CATONSVILLE, Md. - After coming back from a 10-3 deficit after five innings to lead 11-10 in the middle of the seventh, Harford's baseball team could not hold on for the win at Catonsville, allowing a pair of ninth inning runs to los 12-11.

The Fighting Owls closed out their conference schedule in the game, one day after clinching the MD JUCO title over second-place Catonsville.  Harford finishes its league slate with a 24-4 record, falling to 40-12 overall.  Catonsville improves to 20-6 in the league a 31-14-1 overall.

The contest not only featured the first- and second-place teams in the league, but also the top seeds in both the  upcoming Division I (Harford) and Division II (Catonsville) NJCAA Region XX tournaments.

Three second-inning runs gave Harford the early lead, but the Cardinals answered with a seven-run second and a three-run fifth to seemingly take command.  The Owls battled back, however, with five runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh as home runs by Norm Donkin, Cory Shaver and Dennis Mitchell keyed the rallies.  But a one-out RBI single for Catonsville tied it and a two-out infield single won it for the home team in the last inning.

Shaver led Harford's 17-hit attack with a 4-for-4 performance, including a sacrifice fly and five RBIs.  Mitchell added three hits while Donkin, Jerry Jerminski and Kyle Lindsey added two each.  Donkin took the pitching loss in relief.

Harford is off until May 7 when Mercer County visits the Harford Sports Complex for a 6 p.m. game.