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Sports

Prep Baseball: Cougars Still Alive in MIAA 'B' Hunt

Mount Carmel tops Annapolis Area Christian School, 2-0, to force a second game in the conference championship tournament.

The ramifications of the day were simple for Mount Carmel in its matchup with Annapolis Area Christian School: win, and play tomorrow for the championship; lose, and watch the Eagles celebrate the MIAA ‘B’ Conference crown.

But with play catalyzed by catcher Mike Krannebitter, the Cougars fought for a 2-0 victory in a pitcher’s duel at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.

“It was tough to handle, but we knew what we had to do,” Krannebitter said of the do-or-die atmosphere. “We had a job. We did it. It was that simple. Everybody was ready to step up today and everybody did their job.”

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“We knew that we needed to win two games,” Mount Carmel coach Mike Naunton said. “We took it one inning at a time. We wanted to jump out early and we were able to do it.”

Mount Carmel had the opportunity to strike early in the game and took advantage.  Krannebitter led off the game with a double to left-center field and was brought home on shortstop Bobby Sanzone’s double to right field.

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With Sanzone on second, it looked like the Cougars were poised for more, but AACS pitcher Thomas Williams worked out of the jam.

AACS had an opportunity to answer right back, with a hit by pitch, passed ball and errant pick-off throw moving a runner to third, but pitcher Evan Covelley worked out of a jam of his own.

The Krannebitter-Sanzone combination proved prolific again in the third inning, as Krannebitter led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball, and then Sanzone gave Mount Carmel a 2-0 lead with another RBI single.

“I was just trying to hit the first pitch I saw,” said Krannebitter, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. “I was seeing the ball well, and I had a good swing.”

Covelley pitched effectively, holding the Eagles hitless through three, when Francois-Xavier Graham blooped a hit into center field. Graham stole second and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice where he was stranded.

For the game, Covelley pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits, two walks and struck out six.

“He’s our No. 1 pitcher,” Naunton said. “When he’s on, he’s on. He can throw all his pitches for strikes. He has a lot of faith in our catcher to block anything in the dirt. It makes him really tough to hit.”

Mount Carmel had an opportunity to break the game open in the fifth when Krannebitter reached on an error and Sanzone singled and advanced to second, putting runners on second and third, but first baseman Ian Arciaga flied out to end the threat.

Despite the early runs given up by Williams, he still turned on a solid performance for the Eagles. He pitched all seven innings, and allowed only the two runs on five hits while striking out 11 and walking none. Krannebitter and Sanzone were the only Cougars to hit Williams, with Sanzone going 3-for-3 with two RBI in addition to Krannebitter’s two hits.

“The beauty of it is that we were able to win with two guys or three guys with those hits in the run scoring innings,” Naunton said. “Tomorrow, it’ll be different.”

With the teams meeting for the fourth time this year tomorrow in its biggest matchup yet, Krannebitter has one thing on his mind: win.

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