Timely hitting leads Marriotts Ridge baseball to come

Oct 21, 2023

Marriotts Ridge baseball faced an early deficit against River Hill but knew it had the capability to come back. The Mustangs were fresh off coming back from a four-run deficit to beat Howard.

Wednesday afternoon was a similar story. The Mustangs again rallied from four runs down to beat No. 11 River Hill, 11-8. Marriotts Ridge trailed 4-0 after three innings and 7-6 after five.

"I would say that's just the makeup of the individual ballplayers," Marriotts Ridge coach Paul Eckert said. "It's what we preach. I don't know if we’ll be the most talented team every time we take the field, but I know we’re not going to quit. That much I know."

After giving up a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Marriotts Ridge (2-1) displayed both its plate discipline and timely hitting in the sixth. River Hill reliever Brady Young walked Jack Coughlin, Zach Vernick and Luca Obitz to load the bases for Jared Ober. The senior, who didn't play last season due to an arm injury, delivered in the big moment.

The veteran laced a single to left field, driving in a two runs to regain the lead, 8-7.

"I knew he hadn't been throwing many strikes, so my first couple of pitches I was thinking really selective," Ober said. "Then 3-2, I noticed he was throwing a bit lower, so I was thinking low on the fastball. I knew he was going fastball and then he threw it right where I thought it was going to and I just hit the ball right in the hole and we got two runs out of it."

Chase Kamerman kept Marriotts Ridge's momentum going, lining a ball to left field that scored two more.

River Hill (2-1) responded in the bottom of the sixth. Eje Okojie worked a leadoff walk and later scored on an infield single by Demetre Koutras, cutting the deficit to 10-8. Henry Zatkowski doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs.

However, senior Adam Macfarlane remained poised for the Mustangs on the mound. He struck out cleanup hitter Anderson Dang, then got Young to line into a double play.

Marriotts Ridge added an insurance run in the seventh as Luca Obitz laced a deep double to center field scoring Logan Anderson, who singled earlier in the inning. Macfarlane shut the door in the bottom half of the inning, cementing the Mustangs’ victory.

"I’ve never personally beaten them," Macfarlane said. "So, there was a lot of drive to win this game, a lot of guys in the clubhouse feel the same way. We wanted this one."

The Mustangs found themselves in troubling territory, attempting to erase a four-run deficit against Zatkowski, last year's Howard County Pitcher of the Year. The Hawks scored one run in the first and then Okojie launched a three-run home run to left field in the second. Barry Romero came on relief for the Mustangs and held the Hawks scoreless in the third.

Marriotts Ridge took advantage of multiple River Hill errors in the fourth, scoring three runs. Romero also held the Hawks scoreless in the fourth and Marriotts Ridge again took advantage of River Hill mistakes in the fifth.

Consecutive errors set the Mustangs up with runners on second and third and no outs. Ober tied the game with an infield single, while Obitz scored on a wild pitch. Macfarlane laced an RBI triple in the gap, pushing Marriotts Ridge's lead to 6-4. Then it was River Hill's turn to respond.

Riley Finkelston ripped a hard liner that skipped into the outfield, tying the game at 6. Colin Chan regained the lead for the Hawks with a bloop single to right field.

"What we said to them just now is it's over. We’ve got a game tomorrow, you just wash it and then we get ready for Long Reach," River Hill coach Craig Estrin said. "We’re going to have a day or two like this. Our starter deserved a lot better; he threw three pitches, should have been out of the inning, but we kick it around. When you make six errors and walk three guys in one inning, you’re not going to beat anybody. Give them credit, they had some timely hits."