Aberdeen, Md. – Middle Atlantic jumped out to an early lead in the United States Championship game on Saturday at Cal Sr. Yard, but was unable to hold on and lost 2-1 to the Maryland State Champs, who move on to their first-ever appearance in the Cal Ripken World Series Final.

The third inning saw Middle Atlantic score it’s only run of the day on a solo home run by Javier Rosario.

While Middle Atlantic led 1-0 until the fourth inning, Maryland worked its way back and took the lead on an RBI single by Brady Pearre. The lead stayed with Maryland after the fourth, when it scored two runs on an RBI single by Pearre and a hit by pitch.

Jake Heskett recorded the win for Maryland State Champs, allowing only one run over six innings. He struck out four, walked one and surrendered two hits.

“It’s hard to put how I feel about today’s game into words,” said Maryland’s Coach, Will Frazier. “Playing in a Championship Game like this, when you have Cal Ripken sitting up in the press box watching us play baseball… We really wanted to play baseball the right way, and that’s what these kids have done all week.”

This is the first time since the Cal Ripken World Series made its home in Aberdeen, Md. that a Maryland team has advanced to the World Championship game.

“They came out here and just battled every game,” Coach Frazier said about his team. “My starting pitcher Jake Heskett was just incredible, absolutely incredible; he couldn’t have pitched any better. We are just super proud to be here. We weren’t sure if we would make it this far when we first came into the World Series. We traveled up and down the east coast a lot, but even then, you just don’t know who you’re going to play here, which makes it hard to prepare for this. But reaching outside the east coast boundaries really makes it tough as a coach. So we wanted to be prepared, but my kids were prepared for this moment all year.”

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