B-CC High School Athletics: Baseball Results

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Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s 8-7 season-ending loss to Paint Branch High during last Thursday’s 3A West Region baseball semifinals played out much like the team’s season as a whole: A slow start, a sharp turnaround and then a narrow miss at reaching the regional championship.

Facing the fourth-seeded Panthers in Burtonsville, the Barons fell behind by as many as three runs early in the game and rallied for a late 7-6 lead before falling 8-7 through two runs by Paint Branch (12-7) in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the team’s hopes of playing Seneca Valley (13-6), the eventual regional champions, for the 3A West title.

In similar fashion, the Barons, under first-year coach Jonas Singer, won just one of their first six games but closed the regular season with eight wins in their final 10. They continued that success with playoff wins of 4-3 against Urbana and 5-4 over top-seeded Frederick to reach last Thursday’s contest.

‘‘This was a microcosm of our season today,” Singer said. ‘‘This team has got a lot of character. They just started standing up when games are tight and learned how to win. They didn’t let being behind in games or giving up runs rattle them.”

The Panthers opened up a 1-0 advantage after one inning on a run-scoring single by Travis Hart, the team’s cleanup hitter. The inning could have been much worse, but starting pitcher Brooks Coe got out of the inning without giving up more runs despite loading the bases with one out.

The Barons came back to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the second on a run-scoring triple by Matt Bechtel and a run-scoring single by Joey Willman. Paint Branch answered back with a three-run second inning for a 5-2 advantage. ...

B-CC rallied for three runs of their own in the top of the third to knot the game at 5. Tyler Henry (2 for 4) smacked a two-run triple to center field and Austin Ziskie singled him in. Paint Branch retook the lead in the top of the fourth on a triple by Michael Brown before two runs on a Nick Sevilla single up the middle with the infield in gave the Barons a short-lived 7-6 advantage in the top of the fifth.

‘‘We’ve had a lot of close games and we usually come through at the end,” Henry said. ‘‘It’s harder than I can say. It’s real tough [to lose at the end].”

Panthers survive Bethesda-Chevy Chase in back-and-forth 8-7 win in 3A West regional semifinal game; will face Seneca Vally in region final

There were so many lead changes in his 3A West state semifinal game that Paint Branch baseball coach Tommy Rey couldn’t remember what exactly happened.

“It was back and forth the whole game,” Rey said. “That’s all I know.”

What mattered was that by the end of Thursday’s game, Paint Branch was on top, beating Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 8-7, to advance to Saturday’s regional finals against Seneca Valley, who defeated Damascus 4-3 in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The game was a microcosm of Paint Branch’s season, which has also had its share of highs and lows.

“We’ve had a roller coaster season,” Rey said. “I knew we had a good team in the beginning of the season but it was just a matter of putting it together. We didn’t put together that perfect game for a while. It only happened once or twice.”

Paint Branch took a 2-0 lead in the first inning but found itself down a run entering the fifth. The Panthers (12-6) scored one run in the fifth and then took the lead when Salisbury-bound catcher Michael Brown singled to right field to bring home Ricky LaSorta.

Brown went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Paint Branch’s starting pitcher Travis Hart pitched a complete game and went 3-for-3 with a double, walk and two RBIs.

B-CC, who knocked off top-seeded Frederick, was seeded eighth in the bracket. Paint Branch was a No. 4 seed. The Panthers lost to Seneca Valley, 5-4, during the regular season after leading for much of the game but making costly errors late.

“We found out some deficiencies we had,” Rey said. “We worked in practice on more defensive drills and made some switches in the lineup three weeks ago. Once that happened, we started playing some really good ball.”

Travis Hart pitched a complete game and went 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBI to lead Paint Branch to an 8-7 victory over visiting Bethesda-Chevy Chase in a Maryland 3A West Region semifinal. Michael Brown went 3 for 3 and Richard Lasota had a single, a double and scored twice for the Panthers (12-6), who play today at Seneca Valley at 12:30 in the regional final. Seneca Valley advanced with a 4-3 victory at Damascus.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase took advantage of crucial Frederick errors to score three unearned runs in the sixth inning in regional 3A West quarterfinal action. Eric Hayes had two hits with a triple for the Cadets (16-5) and Kyle White had a double.

