Mount Hebron softball coach Jim Carroll said his team entered the postseason prepared for anything after getting through a tough regular-season schedule.
From facing some of the top pitchers in the state like Hammond?s Stephanie Speierman and Institute of Notre Dame?s Colleen Matthes to taking on team?s with solid lineups like River Hill, Carroll said his Vikings saw just about every type of situation this season and came out a better team because of it.
Carroll added that Mount Hebron (12-7) will have to lean on those experiences if his team wants to have any chance of coming out of the difficult Class 3A East region. The Vikings take the next step on that quest today when they travel to the Eastern Shore to face top-seeded J. M. Bennett. Mount Hebron goes into that game after beating Edgewood, 11-1, on Friday in a game halted after five innings.
“If we hit the ball Monday like we did Friday, we?ll be a difficult team to beat,” Carroll said. “That was a game where we put it all together.”
Carroll said the key to beating J.M. Bennett is for Mount Hebron to get a balanced performance like it did Friday when pitcher Lisa Alban struck out eight and allowed just four hits, while catcher Laura Scuggs had four RBIs and belted a home run.
“When you get to the playoffs, you get games like ours Monday when you don?t know much about the other team,” Carroll said. “But, we know that we can?t see anything better than some of the teams we faced in the regular season.”
Among the teams still alive in the 3A East are Anne Arundel County and perennial state powers Severna Park and Northeast along with tough Howard County teams like Centennial and River Hill.
On the private school side, Seton Keough (15-3) gained a measure of revenge for a late regular-season loss and won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title in the process with a 2-0 win over John Carroll (10-7) Saturday at Harford Community College.
“They scored early on us, and we had some jitters playing in front of so many people,” John Carroll coach Sherry Hudson said. “Still, we had a great season and a lot to be proud of.”
Maryvale Prep (15-3) accomplished a similar goal as Seton Keough in the B Conference finals as it defeated McDonogh (15-5), 4-3, en route to its third straight title. In the C Conference, Towson Catholic (13-1) defeated St. Paul?s (15-2), 6-1.
