Baseball: Generals Advance in 3A Playoffs

coach Bradley Eastham had a sense what he was in for not long after he checked the playoff bracket following their 2-1 win against Franklin.

"Coming into the playoffs, teams tend to overlook city teams and then we saw that Digital Harbor beat Hereford," Eastham said. "Hereford sent me an email saying they were well-coached, athletic, they could play ball, and so we knew we were in for a fight. Today we got just that."

The Generals hung on Wednesday afternoon to beat the Rams at Swann Field in South Baltimore, 8-7 in eight innings (seven is the standard for high school games), and advance to face North Harford in the 3A playoffs on Friday. The time has not yet been announced.

Check out the bracket for the state finals.

Towson gave Digital Harbor plenty of chances, though, with four errors and several of what Eastham called "mental mistakes" in base-running and fielding that he hopes to have ironed out before they face North Harford.

"Today's style of game that we had today is certainly not indicative of what we've had in the past three or four games, but our hitting was good today," Eastham said. "We put the ball on the bat, which kept us in the game today."

It was a big afternoon for Kyle Kersher. The Towson first baseman moved to the mound with one out in the sixth for starter Mike O'Dwyer, who allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings, including a three-run homer in the third. Kersher stayed on for the win. At the plate, he was 3 for 4, with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs.

Towson trailed only once in the game, when Digital Harbor's Devin Frampton stole home in the sixth, with Thomas Fortman at the plate. Kersher retired the side in order in the seventh to send the game into an extra inning.

"I was just trying to keep the composure," he said. "We all battled and I know we can battle. We're a fighting team. That's all we are and that's all we've been doing all season."

Sam Stark put Towson up early with a 2-run homer in the first. He was 2 for 4, with a walk. Designated hitter DJ Fielder was 1 for 3, scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly and was the victim of a rundown that allowed Kersher to score in the third inning.

"Thank God we've got a practice tomorrow," Eastham said. "We've definitely got to tighten up a couple of things and revisit a couple of things and hopefully be sharp for the regional finals."

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Box score:

The original version of this article incorrectly identified Towson's starting pitcher.