BETHESDA -- Bethesda-Chevy Chase scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-3 lead and held on for victory in the Class 3A West playoffs.

Vincent Smarrelli had two hits with two runs for Urbana (7-14), while Curtis Voytell had an RBI double and Ryan Mason had two hits.

In terms of playoff-seeding consideration, last Tuesday’s baseball game between the Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Whitman high schools held no meaning. Neither team could claim a top-four position in the regional playoffs with a victory or lose one of those coveted spots through defeat.

That said, the players and coaches on both squads will never forget Whitman’s 5-1 victory. Not for how the game was played, although both performed well during the seven-inning affair, but for where it was played — Nationals Park, the brand-new home of the Washington Nationals.

‘‘It was a fantastic experience,” Barons junior third baseman Jake Boross said. ‘‘We played on the same field and stood in the same outfield and in the same batter’s box [as Major Leaguers]. I play third base and some people came up to me and said you’re standing in the same spot [Nationals starting third baseman] Ryan Zimmerman stands 81 times a year. We’re just so grateful for Coach [Jonas] Singer for making that happen.”

As the deputy director of RBI — the revitalization of baseball in inner cities, a branch of the Batter-Up Foundation — Singer, B-CC’s first-year coach and a former player at the school, learned of the Nationals’ plans to host high school baseball games through a member of the Batter-Up Foundation board, Barbara Silva, the Chairman of the Board for Batter-Up and the Director of Community Relations for the Nationals.

Singer, Whitman parent Hugh Kelly, whose son Chris plays for the Vikings, and Silva then worked out the details to move Tuesday’s game to Nationals Park. It was originally scheduled for May 7 at Whitman.

‘‘It was just a great opportunity,” Singer said. ‘‘[The park] was spectacular and it was just a great experience. We take real pride in our field but it’s nothing compared to the quality of the facility. It was like out of a dream and an experience we’ll probably never get again.” ...

Despite the larger-than-usual crowd — Boross joked that of the 1,000-plus people in attendance, there were roughly 950 more fans than are normal at his team’s games — Singer and Whitman first-year coach Joe Cassidy, who guided Wootton to the 4A West Region final a year ago, said both teams settled down and played an error-free game. ...

‘‘I thought it was a well-played game,” said Singer, whose 8-7 team was to play Urbana in a first-round 3A West Region contest Tuesday, again completed too late for this edition of The Gazette. ‘‘We gave a solid effort. They had a couple more timely hits. We just really appreciate the opportunity the Nationals gave us.”

Not since 2000, when former Gazette Player of the Year Cory Consuegra was dominating opponents for Damascus High, has the county walked away with a Class 3A regional championship. With it holding eight of the 11 spots in the 3A West Region baseball playoffs, Montgomery County has perhaps its best chance of rectifying that situation this spring.

Well, sort of. The team to beat in the region resides further north as the Cadets of Frederick High are the clear favorites to punch their ticket to the state playoffs. ...

Bethesda-Chevy Chase, the last county team to reach the 3A West final, doing so in 2004, is also a serious contender with its mix of a talented pitching staff led by Austin Ziskie and Tyler Henry, and a stingy defense. The Barons started the week with seven wins in their last eight games.

‘‘I think our pitching has to stay consistent,” first-year B-CC coach Jonas Singer said. ‘‘Pitching is the name of the game and we have good pitching depth [and] our defense has been very, very solid. We need those to keep going and we have to get some offensive production for us to win.”

There was something different about Tuesday’s scheduled high school baseball game between Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walt Whitman. It wasn’t the equipment, the players or the coaches. The field, however, was one that no players on either squad had ever set foot on.

Players from both schools were to become the first high school teams to play a game on the Washington Nationals’ home field, which opened earlier this year.

