harford 
FLORENCE & MT. PLEASANT, SC — Harford baseball lost 7-6 yesterday to Florence-Darlington Technical College in game three of the NJCAA East District best-of-three series — despite out-hitting the Stingers 11-6 — ending its season with a 50-10 record.
After an impressive shutout victory in game one on Saturday, powered by a complete-game gem from Liam Diehl (Hereford), Harford dropped back-to-back contests — 4-1 in game two — falling just short of advancing to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Game 1: Diehl Dominates as Harford Takes Opener
Harford set the tone in the opening game of the series on Saturday with a masterclass from Diehl, whose complete-game shutout led the Fighting Owls to a 3-0 win. Diehl scattering seven hits across nine innings without issuing a single walk and struck out eight.
The score remained deadlocked at zero through five innings as the starting pitchers went toe-to-toe. Stingers' starter Mike Joyce held Harford in check early, but the Fighting Owls finally broke through in the sixth.
Rueben Livingston (Reading, Pa.) opened the scoring with an RBI single that gave Harford the lead. Moments later, catcher Derek Poole (Archbishop Curley) delivered the knockout blow — a towering two-run homer to center field that stretched the lead to 3-0. It was Poole's only hit of the day, but it proved decisive.
Harford finished with nine hits in total, with Livingston and Christian Elliott (Somers Point, N.J.) each contributing two. Defensively, the Fighting Owls were sharp, turning a double play and supporting Diehl's dominance with clean fieldwork.
Game 2: Offensive Struggles Lead to 4-1 Loss
In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, Harford couldn't replicate the offensive success game one, falling 4-1 despite, another strong showing from their starting pitcher.
Ryan Garcia (Centreville, Va.) took the mound and delivered six solid innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run while striking out four. His efforts gave Harford a chance to take control, and for a brief moment, it appeared they might.
In the bottom of the fifth, Yariel Rodriguez (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave the Fighting Owls a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to left field. The blast energized the dugout and looked like the start of another breakout inning.
The Stingers answered in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs to flip the game. Josh Campos tied it with an RBI single, Cooper Zohner put them ahead with a sacrifice fly and Patrick Evans tacked on another with an RBI single. A fourth run later in the game provided insurance.
The Fighting Owls tallied only five hits in the game. Alongside Rodriguez, Frank Adamski (John Carroll School), Jeremy Reyes (Queens, N.Y.), Keldrin Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and Ryan Albin (Southhampton, Pa.) each added a hit, but none were able to string together multiple baserunners.
Defensively, Harford remained sharp, turning another double play and avoiding any errors. But the inability to generate offense beyond Rodriguez's home run sent the series to a decisive third game.
Game 3: Stingers Three-Run Ninth Ends Fighting Owl's Season in 7-6 Loss
Rain-soaked Florence, South Carolina on Sunday and Monday, moving the anticipated elimination game to Tuesday at College of Charleston.
The final game of the series was a slugfest that saw Harford out-hit the Stingers 11-6, lead on multiple occasions, and appear in control late — only to suffer a crushing 7-6 defeat following a Stingers' three-run ninth inning.
Harford's offense came alive early, starting with an RBI single from Elliott in the bottom of the second to open the scoring. But a four-run top of the third by the Stingers (51-10) put Harford in a 4-1 hole.
The Fighting Owls responded immediately. Keldrin Rodriguez launched a three-run homer to right field in the bottom of the third, tying the game at 4-4. The shot was part of a strong day for Rodriguez, who finished with a team-high three RBIs.
Adamski gave Harford a 5-4 lead in the sixth with a run-scoring groundout, and the Fighting Owls added another run in the eighth to stretch the lead to 6-4, setting the stage for what looked like a series-clinching win.
But in the top the ninth, Tanner Beckley homered to right, giving the Stingers a 6-5 lead. Florence-Darlington would add another run to make it a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the frame.
Harford pulled to within one on an RBI single from Poole. After the Fighting Owls loaded the bases with two outs, Ty Mercado (Ocean View, N.J.) struck out to end the game.
On the mound, Kyle Tuthill (Morrisville, Pa.) got the call to start and allowed three earned runs over two and a third innings. Sabien Rivera (Philadelphia, Pa.) took over in relief and held the Stingers mostly in check for five and two thirds innings, giving up two runs and striking out four without issuing a walk. Despite a solid outing, Rivera was tagged with the loss due to the ninth inning homer.
Offensively, Harford's lineup was deep and effective. Livingston, Adamski, Elliott, Poole and Albin all had two hits, and the team's 11 total hits were the most of the series. Unfortunately, the Fighting Owls couldn't convert those baserunners into enough runs to hold off the Stingers' late surge.
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