaded the bases twice over its final four at-bats, but Fort Hill stranded all three both times with strikeouts.
“Today was kind of like our season in a nutshell,” said Allegany skipper Jon Irons. “We had moments where I felt like we were starting to figure things out, and we had moments where we looked very young and very inexperienced.
“I thought we battled the whole way through, and that’s a good sign of the character of these kids. But in the end, we weren’t able to get it done.”
The pitching matchup was the third of the season between Brauer and Madden.
Madden got the better of his counterpart in the first two in 3-0 and 8-3 wins, during which he held Fort Hill to three unearned runs on seven hits with 16 strikeouts in 13 2/3 frames.
Fort Hill’s bats came to life in the third edition of the saga, out-hitting the Campers, 12-6. Colt Resh was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Coye Resh was 3 for 3, and Carson Bender was 2 for 4 with a double.
Seven of Fort Hill’s batters hit safely, and the No. 7 man in the lineup, Cam Hook, added a run-scoring single.
“We were hitting the ball well in pregame, so we all had great swings,” Colt Resh said. “And we just translated that to the game.”
Resh was called upon out of the bullpen after Brauer hit his pitch limit at 6 2/3 frames.
Brauer responded to Allegany’s early offense by tossing 3 2/3 shutout innings to end his day. The junior allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks to pick up the win.
Brauer was not afraid to attack hitters despite the traffic on the bases, which allowed him to keep his pitch count manageable and throw into the seventh.
“Fastball was great, everything else is kind of off,” he said, “but it’s one of those, you gotta hit spots, attack early, get the ball. I didn’t strike many out. I kind of rolled them over.”
Brauer made the game’s defensive highlight in the fourth inning.
Kyran Freeman tried to bunt for a base hit down the left side to lead off the inning, and Brauer came off the mound, bare-handed the ball and fired an off-balance throw just in time at first base.
For Brauer and his Fort Hill teammates, beating Allegany meant more than just any playoff victory.
“It feels amazing,” Brauer said. “I’ve thrown an inning in all eight of our losses (to Allegany) since I’ve been here.”
Allegany battled back from 2-0 and 5-3 deficits in the early innings.
A suicide squeeze by Max Fradiska in the first, one of five bunts between the two teams, gave Allegany a 3-2 lead, and Eston Powell, who was 2 for 4, made it 5-5 in the third with a two-out RBI knock.
Liam Buck and Daulton Harper also had ribbies for Allegany.
Both starting arms were let down by their defenses early, netting each team three unearned runs.
Madden battled through five innings, giving up seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits with two strikeouts and two walks to take the loss.
“He’s battled for us all year,” Irons said of Madden. “And that’s one thing we’re going to have to figure out next year, is we’re going to have to find some more pitching depth that’s reliable.”
Lefty reliever Sebastian Stewart tossed two scoreless to give Allegany a chance.
Allegany, which was the defending Class 1A state champion, graduates just one senior in Stewart. With Fort Hill only losing two, the Campers should have plenty of motivation.
“Hopefully next year we come back, we’re older, we’re a little more experienced, a little more mature, and we take advantage of every opportunity we have to get better,” Irons said.