Jun. 13—The brotherly battery of Cadeyrn and Qwynn Ahearn was fully charged Saturday afternoon at Blandair Park.
Centennial’s pitcher-catcher duo was solid on the mound, behind the dish and at the plate, leading the Eagles to a 3-1 win over Marriotts Ridge in the 3A East Region I championship.
Cadeyrn Ahearn earned the win on the bump, allowing only one run in 5 2/3 innings, while his brother threw out two runners stealing and smacked two RBI singles to propel Centennial to its first region title since 2008.
“They’re built-in best friends,” said Eagles head coach Denis Ahearn about his sons. “They battle like brothers, but when it comes down to it, the confidence they have in each other is what gives that battery a little bit of a different feel than others.”
Qwynn Ahearn, a sophomore, said having success alongside his brother in a playoff atmosphere was “awesome,” but he made clear that the postseason run is first and foremost about the Eagles’ talented senior class.
“This isn’t for us. This is for our seniors,” said Qwynn Ahearn. “They lost their junior year where they had this chance, and now I feel like they deserve this.”
Centennial (12-1) will be re-seeded by regular season record along with the seven other region champions. The Eagles are expected to be the No. 1 seed and host No. 8 Damascus in the state quarterfinals on Monday.
While Denis Ahearn said he’s eager for Monday’s game, he also admitted he’s going to “savor” Saturday’s victory.
“This means everything to me, but the longer I’ve coached — and this is my 19th year — I’ve realized it’s not about me and that it’s about the kids,” Denis Ahearn said. “The first couple of years I had it really easy. I won a lot of things in a row. I thought it would always be like this, but things didn’t go so well for a few years. So to have a team like this is really special.”
Cadeyrn Ahearn didn’t have his best stuff on the hot afternoon at Blandair Park’s artificial turf field in Columbia.
The freshman righty opened the game with a walk, but he was assisted by his brother, who caught the runner trying to steal. Cadeyrn Ahearn then hit the second batter he faced, but he composed himself on a comebacker for the 1-6-3 double play.
“It’s nice to have him back there,” Cadeyrn Ahearn said about Qwynn, who threw out another runner in the fifth. “I know I’ve got a wall to throw against. He makes everything easier for me.”
Centennial scored two runs before Marriotts Ridge (6-7) had its first hit, scoring one run in both the first and third innings. Senior third baseman Jack Pistner, the Eagles’ leadoff hitter, started both frames with a walk. He was then moved into scoring position during Chris Betler’s at-bats, and Qwynn Ahearn drove him home both times.
“He has a college-level plate approach,” said Denis Ahearn of Pistner, who singled in his third and final plate appearance to reach base all three times. “His swing is so clean and so good. He’s a great kid to have atop the lineup.”
Both of Qwynn Ahearn’s singles were sharply hit balls up the middle, and his coach said that’s a credit to the “revamped swing” he developed during the pandemic.
“To see everything click has been amazing,” Denis Ahearn said. “To see him be able to succeed like this, as a coach it’s great, but as a dad, it’s even better.”
Marriotts Ridge didn’t go down easily, though.
On the mound, junior Jordan Peguese was solid throughout. The hard-throwing righty allowed five hits and three runs in six innings, while striking out five and walking four.
“He’s an electric pitcher,” said Mustangs coach Paul Eckert. “When he’s on, not too many kids are going to hit him at the high school level.”
After going hitless through three, Marriotts Ridge scored its lone run in the fourth. Blake Krupinsky doubled off the left field fence and scored on a Chase Kamerman (2 for 3) single. The Mustangs stranded two runners on base in that frame, as well as in the sixth and seventh innings.
“I think our kids hit against him pretty well,” Eckert said of how his hitters fared against Cadeyrn Ahearn, who has been one of the best pitchers in Howard County this season. “He’s a good pitcher, but I think our kids battled him every inch of the way.”
“[Cadeyrn] clearly didn’t have his best stuff today,” Denis Ahearn said. “He had to bear down and figure out how to get outs even if he wasn’t overpowering guys like he typically does. That’s the sign of a maturing pitcher who is taking his game to the next level.”
The Eagles got an insurance run in the fifth on an RBI groundout from Betler that scored Charles Schmitt, who led off the inning with a triple to right field.
With two runners on in the sixth, Cadeyrn Ahearn was replaced with fellow freshman Zachary Harris, who is the Eagles’ go-to reliever when runners are on base. Harris, who earned the save in the Eagles’ county championship-clinching victory over Howard earlier this month, got out of the jam with a fly out to right field.