‘‘It’s a great experience and opportunity for them,” said B-CC Coach Jonas Singer. ‘‘Playing at that stadium, against your arch-rival; it doesn’t really get better than that.”

The opportunity arose because Singer and a Whitman parent, Hugh Kelly, volunteer alongside Nationals Communications Director Barbra Silva at a community service group that focuses on inner-city baseball. After Silva said the team was interested in hosting a few high school games, the three decided to try to have the game between the two Bethesda schools at the stadium.

As part of the deal, each school agreed to purchase 1,000 $10 tickets for future Nationals games, to sell as school fundraisers.

Tuesday’s game was prepared to feature the whole shebang: vendors were to be on duty slinging foodstuffs, players were slated to take batting practice and infield drills, and the teams couldn’t wait to spend their downtime in the field’s dugouts.

Joe Cassidy, the Whitman coach, said the game was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. While high school football players in Montgomery County play their state championship games at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, the baseball championships are held at Ripken Stadium, a minor league baseball field in Aberdeen.

‘‘I get to throw to my kids on a major league field,” he said. ‘‘I get to coach my kids on a major league field. This is every player’s dream.”

The trick, both coaches said, was keeping the players focused on the only real task of the day: winning.

‘‘The first goal is to win,” Singer said. ‘‘We’ve been talking about it for a month now, though, saying we don’t want to play poorly heading into a platform like this.” ...

For the Bethesda-Chevy Chase players, the thrill of playing at Nationals Park was a surprise.

‘‘Coach told us one day that the May 7 game was canceled, and we were all pretty disappointed,” said Jake Boross, a 17-year-old junior for the Barons. ‘‘Then he told us it was rescheduled for May 6 at the Nationals’ stadium, and we all went crazy.”

Last October, Henry Champ was at a friend's birthday party when he ran into D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. The conversation steered toward construction of the new Nationals Park and whether it would be completed in time for Opening Day.

After being assured it would, Champ asked Fenty if the stadium could be ready for another new idea. "We told him that the city has never had a high school baseball championship," Champ said.

Fenty, who later called the idea "a no-brainer," told Champ to form a fundraising and organizing committee to plan the event along with the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission. The result is the D.C. High School Baseball Classic, scheduled for May 31. It will be an all-day affair capped by an all-star game and a matchup of the District's top public school team and one from a top D.C. private school, to be televised on Comcast SportsNet.

The goal is to spark interest in the game among District students, and the nonprofit D.C. High School Baseball Classic Inc. is funneling all profits back to D.C. Sports and Entertainment for the purpose of refurbishing baseball fields in the District. Champ, a Washington correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and chairman of the newly formed nonprofit, said the group has raised more than enough to cover its $36,129 in expenses to use the stadium for the day.

A pair of Montgomery County schools found a different way onto the field at Nationals Park for a game tonight. Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Whitman will wrap up their regular seasons there as part of a pilot program with the Nationals' group ticket sales department. B-CC and Whitman won't have any costs up front to play at the stadium, but they said they must each sell a minimum of 250 tickets to a future Nationals game.

The two games offer a look at how the Nationals are opening the $611 million, publicly financed facility for community use. The D.C. Classic will be one of the 18 days annually that the team, per its lease agreement with the city, operates the stadium for D.C. Sports and Entertainment. Tonight's game between B-CC and Whitman is not one of those days, but is the first of a pilot program the team is developing with an aim similar to the D.C. Classic -- generating interest in baseball among the area's youth.

"It's part of our outreach program," Barbara Silva, the Nationals' director of community relations, said of tonight's game. "As the years progress, we hope this becomes a huge part of high school baseball in the D.C. area, where maybe we'd get a Maryland team and a Virginia team that wouldn't normally play each other." ...

According to Michael Shapiro, the Nationals' senior vice president of business affairs, who has been handling the negotiations with D.C. Sports and Entertainment, tonight's game and the D.C. Classic are "two different types of events."

