Box Score
BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford baseball team offense was stagnant on Thursday night as the Fighting Owls (26-9, 13-6 MDJUCO) dropped an important MDJUCO and Region XX game to CCBC-Dundalk, 14-3 (7 inn.) at Harford Baseball Field.
Harford managed just four hits against the Lions (15-19, 6-8 MDJUCO) and did not see a base-runner until the fifth inning as sophomore Bo Loar (Fallston, Md./Fallston) reached on a Dundalk error.
Lion pitcher Jason Jutson (5-5) saw his bids for a perfect game, no-hitter and shutout vanish in that inning with Loar reaching safely, freshman Christian Wolfe (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) notching the first hit and Loar scoring on freshman Corey Taylor's (Fallston, Md./Fallston) RBI single that put Harford on the board.
Jutson finished the game with three runs (one earned) on four hits and struck out four in the truncated seven-inning contest. Rob Lance was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for Dundalk with two runs, an RBI, a double and a walk, while Marbel Rodriguez batted in five runs, going 2-for-4 with one run and a grand-slam home run.
Freshman Dom Vattuone (Germantown, Md./Northwest) (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he allowed eight runs on nine hits in just two innings, while Wolfe was the only Owl batter to tally multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a home run. Taylor and sophomore Woody Wlodarczyk (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) were the only Harford players to record a hit.
The Lions struck first in the second thanks to Josh McDevitt's RBI single and put the nail in the coffin with a 10-run third inning that included a grand slam from Rodriguez. Dundalk added two more in the fourth and one in the fifth for a 14-run total.
Meanwhile, Jutson saw three-up and three-down during Harford's chances at the plate for four straight innings before Loar reached on a Lion error to start the fifth. The Owls tallied one run in that inning and saw Wolfe start the seventh with a solo homer.
In a baffling display, sophomore Jordan Heller (Loch Raven, Md./Loch Raven/Chesapeake) took two bases on a dropped pop fly and in the confusion advanced to third for a three-base error. Sophomore Eric Quinn (Pylesville, Md./Harford Christian) sent a sacrifice fly deep into right that allowed Heller to score, but Harford would end the inning two runs shy of the five total runs they needed to avoid the 10-run mercy rule as Dundalk won, 14-3, in seven innings.
The Fighting Owls return to action on Saturday when they travel to Chesapeake for a doubleheader at 12:00 p.m.
