The Hammond High softball team?s year of firsts continued Tuesday as it reached its first state final with a 5-0 win over Century in the Class 2A semifinals at Bachman Park in Glen Burnie.
The Bears (22-1), who already won their first county and regional titles this year, will go after their first state championship either Friday or Saturday against North East at the University of Maryland. North East advanced to the championship game with a 5-0 victory over Hereford.
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Sophomore pitcher Stephanie Speierman continued her record-breaking season, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out 15. She now has 408 strikeouts on the season, shattering the previous state single-season mark of 353 set by Calvert?s Megan Elliott in 2003.
“This was just another great effort by Stephanie,” Hammond first-year coach Richard Pond said.
Hammond did most of its damage in the top of the second inning when it scored four runs off Century starter Anna Struhar. Jessica Purdy had the biggest hit in the frame when she smacked a two-run single. Purdy finished the day 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored. Freshman catcher Katie McCarthy had three hits, including a double and a run scored.
“We had the bats working today and had everyone on a roll right now,” Pond said. “We got a lot of timely hits from everyone in the lineup.”
Century (15-9) couldn?t find an answer for Speierman, who had a no-hitter going until senior shortstop Marie Struhar singled in the sixth inning.
“Getting those runs early was huge for us,” Pond said. “You could tell they got down on themselves after that. When you give Stephanie a lead, it takes away a lot of what the other team can do.”
Speierman said she only gets more confident on the mound when she has a big lead like she had against Century.
“It?s hard for any team to come back whenyou score five runs like that early in the game,” she said. “It?s just a really exciting time right now. We want to win that state title.”
