Glenelg already had Hope and Faith and took advantage of a little charity from Hammond to upset the defending county champions and win its first county title since 2004.

Glenelg scratched out single runs in three innings and got a commanding, no-hit pitching performance from Casey Schmidt to clinch a 3-1 win over Hammond May 7.

Glenelg also used Hammond miscues -- a dropped third strike in one inning and throwing errors in two others -- to help push across the runs.

"This is the best day of my life," said senior Ashley McGlynn after the win at Hammond. "I've never won a county championship in anything."

Hammond (15-1 regular county season, 16-3 overall) was highly favored to win its second straight county championship.

"We knew we were the underdog," Glenelg second baseman Faith Walter said.

McGlynn scored what turned out to be the winning run in the fifth inning. With the game tied at one apiece, McGlynn reached second on a throwing error. Hope LaHayne moved her to third with another infield grounder, and Walter laid down a bunt to score her.

Glenelg added its last run in the sixth after Kayleigh Shaul reached first on another throwing error, stole a base and scored from second on a single by Kylie Pritchard. But Hammond leftfielder Sam Grailey threw out Pritchard at home as she tried to score from second on a single by Kaitlin Quinn.

The Gladiators knew they had to "lay off" Stephanie Speierman's wicked rise ball, McGlynn said.

Instead, added Walter, the Gladiators bunted to get on and to move runners.

"Last year, we went down swinging," said Glenelg coach Dean Sheridan, recalling the 5-0 loss to Hammond in the 2007 championship game. This time, Glenelg bunted to put the ball in play and used its speed to force Hammond "to make some decisions" defensively, he said.

Hammond had beaten Glenelg, 9-0, during a regular season game earlier this spring. But the Gladiators' defense was not sharp that day. In the title game, however, "we had a lock-down defense," Walter said.

Glenelg committed just two errors, though one led to Hammond's lone run. Speierman bunted for a fourth-inning lead-off single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kayle Hunley and scored on Katie McCarthy's grounder that was misplayed in the infield. But Schmidt struck out the next batter to end the rally.

Speierman's run tied the game. Glenelg had scored in the second inning, when Lindsey Glascock singled, stole a base, moved to third on a wild pitch, and was safe at the plate on an infield grounder by McGlynn.

Schmidt, who said her drop ball was "breaking nicely," pitched to just 24 batters, struck out five and allowed just two balls out of the infield. Her defense did the work behind her, allowing only three Bears to reach base.

Hammond's bats have struggled in some games this season but, said Speierman, today "we put the ball in play. They just made good plays.

"It sucks to lose," added Speierman, who struck out 13, "but I don't mind losing to a good team."

"Last year we played (Hammond) three times," said Schmidt, adding that one of the losses knocked Glenelg out of the playoffs. "We were very disappointed. We had something to prove today.

"I think this is a really big win. I hope we can take this and make it into a winning streak through the playoffs," Schmidt added.

Glenelg is seeded first in its Class 1A regional bracket and, assuming the rain-drenched fields dried out, played Bohemia Manor earlier this week. Hammond played Calvert.

E-mail Karen Brelsford at howardcountysports@patuxent.com.

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