Cougars

Friday, June 3, 2011 PREP BASEBALL CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Logan Johnson pitched two outs short of a complete game and drove in three runs during a big seventh-inning rally to lead Jefferson to a 13-7 win over defending champion Nitro in the Class AAA semifinals Friday. Jefferson (32-7) will go after the 10th baseball title in school history today against Fairmont Senior, which beat Greenbrier East 10-0 earlier Friday. Nitro (20-8) was hoping for a chance at its third title in four years but had troubles from the start.

Monday, May 23, 2011 PREP BASEBALL MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Logan Johnson pitched a two-hit shutout with two walks and eight strikeouts, and Jefferson shut out Martinsburg 5-0 on Monday in the West Virginia Class AAA Region II semifinals. The Cougars (30-7) scored a run on Chris Johnson’s homer in the second inning, then broke the game open on Anthony DiAmario’s three-run home run in the fourth before adding a final run on Trevor Poe’s single in the sixth.

 It was a pitchers’ dual with fastballs at 20 paces. Catoctin’s Rhianna Drieu came out on top against Smithsburg pitcher Cara Ferguson on Friday to give the Cougars a 2-1 victory and the Maryland Class 1A West softball championship. “She pitched a great game,” said Smithsburg coach Katy Barnhart. “She kept us off-balanced, that’s for sure. We kept battling right down to the very end and that is what you look for. We never gave up. That shows a lot about the team’s character.” Catoctin (17-3)

One Clear Spring pitcher after another walked to the mound on Thursday hoping to have more success than the teammate he followed. But it wasn’t to be. In all, seven Blazers gave up 12 walks and hit four Catoctin batters, and the defense made three errors behind them. It added up to 19 Cougars reaching base on something other than a hit, and that spelled doom for Clear Spring in a 10-3 loss in the Maryland Class 1A West semifinals at Frederick High School. “I’m a pitching guy, so that’s on me,” Blazers coach Mark Shives said.

The Smithsburg softball team built a 6-0 lead. It was just enough to win. The Leopards withstood a comeback attempt by Catoctin on Wednesday to hold on for a 6-5 MVAL Antietam victory. “I think we played a solid game overall, despite a few mental lapses,” Smithsburg coach Katy Barnhart said. “We need to continue to work hard every day in practice, so that we can peak for the playoffs.” Smithsburg (11-2, 9-1) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when leadoff batter Shayla Murray reached on an error and scored on Brooke Parks grounder to shortstop.

Monday, April 4, 2011 PREP SOFTBALL THURMONT, Md. — Jessica Hartman’s two-run home run pulled Smithsburg into a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning, and Danielle Beaver followed with a solo shot for the lead as the Leopards beat Catoctin 6-4 on Monday in the MVAL Antietam. Beaver finished with two hits and two RBIs for Smithsburg (4-1, 2-0), while Shayla Murray and Sam Gladhill each had three hits. Cara Ferguson got the win in the circle to improve to 3-1. Catoctin falls to 2-1, 1-1. Smithsburg    001    311    0    —    6    10    6 Catoctin    012    001    0    —    4    6    1 Ferguson and Shifflett.

Brandon Brown and Zach Eppard each scored three goals and North Hagerstown’s boys lacrosse team pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 9-5 victory over Catoctin in an MVAL Antietam game Tuesday. “Both players aim for excellence in everything they do, in practice and on the field, and it shows up in the games,” Hubs coach Dave Tallant said. On another day, North (1-1, 1-0) may have put away Catoctin (0-2, 0-1) in the first half. The Hubs outshot the Cougars 29-11 in the half, but managed only two goals while hitting the iron three times and failing to convert on what was briefly a rarely seen four-man advantage.

Never mind that Smithsburg’s boys basketball team beat Catoctin twice during the regular season by margins of 23 and 37 points. It’s playoff time and anything can happen, especially in a third meeting of the minds. And when it was in the minds of the Leopards, they found themselves in for a tussle on Friday night. They stepped up with a back-breaking 13-0 run on the way to a 63-53 victory over the Cougars in the Maryland Class 1A West East Sectional quarterfinals.

The North Hagerstown boys basketball team handed Catoctin a thank-you note without wasting the cost of a stamp. The Hubs did it old-school Valentine style on Friday. They just handed it to the Cougars in the gym. North showed its gratitude with defensive pressure that ran Catoctin out of the gym in a 79-44 MVAL Antietam victory. It was the Hubs’ way of saying thanks for the 75-73 upset the Cougars collected the first time they played on Jan. 14. “I’m not one for revenge.