Centerville and Hagerstown, two rivals loaded with talent, opened postseason play in the 2A Centerville softball sectional on Monday, May 27. Playing before a large, vocal crowd in cool, windy weather, the two teams battled to a scoreless tie through three innings. Centerville sophomore Madi Yount and Hagerstown senior Rylan Young overpowered the hitters. Yount did not allow a hit through the first three innings while striking out five. Young only allowed a third-inning single to Kinley Rinehart and struck out three.
The Bulldogs broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning. Yount led off the inning by racing all the way to third base on a Hagerstown fielding error. Aubrey Seifer followed by hitting a double off the right-centerfield fence to plate Yount and give Centerville a 1-0 lead.
Hagerstown had a quick response in the bottom of the fourth. Elly Cheeseman reached base on an error and promptly stole second base. After the next batter struck out, Coley Parrish reached on an error. Cheeseman moved to third base and Parrish stole second. Yount struck out the next batter for the second out before walking Aaliya Anderson to load the bases. Young came to the plate with a chance to help her team and she delivered. Young lined a double to center field to drive in three runs and give the Tigers a lead they would never surrender.
The Tigers added three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 6-1 win.
Both pitchers ended up striking out nine batters. Yount only allowed four hits, but the Tigers benefited from five Centerville errors. Young limited the Bulldogs to three hits.
With the win, the Tigers advanced to the semifinal round where they will face Northeastern.
Centerville head coach Brad Hobson said the future for Centerville softball is bright. “Errors really hurt us today. I always tell the girls that an error usually counts for two runs. Lilly Day is our only senior,” Hobson said. “We will miss Lilly, but every other roster player returns and we have an exceptional eighth grade class. We are already looking forward to next season.”
Tiger head coach Bruce Charles had good things to say about Rylan Young. “Rylan pitched a great game,” Charles said. “And she delivered a huge double to give us the lead. I have seen her play enough to expect that from her. She was just Rylan Young being Rylan Young. We beat a good team today. I was nervous because I knew how good they were.”
Centerville (13-8) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Hagerstown (18-2) 0 0 0 3 0 3 x 6
Centerville hits: Rinehart, Seifer, Yount —Hagerstown hits: Cheeseman, Mackenzee Johnson, Allison Stinson, Young
A version of this article appeared in the June 4 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.