LEXINGTON, S.C. — Harford survived two high-scoring shootouts and leaned on timely power hitting throughout the weekend to capture the NJCAA Division I East District championship with a 2-1 series victory over the nation's No. 8 ranked Florence-Darlington Stingers.
Harford clinched the series Saturday afternoon with a dramatic 13-12 win at Lexington County Baseball Stadium, punching its ticket to the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The series featured 63 combined runs and 82 hits across three games, with Harford's offense producing in key moments throughout the weekend.
"This series provided three of the best, most difficult, emotional games we have not only played this season, but that I have experienced at Harford," said head coach Josh Houser. "All three games ended in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and tying and/or winning runs on base. It was great to see how our guys performed in high leverage moment after high leverage moment. We knew all year this group was made for that and they certainly showed themselves and a lot of others [during this series]."
Ty Mercado led the Fighting Owls' power surge during the series, going 4-for-14 with two homers, a triple and six RBIs, adding six runs scored.
Nathan Wingenroth tied Mercado with a team-high six RBIs in the series, while slashing .385/.429/.538, had an on-base plus slugging of .967 and led Harford with two doubles.
Derek Poole added a team-high seven hits, while slashing .438/.438/.625 and scored four runs.
"All three of those guys have been regular contributors for us this season," House said of Mercado, Wingenroth and Poole. "All three have a unique ability to each impact the game in multiple areas. We have all the confidence in them to go out and be themselves and their competitiveness along with many others is a big reason why we are going to the World Series."
Harford opened the series Friday afternoon with a wild 14-13 victory in a game that featured 37 combined hits.
The Fighting Owls (54-6) erupted for five runs in the first inning. Poole delivered an RBI single before Asmus lined a two-run double to right field. Mercado capped the inning with a two-run homer to center.
Flo-Dar (50-13) immediately answered with four runs in the bottom half, highlighted by Pat Costin's two-run double and Jake Little's two-run homer.
Jaxon Kehoe extended Harford's lead with a solo homer in the third inning before the Fighting Owls broke the game open in the sixth. Asmus launched a two-run homer, and Wingenroth followed with a two-run single during a five-run frame that stretched the lead to 11-8.
Flo-Dar refused to go away. Jake Zehner hit a three-run homer in the sixth, and Costin drove in four runs overall, including a three-run double in the ninth inning that trimmed Harford's lead to one.
Matthew Galli closed the door with two strikeouts to earn the save after Harford stranded the tying run.
Harford finished with 21 hits in the opener. Mercado went 3-for-6 with a homer, triple, three runs scored and two RBIs. Poole added three hits and two RBIs, while Asmus drove in four runs.
Game two belonged to Flo-Dar, which evened the series with a 7-4 victory late Friday afternoon.
The Stingers broke the game open with a six-run third inning. Gabe Herold delivered the biggest blow with a two-run homer to center field after Flo-Dar had already scored three runs in the inning.
Jackson Cook added an RBI single later in the frame, and Tanner Beckley homered in the sixth inning to make it 7-0.
Flo-Dar starter Elijah Sanders was exceptional through seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while striking out two.
Harford mounted a late rally in the eighth inning when Mercado blasted a grand slam to left field to cut the deficit to 7-4, but Bryson Harper struck out the final two batters in the ninth to preserve the win.
Kehoe and Wingenroth each recorded two hits for Harford in the loss.
The decisive third game turned into another offensive showcase on Saturday.
Flo-Dar struck first on Costin's RBI single in the opening inning, but Harford answered quickly in the second when Poole tied the game with a solo homer. Wingenroth later added a sacrifice fly to give the Fighting Owls a 2-1 lead.
Harford extended the advantage in the fourth inning. Danny Scullion crushed a three-run homer to center field after Jack Fitzpatrick and Asmus reached base.
After Flo-Dar cut the lead to 5-3, Harford answered again in the fifth. Fitzpatrick lined an RBI double to center before Wingenroth reached on an error that allowed two more runs to score. Reyes added an RBI groundout to make it 9-3.
Fitzpatrick delivered arguably the game's biggest swing in the sixth inning, hammering a three-run homer to left field that pushed Harford's lead to 12-3.
The Stingers scored four runs in the sixth inning, then pulled within one in the eighth when Little blasted a grand slam to right field off AJ Palumbo.
Harford carried a 13-11 lead into the ninth inning before Flo-Dar loaded the bases with no outs. The Stingers scored once on a double-play grounder, but Galli induced a game-ending groundout from Little to secure the district title.
Fitzpatrick finished game three with four RBIs, while Scullion added three RBIs and Poole scored three runs.
Harford's pitching staff bent repeatedly throughout the series but delivered key outs when necessary. The Fighting Owls allowed 32 runs over the three games but produced enough offense to overcome several late rallies.
The two wins were the only one-run games the Fighting Owls have played in all season.
Harford batted .347 as a team in that series and pounded 15 extra base hits. All nine starters had three or more hits in the series.
The championship sends Harford to Grand Junction for the NJCAA Division I World Series. It's been four years since the Fighting Owls have made the national tournament.
"The emotions of this weekend from everyone were essentially two years of work coming together," Houser said. "It was a win that touched far beyond our present players and sophomores, and I think that's why it was special. You can say we avenged last year's heartbreaker, but I believe this was something that we were destined to do this year, with this group, at this time."
