BEL AIR, Md. - Trailing 7-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth, the Fighting Owls scored seven runs to take a 10-7 victory over the No. 2 Florence-Darlington Stingers. The win earns Harford the East District Championship and one of 10 bids to the NJCAA JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

After falling on the wrong side of a lopsided defeat in game one, the Fighting Owls started off strong in game two. Braedon Karpathios, who served as the starting pitcher as designated hitter to begin the contest, blasted a two-run homer to right center for an early 2-0 advantage. The Stingers returned the favor with two runs in the second. A grand slam in the third knocked out Karpathios, forcing the Fighting Owls to turn to Joe Clancy. Clancy (5-0) was electric from the hill, surrendering just one run on three hits while piling up eight strikeouts. 

Clancy's takeover gave the Fighting Owls a chance to work through its offensive struggles. A sac fly in the fifth by Karpathios served as Harford's only run until the eighth, meaning Harford trailed 7-3 with six outs to go.

Quinn Madden led off the eighth with a walk and was followed up by Nick Gaitan (single) and Lenny Montesano (hit by pitch). A bases loaded walk to Joe Quelch plated one to make it 7-4 and forced a Flo-Dar pitching change with Trey Cruz due up next. A few pitches in and Cruz crushed a ball to deep center for the second grand slam of the contest, this time for the Fighting Owls. Harford's newly found one-run lead quickly shot up to 10-7 after an RBI single by Andrew Sicinski and a fielder's choice plated two more.

Clancy came back out for the ninth and sat down the Stingers in order, sending Harford to Grand Junction for the first time since 2016.

The Fighting Owls are now 48-7 on the year.

Scoring Summary: Click Here

Box Score Highlights

• Karpathios (4-4) finished a triple short of the cycle
• A quintet of Fighting Owls ended with two hits each
• Quelch chipped in a hit and stolen base
• Cruz led with his four RBI

For more information about the Harford Fighting Owls, visit www.harfordathletics.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Harford Athletics), Twitter and Instagram (@FightingOwlsHCC).