Mustangs

When C. Milton Wright and North Harford met in girls lacrosse Thursday night, both sides expected a close game. None of their previous seven meetings had been decided by more than four goals. Three of the last five were one-goal games. Early on, No. 3 C. Milton Wright appeared ready to buck that trend by running up a seven-goal lead, but the Mustangs needed that advantage to hold off the visiting Hawks for a 12-10 victory that clinched the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division championship.

As a freshman, Century's Hannah Warther hasn't hesitated to take the big shots, and she hit the biggest one so far Friday night to give the No. 5 Knights a 10-9 double-overtime victory over No. 2 C. Milton Wright in a Class 3A-2A girls lacrosse state semifinal at Franklin. After the defending state champs won the draw in sudden-death overtime, they settled the ball to look for the best shot. Senior Haley Bordner, who has 38 assists this spring, set up Warther for the game winner in the Knights' second straight comeback win over C. Milton Wright in the state semifinals.

Baseball Athletics: Agreed to terms with OF Austin Nagle and assigned him to Rookie League Athletics. Braves: Assigned IF Kurt Abbott to Triple-A Richmond for injury rehabilitation. Devil Rays: Placed former Orioles P Esteban Yan on 15-day DL with inflammation of right shoulder. Recalled P Jeff Wallace from Triple-A Durham. Expos: Optioned OF Milton Bradley to Triple-A Ottawa. Recalled OF Peter Bergeron from Ottawa. Mets: Agreed to terms with IF David Bacani and assigned him to Appalachian League Kingsport.

Salisbury is the torchbearer for NCAA tournament semifinals, making 10 of the last 11 Final Fours. But Stevenson is beginning to establish itself as a regular in the semifinals. The No. 4 Mustangs (20-2) will be making their fourth Final Four appearance in the last five years when they play host to the reigning national champion and No. 12 Sea Gulls (17-5) this Sunday night at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. It is a badge of honor for a program that had not qualified for the NCAA tournament until 2009.

Brad Markey threw a one-hitter, struck out nine and drove in three runs to lead top-ranked C. Milton Wright over No. 9 Fallston, 7-0, at Ripken Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory, the Mustangs clinched the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division title. It was Markey's second shutout against the Cougars this season. "I knew this one was an important game," Markey said. "My go-to pitch was my fastball today. It was keeping them off balance most of the time.

For most of Saturday night's Class 2A state final at UMBC, fourth-ranked Fallston appeared to have all of the answers for the high-powered offense of No. 2 Marriotts Ridge. The Mustangs, however, kept pressing and finally broke through when Kwadwo Owusu-Boiatey headed in a corner kick from Kyle Mercer with 6:07 left in the first overtime to give Marriotts Ridge a 1-0 victory. It was the Mustangs' first state title and their 16th consecutive victory. The Mustangs have only given up five goals over that stretch.

katherine.dunn@baltsun.com Goals: MR---Grote 2, Thompson, Stukenberg, DiAntonio, Diffendal; C—Mercer 4, Flister 3, Bordner, Quigg, Remenapp. Assists: MR—Stukenberg; C—Quigg, Remenapp. Saves: MR—Clipp 3; C—Pentz 4. Half: C, 5-2.

Amy Ator hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in MacKenzie Fitzgerald with the winning run as the No. 5 C. Milton Wright softball team beat visiting No. 12 Mount de Sales, 2-1, on Saturday. The Mustangs (16-1) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Jessica Canami walked, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Lindsay Kuczak. It was the only earned run of the game. The Sailors (10-7) knotted the score in the top of the seventh as pitcher Holly Whitehead scored.

C. Milton Wright forward Stacey Milton is just about back to full strength. That's bad news for the rest of the county's girls basketballteams.But that's great news for the Mustangs.Milton sat out early in the season recovering from mononucleosis and a finger broken in five places. She returned to the lineup full time last week and led the Mustangs to their biggest two wins of the season.First, they beat co-defending county champ North Harford, 43-37, on Tuesday. Not only did Milton contribute 19 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, four assists and two steals, but she scored six of the Mustangs' 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The C. Milton Wright girls lacrosse team always has relied on balanced scoring under head coach Kathy Breymaier, yet junior Becky Gerhart has quickly assumed the lead role on attack.Gerhart has gone from a defensive player with average skills to the Mustangs' strongest player up front, with quickness and stickwork, while leading the county in goals scored (42) a year ago. Gerhart's move up to attack last season also allowed the Mustangs to advance to the state semifinals."I want to be the leader, I would rather have that responsibility," said Gerhart, who also leads the Mustangs in ground balls.