“It’s great to know I have someone else coming to close the job,” Cadeyrn Ahearn said. “I want to throw a complete game, but it’s easy to hand it off to him.”
The righty allowed two one-out singles in the seventh but retired the final two batters to earn the save.
“It’s the mindset and the focus and the fearlessness to attack the zone that impresses me most about [Harris],” Denis Ahearn said.
The win Saturday was the 10th straight for Centennial. The time of the Eagles’ game against Damascus Monday is to be determined.
No. 1 Centennial 3, No. 2 Marriotts Ridge 1 (3A East Region I)
……. 123 456 7 — R H E
MR — 000 100 0 — 1 6 0
C — 101 010 x — 3 5 0
W: C — Cadeyrn Ahearn; L: MR — Jordan Peguese; SV: C — Zachary Harris.
2B: MR — Blake Krupinsky.
3B: C — Charles Schmitt.
SB: MR — Logan Anderson, Chase Kamerman.
OTHER BASEBALL SCORES:
No. 2 Atholton 4, No. 4 Reservoir 0 (3A East Region II)
Liam Snow thew six shutout innings to lead the Raiders to the region title win over the Gators (7-7). Kurtis MacKenzie followed Snow and pitched a scoreless seventh to secure the victory.
Atholton scored one in the bottom of the first and tacked on three more insurance runs in the sixth. Scotty Vaszil led the Raiders with two RBIs, while Devin Hollingsworth and Tony D’Angeli both chipped in with one RBI apiece.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” said Atholton coach Scott Peddicord. “The team chemistry is great. Liam had a heck of a start, and we did everything we needed to do to win. Reservoir is a great team, they really are. We came out, and we showed people we’re pretty good too. This was a great team victory.”
The loss ends Reservoir’s playoff run, which included a region quarterfinal win over Hammond and an upset of No. 1 River Hill in the semis.
Atholton (10-3) will be re-seeded by regular season record along with the seven other region champions.
Box score:
Re — 000 000 0 — 0
A — 100 003 x — 4
3B: A — S. Vaszil. Re — N/A.
SB: A — D. Carrion. Re — N/A.
No. 1 Century 3, No. 3 Glenelg 2 — 14 inn. (2A West Region I)
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THIS GAME
No. 4 Howard 5, No. 2 Arundel 2 (4A East Region I)
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THIS GAME
SOFTBALL:
No. 1 South Carroll 6, No. 2 Glenelg 5 (2A West Region I)
The loss ends the Gladiators’ season. Glenelg went 9-4 overall, earned a first-round bye in the playoffs and won its semifinal game against Century 14-1. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, will be re-seeded by regular season record along with the seven other region champions
No. 1 Reservoir 6, No. 2 River Hill 0 (3A East Region II)
The Gators remained undefeated with a shutout to win the region championship. Kylee Gunkel twirled a shutout in the circle, while Clare Andrews and Courtney Johnson both smacked home runs at the plate.
Gunkel allowed only two hits while striking out 13 in seven innings. Andrews went 2 for 3 at the plate with a homer and two RBIs. Johnson added a two-run blast, and Alyssa Kelly had an RBI triple. Rhiannon Little chipped in with two singles.
River Hill’s Ella Wood tossed three shutout innings before allowing five runs in the fourth and fifth. She ended with seven hits allowed and two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Lux Sheplee relieved her, allowing two hits and one run in 1 1/3 innings. At the plate for the Hawks (8-5), Sara Emig went 2 for 3 for River Hill’s lone base knocks.
Reservoir (13-0) will be re-seeded by regular season record along with the seven other region champions. The Gators can’t be seeded lower than No. 3.
Box score:
RH — 000 000 0 — 0 2 1
Re — 000 231 x — 6 9 0
W: Re — K. Gunkel; L: RH — E. Wood.
3B: Re — A. Kelly.
HR: Re — C. Andrews, C. Johnson.
No. 1 North County 10, No. 2 Howard 0 (4A East Region I)
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THIS GAME
BOYS LACROSSE:
No. 2 Marriotts Ridge 13, No. 1 Westminster 10 (3A East Region I)
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THIS GAME
TRACK & FIELD
Eleven of the 12 Howard County outdoor track and field teams competed at regionals on Saturday, with two local squads winning titles. The Oakland Mills boys team, which officially won the county championship last week, were the 3A East Region champion, while Mt. Hebron finished in first on the girls side of the same regional meet.
Check back later for more information about the regional meets, including team and individual results as well as state qualifiers.
——
Don’t see scores or stats from your favorite team? Send results and any game information to Brent Kennedy at bkennedy@baltsun.com and Jacob Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com.