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.

No. 4 Stevenson not only defeated No. 12 and reigning national champion Salisbury, 12-6, in a NCAA tournament semifinal to advance to the program's first title game, but the Mustangs may also have banished some ghosts of the past. Stevenson had been escorted out of the postseason in two of the past three seasons by the Sea Gulls, who still command a 10-6 advantage in their series with their former Capital Athletic Conference foe. What made Sunday's triumph even more special is that the Mustangs had been evicted from the Final Four in 2010 and 2012 by Salisbury, a program that has captured 10 national titles.

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.

Prior to Sunday night's NCAA tournament semifinal against No. 4 Stevenson, No. 12 and reigning national champion Salisbury had advanced to nine of 10 Final Fours and won every single one to advance to the title game. That did not happen against the Mustangs, who registered a convincing 12-6 victory over the Sea Gulls at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills. While the Stevenson players and coaches celebrated with their fans, Salisbury (17-6) huddled in front of the net on its side of the field and got some words of wisdom from coach Jim Berkman.

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.

Reigning national champion Salisbury has won 10 of 15 meetings in this series and is 2-0 against Stevenson in the NCAA tournament semifinals. But the Mustangs took the last contest, 10-8, at Sea Gull Stadium on April 3. The Sea Gulls (17-5) - ranked 12th in the most recent United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll - are making their 10th Final Four appearance in the last 11 years and have advanced to the title game every time. Junior attackman Rhett DePol has recorded 19 goals and a team-high 34 assists after managing nine goals and eight assists last season.

In a year when the Stevenson men's lacrosse team had already achieved its first 20-win season, it only seemed fitting that the Mustangs would get to enjoy another breakthrough: their first trip to the national title game. Senior attackman Tyler Reid and junior attackman Chris Dashiell each scored three goals to help No. 4 Stevenson overwhelm No. 12 and reigning national champion Salisbury, 12-6, in an NCAA tournament semifinal Sunday night. An announced 2,311 at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills - the largest crowd to watch a lacrosse game at the facility - witnessed the Mustangs improve to 21-2, collect their 11th straight victory, and snap a 0-3 record in the Final Four.

For the third time in the last four seasons, Stevenson and Salisbury will meet in the NCAA Division III tournament semifinals and at stake is a spot in the championship final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 26. Both sides took different paths to the same destination. The No. 4 Mustangs (20-2) have been ranked in top five for pretty much the entire year and collected a program-record 20th victory with Wednesday night's 13-7 victory over No. 13 Lynchburg. The No. 12 Sea Gulls (17-5)

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.

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.

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)

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.