Local Little Leaguers Dominate District Tournament

The following post was submitted by Stacie Moltz. 

The South Maryland Little League 9-10 All Stars won the Maryland District Four Tournament held this week in Arbutus.

The South Maryland team will represent District Four in the Maryland Little League State Tournament beginning July 14 in Waldorf.

The team is comprised of 9-10 year olds from Edgewater, Davidsonville, Harwood, and Annapolis. Team members are: Nate Vermillion, Sean O'Connor, Mike Morley, Preston Moltz, Chris Carter, Bryce Marcalus, Josh Akers, Chis Sheridan, Jackson Ruckman, Mike Sweeney, and Brendan Mulcahy. The manager is Sean Mulcahy and coaches are Danny Moltz and Chuck Carter.

Here’s a rundown of the team’s latest performances leading up to the district title.

Saturday June 30

The South Maryland 9-10 All Stars opened the District 4 Tournament with a tough 14-5 loss against the host team from Arbutus. The game was shortened because of darkness with no lights after Friday’s storms. Bryce Marcalus pitched well for South Maryland and Josh Akers with a triple and Preston Moltz with a home run led the way offensively.

Sunday July 1

South Maryland battled back to defeat Forest Park 21-0 on Sunday. Nate Vermillion, Chris Carter, Akers, and Mike Morley combined for 8 strikeouts and no hits allowed in the shutout. Akers made a great defensive play on a ground ball to first and throw across to third to double off one of only three Forest Park runners in the game. It was a team effort on offense, led by Jackson Ruckman, Morley, and Mike Sweeney with two hits each and a triple from Moltz.

Monday July 2

Monday brought another dominating pitching performance from Vermillion, Sean O’Connor, Akers, and Morley in a 23-3 victory over Laurel. Vermillion was the offensive star with three triples and a double. O’Connor had four hits of his own including a double and a home run. Every player on the team had at least one hit and scored in the win, including Chris Sheridan and Brendan Mulcahy.

Tuesday, July 3 

The South Maryland 9-10 All stars defeated Arbutus 10-0 in five innings. Nate Vermillion, Chris Carter, Mike Morley, and Josh Akers again combined to pitch the shutout. South Maryland scored five in the bottom of the first inning. While the South Maryland pitching shut down the Arbutus bats, the team threatened in each of the next three innings, leaving runners on base but not able to score.

The 9-10 All stars broke through in the bottom of the fifth with a rally highlighted by a perfect bunt from Mike Sweeney, and a two out, bases loaded double from Mike Morley followed by a walk off single from Sean O'Connor.

Thursday, July 5

South Maryland faced Arbutus for the third time on their home field with the Championship on the line. After two scoreless innings South Maryland scored 5 in the bottom of the third to build a lead they would never give up.

Each team scored one run in the fourth and Arbutus scored three more in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 6-4. The game was then delayed for almost 45 minutes due to lightening.

When play resumed, South Maryland did not score in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth inning South Maryland ended the game on an exciting tag play at the plate to erase what would have been the tying run. South Maryland won 6-5 to take the District title.