Washington County is home to several of the top public high school baseball programs in Maryland. Clear Spring often dominates the 1A classification, but this season, the Smithsburg Leopards looked to take over the top spot in Western Maryland. After several years of immediate playoff exits, last year’s team upset the Hancock Panthers 12-2 in the regional quarterfinals, but were eliminated by the Clear Spring Blazers in an 11-8 loss in round two. This spring, the Leopards got off to a solid start. Scoring seven runs in each of their first two games, they held a 2-0 record to begin the season, defeating Governor Thomas Johnson on the road in Frederick County and Martinsburg High in West Virginia. In game three, they lost by just two runs to the future 4A state runner-up, Urbana, but then went on to win their next two games. Contrasting last season’s 0-5 start, Smithsburg was 4-1 to begin this season. Despite a loss to Boonsboro in their next game, the team remained hot, winning all of their next four, including two mercy-rule victories and a 13-12 against South Hagerstown. Boasting an abnormally strong 8-2 record, the Leopards headed down I-70 for their first match on the road against Clear Spring. For the first time to this point, the Leopards were mercy-ruled in five innings, getting shut out in the 12-0 loss. Coming off this game, the team bounced back in a big way. Following an 8-5 loss to Boonsboro earlier in the season, Smithsburg took them down 9-8 in the rematch. Sandwiched between two losses to Brunswick, the Leopards had their regular-season rematch against the Blazers. In game two, Smithsburg flipped the script on the Blazers, mercy-ruling their rivals at home in a 12-2 victory. With another victory against Martinsburg to round out their regular season, the Leopards went into the playoffs as the three-seed in the West-II regional. After taking down Hancock 9-1 in the quarterfinals, Smithsburg was set to face Brunswick for the third time this season. After losing most recently 12-1 to the Railroaders, the Leopards traveled to Brunswick and won the game 4-3. Going into the regional championship, Smithsburg had a toss-up match, taking on Clear Spring for the third time in the season. Most recently, the Leopards defeated the Blazers, but Clear Spring won the first match in a shutout. The game wound up mirroring the second match-up. For the first time since 2014, Smithsburg won the regional championship in a 14-3 mercy-rule victory. In their first state playoff appearance in over a decade, the Leopards were not thought of by many as a tough team to beat. Facing sharp skepticism from people throughout Maryland, the team went into their first game on the opposite side of the state in Worcester County, taking on the fifth-seeded Snow Hill Eagles. Shocking many, the Leopards’ offensive successes continued, as they advanced to the state semi-finals, for just the second time in school history, following the 7-1 win. Just a few days later, they matched up against Western Maryland rival and top-seeded Allegany at McCurdy Field. In a hard-fought game, the Leopards’ playoff run came to an end, as they were defeated 6-3 by the future 1A state champion. The season, despite the heartbreaking ending, had many unprecedented highs. Beyond tying the farthest that any team in program history has reached in the playoffs, junior Gavin Ramarge was selected to the Central Maryland Conference’s First All-Conference Team. Additionally, Eli Bowman and Mason Oates were selected to the Second All-Conference Team while Heath Githens and George Mantz were named Honorable Mentions. Beyond the CMC, pitcher/outfielder George Mantz received the Washington County Athletic Association’s Dennis Reeder Award, honoring the top sophomore out of any public school in the county, while head coach Patrick Moore was named the WCAA Coach of the Year. Headlined by three WCAA Silver Slugger Award recipients and four WCAA Gold Glove winners, the Smithsburg Leopards baseball team was named the WCAA Public School Team of the Year. While the season did not end as many had hoped, it was an incredible season nonetheless.
