North Carroll

North Carroll pitcher Kandi Lippy said her team was ready to win yesterday. Teammate Jill Ballard said the Panthers wanted a victory badly, and coach Rich Harvey described his team as "focused."Walkersville probably won't argue with any of those descriptions.Lippy threw a four-hitter, and No. 13 North Carroll repeatedly came through in the clutch in the field and at the plate for a 4-0 victory over visiting Walkersville in the Class 2A West region final.This is the second region title in the past three years for North Carroll (14-5)

UNION BRIDGE -- Last night was essentially billed as a coming-out party for a youthful No. 10 Francis Scott Key wrestling team, which played host to defending Carroll County champion and No. 3 North Carroll.North Carroll was still smarting from two seasons back, when the Eagles ended the Panthers' 48-match winning streak, 33-22, to win the dual-meet title. But this season's Eagles (8-1-1, 3-1), who comprise four freshmen, a sophomore, six juniors and just two seniors, lost, 50-15, to North Carroll (11-1, 4-0)

This was supposed to be a matchup between two teams headed for the state 1A-2A girls soccer tournament.But it turned out to be mostly a North Carroll show in a 2-0 victory over Liberty last night, ruining the final home game for seven Liberty seniors.The Panthers jumped ahead, 2-0, in the first half on goals by Ashlee Douglas and Julie Baker and coasted to the win in the second half.The win may have been a costly, as the Panthers senior wing Stephanie May apparently injured her neck in the final seconds of the game.

North Carroll's Panthers, ranked No. 2 by the Maryland State Wrestling Association, travel to five-time defending 3A-4A state champ Old Mill on Friday night in their fourth annual meeting.The Panthers (8-0), who wrestle at Centennial on Tuesday, trail the series against Old Mill, 2-1, but won last year's meeting to end a Patriots' dual-meet winning streak that had totaled more than 30 matches.North Carroll's best wrestlers are Tim Perry (103, 8-5), Ed Davis (112, 12-2), Doug Dell (119, 12-2)

A perplexing slump continued for the North Carroll girls basketball team last night.The Panthers, who have dropped from sixth to 12th in the rankings, lost their third straight game, falling to host Damascus, 59-54, in a non-league game that was close most of the way.In the end, Damascus (12-4) had too much outside shooting from Theresa Arnett (game-high 25 points) and too much inside power from 6-foot Kristi Geary (six points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots) for North Carroll.The Panthers (13-5)

North Carroll junior guard Scott Hensley was ready and willing to be the hero last night. And then Centennial's Denny Chapman stole the show.The Eagles sophomore took up where he left off the day before with some clutch offense down the stretch to give Centennial a 74-69 win over the Panthers in the finals of the North Carroll Holiday Tournament.Hensley (26 points) was hitting from everywhere in the fourth quarter and when he hit a three and was fouled with 3:13 left, it gave the Panthers a 65-62 lead.

IN THE BICKEL family almost everyone runs, so it's no wonder Lindsay Bickel, who just turned 9, enjoys running. What's special about Lindsay is her speed. On June 16, Lindsay set a state record for the 1,500-meter race for 9-year-olds. Leaving behind even the 10-year-old runners, the tiny girl in pigtails ran the race, 100 yards short of a mile, in about 5 minutes, 50 seconds. She took the gold medal. Later, she won third place in the 800-meter run. On July 7 and 8, Lindsay will compete in a regional track meet in Hampton, Va. Setting track records is women's work in this family.

North Carroll wrestling coach Dick Bauerlein figures he upset some wrestling fans Friday night when he juggled his starting lineup in theshowdown with Old Mill.Much of the wrestling world was anticipating a thriller at 140 pounds between Brent Layman, the state's top-ranked wrestler, and sixth-ranked Jason Myers. But Bauerlein, looking for an advantage against Old Mill's powerful upper weight classes, shifted Myers to 145 pounds.Had the strategy worked, perhaps Bauerlein's move wouldn't be open to such debate.

The South Carroll Cavaliers slugged their way through North Carroll, 11-5, yesterday to keep pace with Westminster in the Carroll County championship race and to keep their 3A West Regional playoff hopes alive.No. 9 batter Brian Herche hit a grand slam and Jeremy Hancock a bases-empty homer to lead the Cavaliers' 12-hit charge that also included long run-scoring doubles by Zach Hollman and Ronnie White.Hancock's shot to center field in the sixth inning was hit so hard that North Carroll center fielder Art Crouse just turned around and watched as it sailed over the fence.

Senior forward Warren Gordon scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an upset of Westminster last week. Gordon, 6 feet 3, averages four points, 5.5 rebounds and one assist a game while blocking a team-leading seven shots this season for the Panthers (9-6). His coach, Lloyd Ford, said the most impressive thing about Gordon is, "he just plays like he's having a good time." Talk about your performance in North Carroll's win over Westminster. I just stayed focused and stepped up for that game.