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Sports

Prep Baseball: Mount Carmel Wins MIAA 'B' Crown

The Cougars beat Annapolis Area Christian School 6-0 to claim the conference title.

After yesterday’s win against Annapolis Area Christian School to stay alive in the MIAA ‘B’ Conference championship hunt, Mount Carmel’s Bobby Sanzone said the team had only one goal: win.

And behind Sanzone’s monster nights at the plate and on the mound, the Cougars clinched the ‘B’ Conference with a 6-0 win over the Eagles Tuesday at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. The loss marked the second consecutive year in which AACS fell in the championship game.

Mount Carmel sealed the game in the fifth inning against AACS pitcher Steven Ridings by adding five runs to push the lead to 6-0. Catcher Mike Krannebitter led off the inning by doubling into the right field corner. Krannebitter scored after rightfielder Zack Pugh walked and Sanzone doubled into the left field corner for his third hit of the game.

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After an intentional walk to first baseman Ian Arciaga, shortstop Evan Covelley singled to center field, driving in two runs to extend the lead to 4-0. After Ridings got a strikeout, two singles and a fielder’s choice netted two more runs for the Cougars, making it 6-0.

“That one inning, we put a bunch of hits together including stringing a couple down the opposite field line, which is just smart baseball,” Mount Carmel coach Mike Naunton said.

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Ridings’ final pitching line was six runs on nine hits over five innings, while striking out six.

Like it did Monday, Mount Carmel jumped out to an early lead, taking advantage of an AACS mistake to grab a one-run margin in the first. Sanzone blooped a two-out to single to right field before advancing to second on a passed ball. From there, he scored easily on Arciaga’s hot grounder up the middle.

“Hats off to Mount Carmel,” AACS coach Talbot Watkins said. “What can you say when you’re scoring eight, 10 runs a game and a team comes out and shuts you out two times in a row?”

Sanzone gave up only four hits and five walks on the night while striking out seven in the complete game shutout. The senior was again the main nemesis at the plate, as he went 4-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, building on his 3-for-3 with two RBI line from Monday's win.

“We had Bobby on the mound—we had a lot of confidence in him,” Naunton said. He’s been strong out there all year and we made some big plays to back him up.”

“I trusted my fielders out there and threw strikes,” Sanzone said of his pitching. “I had bases loaded a few times. I kept my cool, just threw my strikes and got them out.”

About his hitting, Sanzone said, “I took the same approach I did against their good pitcher Thomas [Williams]: hug the plate, hit the other way, went through it inside and took it down the line.”

While he easily verbalized exactly what he did at the plate, Sanzone had more difficulty finding words for what the championship meant to him.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I can’t even explain the feeling.”

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