The biggest difference is the projected attendance. Nationals officials are expecting a crowd of about 200 to 300 for the game between B-CC and Whitman. Champ and Shapiro each estimate a crowd of about 5,000 for the D.C. Classic, of which The Washington Post is a sponsor.

"It's nowhere near the same scale," Shapiro said, adding that tonight's game requires the ballpark open for the late afternoon and early evening, while the D.C. Classic will utilize the stadium from early in the morning to near midnight.

Unlike the D.C. Classic, tonight's game also will not feature the high-definition scoreboard in center field. The cost, including labor, to operate the scoreboard for the D.C. Classic is $15,240, according to Champ. Additional costs, Champ said, include $8,100 for cleanup and trash removal, $5,720 for security, $4,149 for stadium staff, $1,800 for an ambulance and EMS staff on site, and $1,120 for a grounds crew.

A fresh era in varsity baseball has begun at B-CC with the hiring of new head coach, Jonas Singer. The varsity job had been filled for nearly a quarter century by Coach Bill Wright. But when Wright surprised many by retiring from the school last spring, one of his former players sought the position. That would be Singer (class of 2000).

“There is no other job I've ever had or will hold that means as much to me personally as this one,” Singer said. Singer not only played baseball at B-CC, but also was editor of the Tattler. He recalls learning from a number of current B-CC faculty stalwarts, including John Zehner and John Virden.

Singer urges his players to prepare both academically and athletically – while not losing sight of “the joy of playing baseball.” The early results are visible in the condition of B-CC's heavily used playing surface: The diamond is glistening because players and coaches manicure the field after every practice and game and they place protective tarps when rain is imminent.

Singer brings a deep resume of baseball experience with him to B-CC: Besides winning honors as a first baseman/pitcher for the Barons, Singer played college baseball at Washington University in St. Louis where he was a three-year letter winner as a first baseman and designated hitter. Over the past four years Singer has coached extensively – helping to lead the Bethesda American Legion Post team and, more recently, the Bethesda Blue Caps, an entrant in the Clark Griffith League for college players.

From 2006-2007 he was an assistant coach at Catholic University – and he also served as an assistant to Wright at B-CC. Since 2006, Singer has been deputy director of the Batter-Up Foundation/D.C. Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities. The “RBI” program – sponsored by Major League Baseball – seeks to rekindle interest in baseball and its life lessons among inner-city youth. Singer also has led fall-league teams sponsored within the Montgomery County Baseball Association.

Singer hopes his varsity team – led by seniors Austin Ziskie, Phaon Derr, Joey Willman, Tyler Henry, Matt Bechtel and Reid Lawrence and juniors Alex Cole, Nick Sevilla, Jake Boross and Donzen Urubshurow – peaks in the May playoffs. But Singer has told his players that they already are part of something special.

“I hope to help teach our players about adversity, failure and fear – and that we are not judged for struggling but we are defined by how we use those difficulties to improve ourselves. Through weathering these storms we can find joy and success, which I hope the Barons baseball teams experience this spring and throughout my tenure as baseball coach.”

After struggling out of the gate to open the season, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase baseball teams appears to be turning a corner. Especially after an impressive 3-2 win over Damascus Saturday afternoon pushed the team’s record to 5-6 heading into this week.

‘‘We’ve been playing well,” said first-year Barons coach Jonas Singer. ‘‘We started 1-5 and have gone 4-1, and we end with five more games. We want to beat Walter Johnson and Whitman, our Bethesda rivals, and we’ve been preparing all season to make a run in the playoffs. We are deep in pitching and play good defense. Hopefully, we can make some noise in the state playoffs.”

Leading the team’s resurgence has been senior pitcher⁄first baseman Austin Ziskie, who threw a complete-game, two-hitter in the win against Damascus (7-4). He’s also one of the team’s top hitters. Also competing well for the Barons are third baseman Jake Boross, shortstop Tyler Henry and catcher Alex Cole, the team’s leadoff hitter, who is batting around .450 for the season.

‘‘We started off rough, not hitting the ball, but we’ve strung together some pretty solid games the last two weeks,” said Singer.

