Public school playoffs underway; Nate Reed takes home Prep Ballplayer award

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association playoffs got underway Thursday throughout the state.

Here’s a breakdown of how area teams fared in the opening round:

*Note: The Section I and II semifinals are set for Saturday, May 11.*

Class 1A

Eight teams from Baltimore County and four teams from the city made up the North Region. That total was cut by a third as four county teams were eliminated — the city teams (Dunbar, Frederick Douglass, Reginald Lewis and Forest Park) all had byes.

Randallstown and Sparrows Point square off in the Section I semifinals following their 13-3 and 16-0 victories over George Washington Carver and Overlea, respectively.

Loch Raven, who shutout Western Tech 9-0, travels to Pikesville Saturday — the Panthers came away with a 16-6 win over Chesapeake.

The Section II city matchups are as follows: Dunbar versus Frederick Douglass and Forest Park versus Reginald Lewis.

Patterson Mill is the lone Harford County school to advance to the East Region Section I semifinal game: the Huskies earned a 4-1 win over Kent County. They now face Colonel Richardson. Havre de Grace and Joppatowne both fell to their opposition, 18-1 and 14-0, respectively.

Francis Scott Key represented Carroll County as the only Class 1A school in the playoffs. The Eagles fell to Brunswick in a one-run West Region – Section II contest.

Class 2A

Section I of the South Region consisted of six Howard County teams. Glenelg topped Hammond 11-1 while Wilde Lake edged River Hill 5-4. So, the semifinals are now set for Saturday: Marriotts Ridge versus Glenelg and Wilde Lake versus Oakland Mills.

Southern also found its way in the semifinals with a Section II victory over Westlake 16-2. The Anne Arundel County school will now face La Plata.

The four Baltimore County teams in the North Region had byes. They square off in the Section I semis: Hereford versus Eastern Tech and Edmondson/Westside versus New Town.

In Section II, Carver Vo-Tech beat Central 13-1 — the city school will travel to Gwynn Park for the semifinal game. Patterson, who had a bye, hosts Crossland.

North Harford run-ruled Elkton 15-5 in an East Region – Section 1 contest — the Hawks travel to Harford Tech in the semis. Fallston will face Rising Sun in the next round after Thursday’s 10-9 win over North East.

Century, the defending state champions, welcomes Liberty to its field in Sykesville for a West Region – Section I semifinal game Saturday. The Lions beat Winters Mill 3-0 Thursday.

South Carroll, who also had a bye, will host Oakdale in the second semis matchup.

Class 3A

Two city schools are in the South Region – Section I semis: City hosts Potomac while Poly gets dealt Oxon Hill.

Eight Baltimore County teams found themselves in the North Region — four other schools are from Harford County. In Section I, Woodlawn hosts Franklin, who is coming off a 10-6 victory over Lansdowne, while Parkville and Towson face off in the second semifinals game.

Bel Air will host C. Milton Wright in Section II — the Mustangs topped Baltimore County’s Dundalk 9-1. Aberdeen faces Kenwood in the other semis contest — the Eagles beat Edgewood Thursday 6-3 while the Bluebirds earned a 17-2 win over Patapsco, another Baltimore County school.

Four Howard County teams face off in the East Region – Section I semis: Reservoir versus Centennial and Mt. Hebron versus Atholton.

In Section II, Anne Arundel County schools Northeast and Chesapeake face Stephen Decatur and J.M. Bennett, respectively.

The West Region features two Carroll County teams who square off in a Section 1 semifinal game: Westminster versus Manchester Valley. The Mavericks earned a 13-1 victory over Watkins Mill Thursday.

Class 4A

Dulaney, a Baltimore County school, hosts Perry Hall in a North Region – Section I semifinal while Howard — the defending state champions — welcomes Catonsville in the second.

The East Region is full of teams from Anne Arundel County. Severna Park plays host to Arundel, who run-ruled Glen Burnie 16-6 Thursday, while North County gets Old Mill — the Patriots beat Meade 13-2.

In Section II, Broadneck faces Annapolis, who edged North Point 4-3, and South River travels to Leonardtown.

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association double-elimination tournament starts Friday for the “A” and “B” Conferences.

No. 4 Mount St. Joseph hosts No. 5 Archbishop Spalding while No. 6 Loyola travels to No. 3 McDonogh. The lowest seed that advances will face No. 1 Calvert Hall — the other winner plays No. 2 Gilman. Those games are set for May 13, as well as the first elimination game between the two teams who fell in the opening round.

Same goes for the “B” Conference. No. 1 Glenelg County and No. 2 St. Vincent Pallotti will face either  No. 4 Gerstell – No. 5 Mount Carmel or No. 3 Boys’ Latin – No. 6 Annapolis Area Christian.

The “C” Conference championship game is set between Indian Creek and Concordia Prep. The game will be played Tuesday at St. Paul’s School.

Getting to our Prep Ballplayer of the Week award: Harford Tech’s Nate Reed earned 69 percent of the vote for the latest crown.

The junior struck out a combined 12 hitters in two outings last week, pitching 3 2/3 innings one game and a complete game the next. He added three RBIs at the plate.

Reed was one of three candidates for the weekly award — joined by Howard’s Brendan Foster and Key School’s Mark Fusco.

We’ll have three more finalists at 12 p.m. Monday as well as the latest playoff updates from both the MPSSAA and MIAA brackets. Stay tuned!