Coached by Laura Blama, the Hereford High School softball team takes an 11-4 record into the playoffs, led by junior pitcher Becca Smith and freshman hurler LeAnne Collins.
Smith has a 3.50 ERA on the mound, having gone 6-1, including Monday's 17-2, no-hit victory over Dundalk High School. Collins is 5-2, with a 1.75 ERA.
At the plate, Collins is batting .424, junior Hannah Thomas is hitting .457 with a slugging percentage of .600 and junior Rachael Shaeffer is at .313.
Defensively, Collins, from first base, has one error in over 50 chances, sophomore third baseman Jen Cope has just three errors in over 30 chances and freshman left fielder Maddie Crowley, no errors.
During an 8-5 victory over Dulaney High School on May 5, Thomas went 2-for-3, Malorie Andrews went 1-for-2, with three RBIs, and the defense turned a first-inning double-play.
On that double-play sequence, Cope fielded the ball at third, threw it to Collins at first base for an out and watched Collins fire it to catcher Shaeffer to get a runner trying to reach home plate.
During Monday's triumph over Dundalk, Smith got support from Thomas, who had a home run down the left field line as well as a single and a triple, totaling six RBIs. Cope went 3-for-3 against Dundalk.
The Bulls are the No. 3 seed in the Class 3A North Regional playoffs and play their first home game on Monday at 4 p.m. against the winner of the Catonsville High School and Aberdeen High School match.
Boys Lacrosse Back On Track
The three-time Class 3A-2A state titlist Hereford boys lacrosse team has reeled off three straight victories, including Saturday's 9-2, Baltimore County championship rout of Dulaney (10-5) heading into Saturday's Class 3A-2A North Regional playoffs.
The Bulls (14-1) had their 28-game winning streak ended following a 6-5 upset loss on April 23 at the hands of Glenelg High School (13-1).
Their winning run has included triumphs over Parkville High School (2-10) and South River High School (11-3) by 19-0, and, 11-4, respectively.
The Bulls have allowed an average of 3.2 goals per game, defensively, heading into Saturday's 10 a.m. home regional quarterfinal game opposite the winner of Thursday's first-rounder between county rival Eastern Tech (7-6) and Aberdeen (1-10) of Harford County.
Baseball Team Hopeful
Although the Hereford baseball team "took it on the chin" with Tuesday's 13-3 loss to Baltimore County rival Dulaney, Bulls coach Todd Hartshorn said he believes his squad can rebound starting with Friday's Class 3A North Regional playoffs.
Hartshorn believes that his Bulls (8-7) can hit with any of the teams in the region, and he knows that mistakes can cost them as well, which has been a problem.
"We're hitting the ball well, we have just had some defensive errors that have killed us," said Hartshorn, whose squad boasts eight seniors. "The errors have been our story all season long. Otherwise, we stack up well against all of the teams we will play against in the region."
Senior first baseman and pitcher Tyler Young is 2-1, with one save, and he blasted in two home runs in the loss to Dulaney.
Senior pitcher Greg Fultz is 2-0, with two saves. But, as a whole, the Bulls have not gotten the defensive support they need to keep afloat.
The Bulls will know against whom they will play in Friday's first-round playoff game early Wednesday, Hartshorn said.
