CUMBERLAND — Allegany put the pressure on Fort Hill early, and the Sentinels didn’t handle it well.
Two Fort Hill errors netted Allegany four unearned runs in the first inning — the highlight a three-run Little League home run by Jackson Resh on a swinging bunt — and it paved the way for a seven-run second that allowed the Campers to run away with it.
Kohen Madden held the Sentinels to one run on the mound, and he, Cole Ricker and Eli Imes had multiple hits to guide No. 2 Allegany to a 15-1, five-inning rout of rival Fort Hill on Friday.
“We’ve kind of struggled out of the gates to start this season, some self-inflicted wounds,” Allegany head coach Jon Irons said. “We had a good day today. We didn’t hurt ourselves too much. We made them make plays. That’s big in high school baseball, taking advantage of opportunities.”
Allegany (3-1, 1-1 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) was led offensively by Resh, whose bases-clearing triple was the key knock during the second inning, Ricker (2 for 3, two RBIs, three runs), Madden (2 for 3, double, two RBIs, three runs) and Imes (2 for 3, RBI).
Madden earned the win, holding Fort Hill (2-2, 2-2 WestMAC) to one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in five innings of work.
“Kohen was solid,” Irons said. “Kohen likes a situation like that. He’s not afraid of the moment. He has experience from being a freshman. He pitched in some big moments. We knew he would come out and handle the moment.”
Fort Hill had two more hits than Allegany in the first inning, but Madden pitched around a pair of singles with two strikeouts and a caught stealing by catcher Justin Wakefield.
The Sentinels, meanwhile, gave the Campers four unearned runs in the first on no hits. In addition to Resh’s swinging bunt that plated three runs, another run scored on an error on a Kane Williams grounder to first base.
Fort Hill made at least one error in every inning and five in the game. Allegany made none.
“The last two games, we’ve given a lot of freebees early on,” Fort Hill head coach Tanner Brode said. “Errors, some walks early on. ... Allegany had some timely hits, they had some guys on base, and we had some untimely errors at that time. Hopefully we can fix that, regroup and get back to it next week.”
Myles Bascelli and Landyn Ansel also had RBIs for Allegany, which led 11-0 after the second inning and tacked on two more runs in the third and fourth innings.
Cade Bauer and Williams also scored twice each.
Peyton Blocher tallied Fort Hill’s lone run when he came home on a two-out wild pitch in the top of the fourth.
Bobby Brauer took the loss for Fort Hill in his one inning of work. Carson Bender tossed three frames of relief, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits with a strikeout and a walk.
While Allegany only had eight base hits, it worked five walks and put the pressure on the Fort Hill defense by only striking out twice — a key with a slippery surface from the off-and-on rain making routine plays more difficult.
“In a game like that, it’s big to put pressure on the other team and force them to make plays,” Irons said. “We forced their hand early. Our at-bats are progressively getting better. We’ve been more productive with our at-bats. Making teams make plays.”
Allegany is at Hedgesville on Monday at 7 p.m.
Fort Hill will look to bounce back when it heads to Keyser (3-1) on Monday at 6 p.m.
“We’re a young team,” Brode said. “We still have some growth to do. I’m proud of our guys, that even though they are young, they’re a mature group. They handled this well today, as well as they could. Nobody likes getting beat 15-1.”
