Williamsport

If someone had told Bobby Hallet in August that Sparrows Point would be playing in next week's Class 1A state title game, the Pointers' first-year coach would have told that person to "see a doctor."After all, Hallet inherited a team that lost its leading scorer and starting goalie. And only 14 players showed up for the Pointers' first practice back on Aug. 15.None of that seemed to matter last night as Sparrows Point, a team that Hallet declared "the hottest in the area," romped past Williamsport, 7-2, in a state semifinal matchup at North County.

- The Arundel volleyball team had seen this story before. Unfortunately for them, it again doesn't have a happy ending. Sherwood defeated Arundel 27-25, 25-14,25-13 to win in the Class 4A state volleyball championship at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. Sherwood's Alex Holston, who will play volleyball at Florida next year, has been the major reason the Wildcats have been eliminated from the state tournament the past three years. Sherwood defeated Arundel in the semifinals in 2010, and the state championship last season.

The Francis Scott Key Eagles left the court at halftime last night a little confused by what visiting Williamsport was throwing at them at both ends of the court.They returned a different team, taking the initiative in the second half and giving the Wildcats a taste of their own medicine.The Eagles put the clamps on defensively and rattled off the first 13 points in the third quarter to turn a six-point deficit into a lead they would never relinquish, pulling away with a 60-41 win over Williamsport.

Loch Raven's visit to the Class 2A state semifinals didn't last long. Forty-six minutes after opening introductions, the Raiders had to fight back tears as they walked off the court. They were ushered out quickly by Williamsport, 25-4, 25-5, 25-7, yesterday at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. "We were really overmatched," said second-year coach Matt Smith, whose program was making its second straight appearance after a four-year absence. "Williamsport was faster, taller.

Junior Kelley Gibson scored 25 points in leading Easton to a 51-42 victory over the Williamsport Wildcats (19-6) of Washington County in last night's Class 1A state girls championship final at UMBC.Tamara Coursey added 10 points and five steals for the state champs from Talbot County, and teammate Lee Wildasin scored six points.Easton (22-2) couldn't expand the lead to more than six in the first half and led at halftime, 27-22, following a Gibson three-pointer at the buzzer.Gibson, a 5-foot-11 center, was anything but one-dimensional as she picked up six blocks, six rebounds and five steals.

Folks in Salisbury figure their town is more than just a rest stop for beach-goers. They've got a baseball team to prove it. The kids from West Salisbury have reached the 2007 Little League World Series, which begins today in Williamsport, Pa. One of 16 teams in the international tournament, West Salisbury - the Mid-Atlantic champion - plays Chandler, Ariz., the West winner, in a first-round game at 3 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be televised on Channel 2 (ABC). It's the first trip to Williamsport for West Salisbury (16-4)

The last time Francis Scott Key's volleyball team met Monocacy Valley Athletic League rival Williamsport, both teams were vying for the 1995 Class 1A state title at Catonsville Community College.A veteran Williamsport team avenged a regular-season sweep by the Eagles to win in four games. That was the only loss for the Eagles last season, and they haven't lost since, going 12-0 and winning the county tournament this year to earn a No. 4 ranking in the metro area.Tomorrow night at Key, the two teams will meet again with the MVAL title on the line.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Williamsport scored the first 11 points of its volleyball match with Francis Scott Key. The Eagles, on the other hand, scored eight points the entire match.Defending state champion and top seed Williamsport dominated play throughout on the way to a 15-1, 15-2, 15-5 victory over second seed Francis Scott Key in the Class 1A, Region II title match last night.Williamsport (14-2) advances to the state semifinals on Tuesday at Centennial High. This is Williamsport's third straight regional title, and the Wildcats are shooting for their fourth state title in six years.

WILLIAMSPORT, PA. / / Williamsport makes national and international news once a year -- when the Little League World Series is played here in August. But it's unfortunate that this north-central Pennsylvania city gets forgotten almost as quickly as the last Little Leaguer rounds the bases at Howard J. Lamade Stadium. That's just wrong, because Williamsport is too rich a place to leave unexplored. I know, because I've spent some of the happiest times of my life there. In fact, Williamsport is more like my home than my hometown.

