After entering the playoffs at the top of their game and with so much promise, Chapelgate's top-seeded Yellowjackets were ousted by the fourth-seeded team, McDonogh, 8-4, in the semifinals.

McDonogh went on to beat Notre Dame Prep, 5-3, in the championship game of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland's B Conference.

"After playing so well for so long, we had an off day and did not field well," said coach John Isaac, whose team had five errors. Isaac said the Yellowjackets also made two costly baserunning mistakes.

"McDonogh played great defense on some well-hit balls," he added. "McDonogh was fired up and we did not match their energy or intensity."

Chapelgate's pitching staff walked 10 and gave up nine hits to a team it had soundly beaten twice in the regular season.

"It was a sad ending to an otherwise wonderful season," Isaac said.

This is the fourth straight year that Chapelgate has lost in the semifinals.

"It is painful to see what was the best team yet at Chapelgate not advance or even win the championship after coming into that game with an 11-game winning streak and playing very well until Thursday," Isaac said. "The part I feel the worst about is the four seniors -- Lauren Ahrens, Amanda Webster, Cori Bohn and Emily Casey -- who have meant so much to this program" but will graduate without a title.

But the Yellowjackets will return a lot of talent, including pitcher Meg Black, who was 15-5 this season with 169 strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA. Catcher Julia Groves also returns; she threw out 22 would-be base stealers this spring. Jacki Harbison (20 RBIs), Shannon Bishop (.305) and Christina Hahn (.283) also return.

"That's a pretty good nucleus," Isaac said.

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

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