C. Milton Wright pitcher Bobby Ruse threw a perfect game and a one-hitter earlier this season. Now he can add a playoff shutout to that list.

Ruse tossed a three-hitter in a dominating performance, and Brian Dippel's two-run single gave No. 1 C.M. Wright the necessary offense in a 2-0 victory over No. 4 Atholton in a Class 3A state semifinal game Tuesday at Joe Cannon Stadium.

C.M. Wright (22-0) advanced to the Class 3A state title game Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ripken Stadium against the winner of Quince Orchard and Huntingtown. This will be the Mustangs' fourth trip to the state title game since 2004. They lost the first three times.

Ruse was the main story in this game. He improved to 8-0 on the season, shutting down Atholton with a clever mixture of fastballs, change-ups, curves and splitters.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander needed only 74 pitches to finish the shutout. The Maryland-bound junior pitcher stayed ahead of most hitters in the count, and that helped him mix up his pitches and keep them off-balance. His good control helped him strike out four and walk none.

"They could definitely hit the fastball," Ruse said. "I wanted it to move around and change speeds."

Ruse outdueled Atholton right-hander Kory Britton (6-1), who also went the distance. Britton gave up only five hits, but three of them came when the Mustangs scored both runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Ryan Corn started that rally with a walk. Shane Halsey then singled to center to put runners on first and third with no outs. Halsey then stole second with Dippel up.

Dippel then lined a single to right to score both runners for the 2-0 lead. The C.M. Wright right fielder wanted to make up for his previous at-bat — when he grounded into a double play in the second with runners on first and third and one out.

Atholton had a few scoring chances, but the Raiders couldn't come through. They had a runner on third with one out in the third before Ruse struck out Kalvin Seamonson and got Britton to ground out to end the threat.

"They're not ranked No. 1 and have no losses for a reason," said Atholton coach Kevin Kelly. "It's a shame somebody had to lose this game."

C.M. Wright celebrated after the victory, but it was easy to see the Mustangs were looking ahead to Saturday night.

"We have more we want to do," said C.M. Wright coach Tony Blackburn.