Prep Softball: Eastern Tech Rallies Past Lansdowne for Baltimore County Crown

It took until the fourth inning, but it was only a matter of time before Eastern Tech capitalized off of Lansdowne’s sloppy play on defense.

Fueled by a Jordan Cargile RBI double sandwiched between two Vikings throwing errors, as well as a wild pitch, the Mavericks erased an early 3-1 deficit with a three-run fourth inning to claim the Baltimore County Championship, 5-3, Monday afternoon at CCBC Catonsville.   

“Defensively, we just weren’t making basic fundamental plays that we know how to do,” said Lansdowne coach Jamie Izdebski, whose squad committed six errors in the game. “It’s extremely uncharacteristic. We’ve never had that many errors in a game.”

Eastern Tech (16-0) was led by Cargile (2-for-4, two runs; seven innings pitched, six strikeouts) who ripped her double over the third base bag to plate Carly Wheat. Wheat, a senior, led off the inning by reaching on shortstop Marlaina McCourry’s throwing error.

Lindsay Meyers followed with what appeared to be a routine sacrifice bunt down the first base line. However, first baseman Stephanie Lohmeyer’s throw to first squirted underneath the glove of Hunter Long (covering from second base), allowing Cargile to sprint all the way home from second.

After another bunt moved Meyers to third, a Maude McCourry pitch in the dirt slipped past catcher Sera Stull and Meyers raced home with the go-ahead run.

“We are a young team, coming out in the beginning very nervous, trying to teach them how to get through the jitters of that,” said Eastern Tech coach Jack Meyers, referring to the 3-0 hole his team faced after the top of the first inning. “But, I knew once they settled down, the whole team had a piece of that game.”

After being shut out in the two squad’s first meeting, 2-0, the Vikings (15-3) could not have envisioned a better start.

Senior Kelli Pease (2-for-4, two triples) led off the game by lacing a 2-2 pitch into the right-centerfield gap for three bases and came around to score when Long lined a clean single to center field.

After Maude McCourry ripped a ball through Wheat's legs at first base (Eastern Tech’s only error of the game), Marlaina McCourry’s infield single to third plated Long to make the score 2-0.

Lansdowne added its third run of the inning when the ball slipped out of Cargile’s grasp during her windup and rolled out toward second base, allowing Maude McCourry to scamper home from third.

However, after the Vikings' first-inning rally, Cargile, a freshman, settled down for the final six frames, allowing just five hits and no runs for the remainder of the game.

“I was doubting myself. I’m a worrywart,” Cargile said after the game. “I doubt myself and then I have to learn to trust my teammates. I did and they came through for me. I learned that I can always trust my team. No matter what, they have my back. It was just a great game overall.”

Jack Meyers added: “Being in a big game like this against a good pitcher like that, she settled down [and] matured again in this game. I’m very, very excited for that kid.”  

Atop the mound for Lansdowne, Maude McCourry battled in her own right, allowing just one earned run over six innings while striking out seven and routinely bailing out her defense as best she could.

At the plate and down 5-3 in the top of the seventh, McCourry also kept her team’s hopes alive, drilling a two-out double off the very top of the wall in centerfield to bring up the tying run. But, Marlaina McCourry’s slicing grounder to first was snared cleanly by Wheat, who stepped on the bag to secure the win.  

In a rivalry that continues to grow, Eastern Tech and Lansdowne are the likely favorites to battle in the Class 2A North Final of the state tournament in the weeks to come.

It’s then that Lansdowne will have another chance to exact revenge on the squad responsible for two of its three losses—and an especially bitter one today.

“I really don’t like Eastern Tech,” Pease said with a friendly smile. “I really wanted to beat them and we started off good and I was hoping we’d keep it through the whole game, but we gave it to them.

"Very frustrating to me. We gave it to them with routine plays that we really should have made.”

BOX SCORE

Eastern Tech 5, Lansdowne 3 at CCBC-Catonsville

L  300 000 0----3 8 6

ET100 301 x----5 3 1

Pitching

L                                              IP            R             H             BB           K

Mau. McCourry  (L)              6              5              3              1              7

ET

Cargile (W)                               7              3              8              1              6

Batting

RBI: L-Long, Mar. McCourry.

          ET-Cargile, Sauerwein.

2B: L-Mau. McCourry.

        ET-Cargile 2.

3B: L-Pease 2.

SB: ET-Peay 2, Lee, Sauerwein.