GLENELG, MD — With only two conference losses each, the Howard Lions and Mt. Hebron Vikings are tied atop the Howard County standings with only one week left to play.
As both teams found out on Monday, though, whoever wants the county title is going to have to earn it.
Howard (12-2) outlasted Centennial (2-11), 4-2, in nine innings, while across the county, Mt. Hebron (10-2) needed three runs in the top of the seventh at Glenelg (7-7) to keep pace.
"You're in a county championship hunt, you never think you're going to ease into it, you never think you're going to be four games up on everybody and just be playing out the string," said Mt. Hebron coach Brian Culley, whose team still has five games to play before next Tuesday, when the regular season ends. "It's exciting, and it's going to do nothing but help prepare us for the playoffs. Every game is going to mean something from here on out. Each game gets bigger and bigger and that's just like the playoffs."
Mark Smith pitched a complete game one-hitter for the Vikings on Monday, striking out 13 with only one walk, to earn the victory.
"He had his stuff going today and he deserved to win," Culley said.
The Gladiators didn't score against Smith until the bottom of the sixth, when Davis Jones reached on a one-out fielder's choice, stole second, made it safely to third on a bunt by Anthony Bowman, and scored on a sac fly to deep center field by Garrett Southern.
Carter Mullinix (4 H, 5 K, 3 BB, 2 HBP) also went the distance for the Gladiators, and had a no-hitter broken up by Joey Trapuzzano in the fourth inning. The Gladiators were two outs away from victory when things went awry in the seventh. Matt Ansaldi was hit by a pitch, advanced on a passed ball, then scored on an RBI line drive single by Jake Snyder.
After that, back-to-back infield singles by Jack Montgomery and Smith loaded up the bases, and two more runs scored with two outs on a Kevin Broache walk and a Danny Brouse hit-by-pitch.
"I thought today all of (Carter's) pitches were really working. He was able to locate the two-seamer inside, he was able to locate the two-seamer away, he was able to get the curve ball over in counts when he had them off balance, he was able to get the split finger over and showed different locations with it," Glenelg coach Steve Ballance said. "He did everything he could, sometimes balls just bounce a certain way. But it's made us a better team and Carter has been absolutely tremendous."
Mt. Hebron is scheduled to host Wilde Lake (7-7), River Hill (5-8) and Long Reach (7-7) the next three days, then visit Hammond (4-10) on May 4 and River Hill on May 5.
Howard closes out its schedule at Oakland Mills (0-14) on Wednesday, home against Wilde Lake on Friday, and at Atholton (8-6) on May 4.
"Everybody is in different spots as far as games played. We're behind the eight ball a little bit with four in a row this week. When you have four in a row in a week it doesn't matter who you're playing, there's no easing up in the schedule," Culley said. "We've just got to go out and play the baseball that we're capable of playing and hopefully good things will happen … I like to see the fight and the heart that they showed me today."
MH (10-2) 000 000 3 - 3 4 1
G (7-7) 000 001 0 - 1 1 0
Smith and Broache. Mullinix and Southern.