Allen County-Scottsville will play in a regional semifinal for the first time since 2010.
The Patriots – champions of District 15 – opened play in the Region 4 Baseball Tournament with a thrilling 5-4, nine-inning win over District 16 runner-up Cumberland County on Monday at Nick Denes Field.
“Cumberland County gave us everything we wanted today,” Allen County-Scottsville coach Scott Stamper said. “We’re fortunate to come out on the positive end of that.”
ACSHS (14-16) finished with seven hits and used four CCHS (13-22) errors to record its five runs. Defensively, the Patriots’ defense was spearheaded by starting pitcher Hunter Foster, who finished with 10 strikeouts on the day.
“Hunter knew when he took the mound today that this would be his one shot here at the regional tournament,” Stamper said. “He just got in there and found his gear.”
The Patriots built a 4-0 lead after two innings, but the Panthers responded with a three-run third and another run in the fifth to tie it. The two sides remained knotted throughout the next three innings before Allen County-Scottsville took advantage of a Cumberland County error to score a run and walk-off in the bottom of the ninth.
Allen County-Scottsville will meet District 14 runner-up South Warren in Tuesday’s 5 p.m. semifinal.
“South Warren’s a quality program,” said Stamper. “One of the top three teams in the region all year long – day in and day out. It oughta be good competition and a good contest. Anytime you get this far into the year and playing late in May, you’re not going to run into anybody who’s not any good.”
CCHS – 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 4
ACSHS – 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 5
WP: Stamper. LP: Atchley.
