Elkton

Elkton defeated Arbutus 7-6 on a game-ending wild pitch, and Northern Calvert defeated East Frederick 14-4 in five innings Saturday in first-round action of the Maryland State 10-11 Little League Tournament at West End Little League. Elkton led 5-0 when Arbutus exploded for a six-run rally in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run double by Jalen March and a two-run single by Zachary Rouk. "I told my players to calm down, maintain focus and play our baseball," said Elkton coach Eric Gregson.

MAUGANSVILLE -- At least Hancock had the good feeling of qualifying for the Maryland State Junior League Tournament. Hancock's quick turnaround into the losers' bracket didn't come out any better on Monday after its opening 10-0 loss to Thurmont a day earlier. It didn't take long to realize the end was near. West Salisbury pummeled Hancock for nine runs in the first inning and went on to a 17-1 victory in 4 1/2 innings at Maugansville. That eliminated Hancock and moved West Salisbury into a key matchup against Elkton, an easy winner over South Baltimore, tonight at 5:30.

YOUTH BASEBALL CHEWSVILLE -- There was no shortage of highlights for the Thurmont Junior All-Stars on Saturday. Erin Lambert and Seth Shubert combined on a no-hitter as the District 2 champions routed District 4 champion South Baltimore 42-0 as the Maryland State Junior Tournament got underway at Valley Senior League. Lambert and Shubert both homered for Thurmont, which plays Hancock in the winners' bracket semifinal today at Valley at 1:30 p.m. In other opening round games, Collin Nicholson homered to lead Elkton to a 13-6 win over West Salisbury, while Talbot defeated Waldorf, 9-3. West Salisbury and Waldorf meet in an elimination game today at 1:30 at Maugansville Senior League, while Elkton and Talbot square off in the other winners' bracket game at Valley at 5:30.

YOUTH BASEBALL SALISBURY, Md. -- Conococheague scored eight runs in the second inning and settled in behind pitcher Jake Arnone to collect a 13-3 victory in four innings over Elkton in the Maryland State 9-10 Tournament on Sunday. Conococheague moves into the winners' bracket final against East Frederick on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that game will play in the championship round Thursday. The loser will play in the losers' bracket final on Wednesday. Conococheague fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, but broke out for eight runs in the top of the second and five more in the third to take a 13-2 lead.

YOUTH BASEBALL SALISBURY, Md. -- Isaac Schlotterbeck pitched a three-hitter with four strikeouts and had two hits on Saturday to lead Conococheague to a first-round victory over South Caroline in the Maryland State 9-10 Tournament. Conochcheague plays Elkton in the winners' bracket today at 2 p.m. "We stuck to our game plan," Conococheague manager Mick Byers. "We hit the ball and ran the bases well. " Conococheague played as the home team and took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Elkton Christian boys basketball coach Bill Smith had his team look at Heritage Academy's 2008 Maryland Christian State Tournament championship banner -- hanging on the wall directly behind the visitor's bench -- before the fourth quarter. Smith reminded the Crusaders of Heritage's 58-55 victory over them in last year's state final. And Elkton did everything it could to pay the Eagles back on Tuesday night. It wasn't enough. Cody Butts scored 20 points and drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to give Heritage the lead before Travis Barthalow sank two foul shots with 2.5 seconds left to give the Eagles a 53-52 victory over the Crusaders in a tremendous MCST Division I quarterfinal.

YOUTH LEAGUES Rally at Valley 7-8 Tournament Maugansville 12, Valley White 3 Maugansville: Jordan Davis 4 hits, HR, 5 RBI; Patrick O'Connor 3 hits; Ethan Spicher, Jordan Tapley 2 hits each; Spicher, Logan Kauffman 2 RBI each; Kenny Daniels, Tapley combined no-hitter. Thomas Evans Tournament Conococheague 9, Halfway 4 Halfway: Andrew Ramirez, Cody Hadley 2 hits each. Conococheague 10, Clear Spring 7 Conococheague: Zach Lucas 3 hits, HR; Trey Hanna, Tyler Byers 2 hits, HR each.

bobp@herald-mail.com FREDERICK, Md. -The long ball hurt the Valley All-Stars on Tuesday. But not as much as the ones that didn't go anywhere. Valley withstood three Elkton home runs to remain in the game, but couldn't come up with the clutch hits when it needed them the most in an 8-5 loss that eliminated the District 1 representatives from the Maryland State Tournament at Robert B. Staley Stadium. Valley was unable to score with two runners on in the first and sixth innings which only enhanced Elkton's instant offense as its three homers produced seven runs.