Fallston's offense disappeared early, and despite a second-half surge the Cougars fell to defending champ Williamsport, 41-39, for the second straight year in the girls Class 1A state championships last night.The Cougars, who trailed 6-0 early in the semifinal, missed their final four shots, including a three-point attempt by Lori Heffley with two seconds left that rattled around the rim and popped out.With 1:38 left, the Cougars tied the game at 38 on Pam Toth's free throw. But the Cougars (18-5)

The Aberdeen IronBirds (17-27) fell in extra innings Thursday night, losing 6-5 to the host-team Williamsport Crosscutters. With the score tied, 5-5, in the bottom of the 10th, Williamsport plated the game-winning run. Aberdeen's Creede Simpson was 1-for-5 with one RBI and one run, while teammate Sam Kimmel was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Lucas Herbst was 2-for-5 with one RBI in the loss, and fellow IronBird Gregory Lorenzo was 1-for-4 with one RBI. Joel Hutter, Will Howard, Anthony Vega and Scott Kalush all scored once for Aberdeen.

James Edgar "Jamie" Byron Sr., a former businessman and mayor who was a member of a political family with deep roots in Western Maryland, died July 2 of heart failure at his home in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The former Williamsport and Hagerstown resident was 83. Mr. Byron was born the second of five boys in Williamsport, Washington County, where he was raised. He was the son of William Devereux Byron II, a Western Maryland Democrat who served in the House of Representatives. He was 14 when his father was killed in an Eastern Air Lines crash in Jonesboro, Ga., in 1941, and his mother, Katharine Edgar Byron, was appointed to complete his term.

For a family event that involves baseball, outer space, parades (and is free), head out to Williamsport, Pa., this weekend to watch the 2010 Little League World Series, which has been hosted by the small Pennsylvania town as it has been since 1947. "Carl E. Stotz saw his nephews playing baseball and thought it would be nice if they had a team and a league to play on competitively," said Erin Kriner, a spokeswoman for the event, which begins Friday and continues throughout next week.

They had been planning the trip for a couple of months now, since they saw the Los Angeles Angels' schedule. On Tuesday, April 28, Nick was supposed to come home. Ask anyone around Williamsport and Hagerstown: They had been gearing up for the hour-plus drive to Baltimore for months now. "That was the plan," said Jereme Leazier, 24, a former classmate of Nick Adenhart's at Williamsport High. "We were always going to be here, even if it wasn't his night to pitch." Sitting in the stands at Camden Yards on Tuesday night, Leazier was one of many fans wearing an Adenhart T-shirt.

WILLIAMSPORT -Catching his breath every few moments, Jim Adenhart explained to the hushed crowd that the greatest day of his life was when his 9-pound, 3-ounce baby boy was born. Then, in detail, he relayed his final conversation with his son last week, after Nick Adenhart had pitched the greatest game of his brief major league career. Father and son were in a hotel together in Southern California when the Los Angeles Angels rookie right-hander, 22, asked his father whether it was OK if he went out with friends for a little while to celebrate.

WILLIAMSPORT - On a crisp, cloudless morning, a tightknit rural community and a contingent of major league baseball personnel representing the country's second-largest city joined at a quaint, red-brick church to honor a young man who bridged divergent worlds. Nicholas James "Nick" Adenhart, the 22-year-old Los Angeles Angels right-hander from Western Maryland who was killed last week in a car accident, was buried Thursday after a private service attended by approximately 200 people. Led by a Maryland state trooper, a procession of 70 cars drove five miles to the interment at the Greenlawn Memorial Park in Washington County.

COLLEGE PARK -- Williamsport took out five years of state tournament frustration on an unsuspecting Havre de Grace squad, coasting to a 74-54 victory in a Class 1A semifinal last night at Cole Field House.The Warriors (18-6), ranked No. 10 in the metro area, were in the game for a quarter, but had no answer for a 25-9 pounding that included four three-pointers during a second-quarter blitz. The Wildcats (22-5), backed by their first 20-win season since 1969, will face Cambridge-South Dorchester in today's championship game at 1 p.m. Williamsport won its only championship in 1948, but it was the modern history that was rubbing a sore spot raw. The team had lost four semifinal games in the past five years, and senior twins Brad and Alan Moore were trying for a third straight time.

Baltimore baseball fans have an internal clock that normally tells them to shut it down by this time of the summer and turn their rooting interest to the Ravens and the NFL. A decade of losing seasons at Camden Yards has had its effect, though the 2008 Orioles have done a better job of holding fans' attention. But there's certainly no postseason in the offing. However, before you pack away the diamond dreams for the season, you might want to check in on the Maryland representatives in the Little League World Series.

BASEBALL Little League World Series 8 P.M. [ESPN]: The Hagerstown team that won the Mid-Atlantic region will play a team from Indiana in the first round of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.