No. 2 C. Milton Wright won its fourth consecutive girls lacrosse region title Wednesday, edging a determined No. 8 North Harford team, 15-14, for the Class 3A-2A North crown. The host Mustangs (14-1), who trailed 4-1 in the game's first 10 minutes, rebounded with a 7-1 run to close the half for an 8-5 lead. The two teams traded a pair of goals to open the second half before North Harford scored three unanswered goals to tie the game, 10-10. North Harford (13-2) retook the lead, 12-11, on Leah Monticello's third goal with 9:11 to play, but C.M. Wright rallied for three straight to lead 14-12 at the 4:53 mark.

The ends were just as important as the starts for the Stevenson men's lacrosse team in its 13-7 victory over No. 13 Lynchburg in Wednesday night's NCAA tournament quarterfinal at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. No. 4 Stevenson's fourth appearance in the last five national semifinals was aided by the offense's ability to score goals in the final minutes of the first and second quarters. Sophomore attackman Mark Pannenton converted a bounce pass from junior attackman Chris Dashiell with 1.1 seconds left in the first period and then scored with 38.3 and 19.7 seconds remaining in the second frame.

DIVISION III MEN No. 4 Stevenson (20-2) Coming up: Vs. No. 12 Salisbury, Sunday, 7 p.m., Mustang Stadium Comment: Of the reigning national champion Sea Gulls' 11 losses since 2010, five have occurred at the hands of the Mustangs. Junior attackman Chris Dashiell has recorded 53 assists this year, which is the third-most in a single season at Stevenson. No. 12 Salisbury (17-5) Coming up: At No. 4 Stevenson, Sunday, 7 p.m. Comment: The Sea Gulls hold a 10-5 advantage in this series, but the Mustangs won the most recent meeting, 10-8, on April 3. Senior midfielder Eric Kluge, who leads the offense in goals (39)

Although this is the first time these programs will meet in the NCAA tournament, they have met nine times in the regular season since 2006. Stevenson has won five of those contests. Lynchburg (14-5) - ranked 13th in the most recent United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll - is 0-1 in the quarterfinal round, losing to Roanoke, 10-9, in 2005. Senior Vin Curran has won 55.8 percent (129-of-231) of his faceoffs and ranks third on the team in goals with 29. No. 4 Stevenson (19-2)

When the Stevenson men's lacrosse team last tangled with Lynchburg, the two sides went to overtime before the Mustangs escaped with a win. Stevenson made sure that scenario was not repeated. Sophomore attackman Mark Pannenton scored all three of his goals in the first half and senior midfielder Peter Green chipped in two goals and two assists to lift the No. 4 Mustangs to a 13-7 victory over the No. 13 Hornets in a NCAA tournament quarterfinal Wednesday night. An announced 1,276 at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills — the second-largest crowd to watch a lacrosse game at Stevenson — watched the Mustangs earn their fourth trip to a national semifinal in the last five seasons where they will meet No. 12 Salisbury at 7 p.m. on Sunday in Owings Mills.

Senior defenseman Parker Bratton is fully expected to make his customary start when No. 4 Stevenson welcomes No. 13 Lynchburg to Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills for Wednesday night's NCAA tournament quarterfinal. Whether the Baltimore native and McDonogh graduate plays the entire 60 minutes is a different matter. Bratton, who is tied for fourth on the team in caused turnovers with 17 and ranks seventh in ground balls with 47, has been bothered by a turned ankle suffered about two weeks ago. Coach Paul Cantabene said he is not too worried about Bratton, who has missed two games this season.

For five minutes, 17 seconds, it would not have been difficult to assume that Dimitri Pecunes felt as if he had let down his Stevenson teammates. The freshman goalkeeper had surrendered five goals in the first quarter of the No. 4 Mustangs' home contest against No. 11 Washington College at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Saturday night and was promptly pulled for sophomore Kevin Cain at the start of the second period. But that was not the approach the Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate had taken as he stood on the sideline.