FROSTBURG — In two of Southern’s first three games, the Rams have scored first.
A two-run top of the first on Monday gave Southern the cushion it needed to hold off Mountain Ridge and leave Frostburg with a 7-4 victory and a 3-0 record.
“I thought we came out with some excitement, some energy,” first-year Southern head coach Hayden McLaughlin said. “We played hard the first couple innings then went into go with the flow mode. Mountain Ridge isn’t a team you can let hang around, we let them hang around. Kind of attacked us a little bit, but I’m glad we stepped up and finished the job.”
After a groundout on the first pitch of the game, Cade Leader stepped into the box and drew a walk.
On the next pitch, Reece Tasker sent a fly ball to straightaway center field for a double.
Back-to-back batters were hit, loading the bases and scoring a run.
Kyle Schofield drew a walk to score another run, putting Southern up 2-0.
“Our first four games are on the road, being able to score top of the first, top of the second really helps our pitchers settle in,” McLaughlin said. “Get the guys moving, get the vibe up.”
On a full count in the top of the third inning, Tasker doubled down the left field line.
Ryan Bird was up next and singled to center, extending the Rams lead to 3-0.
The defensive mistakes continued to grow for the Miners.
Wyatt Rush entered as a pinch runner and took third on a dropped third strike. The batter, Landyn Yoder took first, putting runners on the corners.
Rush took second on a wild pitch and later scored on another wild pitch.
“If we can clean up mistakes, we’ll end up being a good team,” Mountain Ridge head coach Justin Cook said. “You got to limit the mistakes, play clean baseball.”
Trailing 4-0, Mountain Ridge (0-3) rallied in the bottom of the third.
Lane Frost drew a walk and David Miller was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second to open the inning.
Frost took third on a passed ball and scored a few pitches later on another passed ball.
John Delaney drew a walk and a fielding error in right field loaded the bases.
Parker Ferraro stole home after Delaney got into a rundown, but made it back to first.
“It just takes a spark,” Cook said. “One guy steps up and the rest step up with them.”
Now trailing 4-2, Eli Moore sent a ground ball toward second base. It deflected off the bag, driving home the third run of the inning.
Southern responded in the top of the fifth.
Tasker reached first after the right fielder dropped a fly ball and scored on the next at-bat on a Ryan Bird RBI single to right.
Bird took second on a fielding error by the right fielder.
Two batters later, Yoder doubled to right, extending the Rams’ lead to 6-3.
“It seemed like at that point, our offense kind of stalled out,” McLaughlin said. “We put together some good at-bats to keep us rolling.”
Ferraro led off the bottom of the fifth with a base hit to left. Two batters later, he took second on a passed ball.
Delaney drove him home on an RBI double to left, cutting Mountain Ridge’s deficit to 6-4.
“That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to see,” Cook said. “You’re never out of a game.”
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, David Miller sent a fly ball deep to left field, but the throw from Ben Lohr held him to a single.
On the next at-bat, Miller stole second. Southern’s fans believed he was out and the coaches argued the call, but the second base umpire didn’t budge.
The Rams got out of the inning with a strikeout by Cade Leader.
Southern sealed the win in the top of the seventh.
Logan Grove entered as a pinch runner and took third on a dropped third strike.
Kyle Schofield tried to steal second while Grove stole home. Mountain Ridge’s defense was confused, leading to Schofield making it back to first with a 7-4 Rams lead.
“That was awesome, that was something we haven’t touched on a lot,” McLaughlin said. “Guys understood the situation, Kyle knew we had to get a run down, stay up until Logan scores.”
Bird earned the win in 4 1/3 innings as Southern’s starter, allowing four hits, two earned runs and four walks with nine strikeouts.
“Ryan just commanded his fastball early in the game,” McLaughlin said. “Really had that breaking ball. We had the mindset he’s going to go out there, give us a good quality start. Kind of bulldog some pitches if he had to.”
Leader earned a 2 2/3 inning save in his varsity debut, allowing one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.
Haskiell, Tasker and Bird each recorded two hits. Haskiell also stole two bases.
Tyler Cook went four innings as the Miners’ starter, allowing five hits, five earned runs and two walks with five strikeouts.
Bryson Krumpach pitched the final three innings, allowing three hits, one unearned run with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Delaney reached base three times with two hits and a walk.
The Rams head to Allegany on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
The Miners will play in their annual Allegany Easter Tournament on Friday at the Hot Stove Complex. Mountain Ridge plays Musselman at 12:30 p.m. and Martinsburg at 2:30 p.m.