By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager
Watching his team blow out to a six-run, first-inning lead, La Plata coach Dan DeVitis thought his team might enjoy a prolific day at the plate and a comfortable win over the visting Great Mills Hornets. That didn’t quite turn out to be the case.
After the first-inning outburst, the Warriors struggled but still managed to hold on for a 7-3 win over the Hornets in a 3A South semfinal on Wednesday afternoon.
“The first inning was really nice,” DeVitis said. “We came out and hit the ball well. We scored six runs and I guess I fell into a false belief that we were going to really hit tonight.”
La Plata (10-6-1) did not score again except for one run in the fifth. But Zach Turner and Matt O’Grady came through with 4 2/3 innings of solid relief to help keep Great Mills (7-10) off the board over the final four innings to earn the Warriors a second consecutive trip to the 3A South finals.
La Plata, the defending 3A state champion, graduated the bulk of last year’s team including eight starters. But with the upsets of top-seeded Huntingtown and second-seeded Chopticon, the third-seeded Warriors are the top seed left standing and will host Northern in the regional final at 4 p.m. on Friday.
“It’s really a nice feeling,” DeVitis said. “I don’t think anybody expected us to be there. Of course, there’s been some breaks along the way.
“We have to take care of our own business. We have to play better than we did today.”
La Plata 7, Great Mills 3
G 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 – 3
L 6 0 0 0 1 0 x -7
astates@digitalsports.com
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