It did not last long.
Glen Burnie, with a one-hit shutout from junior lefty Kelly Leary, defeated visiting Meade, 10-0, on Wednesday afternoon.
The slaughter rule ended the game after Glen Burnie scored its 10th run in the bottom of the fifth with two outs.
The Gophers put the tenth run on the board with two outs in the fifth inning, to wrap up the game in Anne Arundel County.
Glen Burnie (7-1) put up two runs quickly in the bottom of the first inning, and led 4-0 after two innings.
The Gophers kept the attack up in the fourth inning, as five consecutive runners reached base with one out.
All five runners scored, highlighted by a double by junior first baseman Jess Sewell. Her two-base hit drove in a pair, and she would later score on a single by junior shortstop Adriane Blake.
Glen Burnie pounded out 11 hits, but head coach Bob Broccolino is still guarded about his team?s chances the rest of this season.
“I like our chances in the county. But if you?re new on the softball scene in Anne Arundel County, watch ACC basketball, and that?s what it?s like here,” Broccolino said of the competition level.
“Every team has improved,” Broccolino said.
Broccolino?s group features a core of eight juniors who have played together for years. Many of his players are on the same summer league team.
“We have a really close-knit squad,” Broccolino said. “They seem to really care about one another.”
And the squad can pick one another up when things aren?t going well.
Two of his usual sluggers are marred in slumps, and the team has found a way to get through that setback.
“Everybody is playing,” Broccolinosaid. “Everyone is doing the job they have to do, cheering for each other, and that makes for a more successful team.”
YOUTH IS SERVED
» The Gophers have just four seniors, with leadoff-hitting center fielder Brittany Breach destined for Catonsville Community College in the fall, and Krysta Gadow, who walked in a pinch-hitting role Wednesday, planning to attend Anne Arundel Community College. Both hope to play softball.
» Sewell has smacked three home runs to pace the team, while junior first baseman Jessica Richards and Leary are on pace to break the school?s record for triples.
» Leary made a bid to help herself with a long drive to right field in the third inning, but Mustangs? freshman right fielder Jamika Brooks ran it down and made the catch.
» The Mustangs had three sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup.
