Spalding baseball coach Joe Palumbo calls Sam Houchens his “undercover stud.” The junior pitcher and outfielder entered the Cavaliers’ program under the radar but has evolved into one of their best players.
Houchens was the key for Spalding in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship series against Calvert Hall. He hit a game-winning three-run home run in Game 1, then picked up the win in 2 2/3 innings of relief in a 10-6 victory in the third and deciding game Monday at Joe Cannon Stadium to pave the way for the Cavaliers’ third consecutive championship.
Spalding (28-5) also won three consecutive titles from 2014 to 2016.
“I like playing with pressure,” Houchens said. “I feel like I deal with it well. I stepped up and did what had to be done. It’s awesome.”
The Cavaliers broke open the game when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored five runs for an 8-4 lead in the fourth inning.
Spalding catcher Jack McNally started the rally with a leadoff double to left and Cardinals freshman Grayson Ryan replaced starter Peter Bashore on the mound. Carver Salazer hit a sharp grounder that Calvert Hall third baseman Thomas Pilarski could not handle before Braeden Martin lined an RBI single to right. Brennan Inscoe’s comebacker added the sixth run when Houchens beat Ryan’s throw to the plate.
Drew Enrich hit a single that fell between the center fielder and shortstop and extended the lead to 7-4. Theo Loughlin’s sacrifice fly added the eighth run that ended the afternoon for Ryan, who was replaced by Jake Dulski.
“We’ve done the reps, done the practice and we just had to put all of that into the game,” McNally said. “Our pitching staff has been great all year and handled adversity. We’re ready for a fourth [championship].”
Calvert Hall (19-12) pulled to within 8-6 in the sixth when Brennan Kwiatkowski led off with a double and scored on a bunt by Pilarski, who advanced on a throwing error. Will Haacke followed with an RBI double off Houchens, who also had two hits.
“We have a great group of [Class of 2025 players] that we were really excited about coming in,” Palumbo said. “I think he was the undercover stud that a lot of people didn’t know about. I knew that he was going to have a big impact on our program. He has blossomed into a dynamic player who can do a lot of things to help us win.”
Spalding added two more runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Loughlin and a squeeze bunt by Carson Merritt.
The Cavaliers gave the ball to their sophomore closer Arian Vargas, who got the final four outs with two strikeouts to seal the win.
Spalding took control in the first inning with three runs off Calvert Hall right-hander Bashore. Cruz Luna lined a one-out double to center, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Brennan Inscoe.
After Loughlin drew a walk, McNally cleared the bases when he drove a ball over the head of center fielder Haacke that rolled to the wall for a triple.
Calvert Hall responded and took the lead with four runs and six hits in the third. Clark Mileto set the table with a double to right off Spalding right-hander Nathan Wines. Nathan Rodriguez, Michael Copenspire and Travis Peitz followed with RBI singles.
Luke Kreiner added the fourth run on a fielder’s choice to second.
Junior left-hander Houchens replaced Wines in the fourth and had a quick 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout.
While the first two games were low-scoring — Spalding won Game 1, 3-0, on Friday and Calvert Hall won the second game, 3-1, on Sunday — Game 3 was more offensive. Cardinals coach Brooks Kerr laments some of the mistakes that led to Spalding runs. Calvert Hall has the most MIAA championships with 12 but has not won the title since 2019.
“That’s a good team and you have to be good to beat them,” Kerr said. “We swung the bats decently today but we made some defensive mistakes we haven’t made, to be honest. But that’s baseball. That’s what happens.”
Calvert Hall — 004 002 0 — 6 10 3
Spalding — 300 502 X — 10 10 2
WP: Houchens. LP: Ryan
2B: C— Mileto, Kwiatkowski, Haacke, Copenspire; S – Luna; McNally, Inscoe, Emrich; 3B: S – McNally