B-CC has dropped two one-run games, including a 6-5 setback to Clarksburg (8-3) last week on a walk-off double by Josh Creighton. B-CC also fell to Poolesville, 5-4, April 16 and it owns a trio of one-run wins against Einstein (5-4 score), Seneca Valley (11-10) and Damascus.

Change is the buzzword for a handful of baseball teams in the area: coaching changes, league changes, and hoped-for changes in position. Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Whitman and Wootton have different looks at the top with Jonas Singer, Joe Cassidy and J.D. Marchand taking the reins of those respective schools.

Singer steps in for the departed Bill Wright, who guided the Barons for 24 years, winning two regional crowns in that time. After two years as an assistant under Wright, he inherits a B-CC squad deep in pitching and defense with the return of pitcher⁄first baseman Austin Ziskie, pitcher⁄second baseman Joey Willman, outfielder Matt Bechtel, catcher Alex Cole and pitcher⁄outfielder Phaon Derr. Jake Boross, a transfer from Virginia, will roam both in the infield and outfield.

‘‘Our stated goals are to win games versus Bethesda rivals and to make a run in the state playoffs,” Singer said. ‘‘Our success will be contingent on pitching and defense staying strong, with the hope that hitting picks up to provide firepower.”

Looking for a change, long-time Bethesda-Chevy Chase High baseball coach and physical education teacher Bill Wright decided last month to retire from both positions.

Wright was a teacher in the county for 38 years and has served as B-CC’s varsity baseball coach since 1984. At that time, he was also the school’s boys varsity basketball coach. ...

During his 24 years as the varsity baseball coach, Wright captured nine division titles and two regional championships, reaching the state final in 1988 and ’89 when he coached the Harrell brothers, Matt and Phil, who later played at Duke University. His career record with the program is 267-115. ...

Wright is a long-time county resident, who began his playing career in the Montgomery County Baseball Association in the mid-1950s.

He later became a three-sport athlete — football, basketball and baseball — at Wheaton High from 1961-64. From there, Wright pitched for two years at Montgomery College and landed a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.

He parlayed his college career into a brief professional stint with the Washington Senators organization, which drafted him in 1966. An elbow injury, however, ended his career prematurely.

Wright started his high-school baseball coaching career in the early 1980s as a junior varsity coach at Magruder. He came to Bethesda-Chevy Chase in 1981 to take the boys basketball reigns. Wright held that post for 17 years, winning a state title during the 1983-84 season. Two players from that team, including junior varsity boys basketball coach Mark Karver, currently coach at B-CC. A third, Chet Culver, is now the Governor of Iowa.

Wright compiled a 341-162 record in those 17 years as the head boys basketball coach.

For his long dedication to the sport of baseball in the county, Wright received the Paul Diamandides Award, given by the MCBA, in the fall of 2005.

This is not a game summary, or even a season recap. It’s just a few impressions on the Barons varsity baseball team’s wondrous late season string of games.

With the exception of its games against its Bethesda rivals (a 9-0 rout of Walter Johnson and a 5-1 loss to Walt Whitman in the glorious confines of Nationals Stadium), the Barons seemed to thrive on one-run victories. Late-season, heart-stopping wins over Damascus, Richard Montgomery and Rockville at the end of the regular season, followed by playoff victories over Urbana and Frederick, left the impression that somehow, in some way, the Barons would and could find a way to win close games.

So when the Paint Branch game fell into the same pattern yesterday, the Baron faithful held on to the belief that that there was yet one more miracle in that seemingly bottomless pocket that had let them grasp victory from the jaws of defeat so many times before. But it was not to be.

Still, there were terrific plays to cherish from their valiant efforts (and by no means a complete list): Jake Boross’s treacherous climb of the hill that bordered the third base line to haul in a foul pop; back-to-back titanic outfield shots from the bats of Tyler Henry and Austin Ziskie to boost a Baron rally; Nick Sevilla once again delivering a clutch hit with runners on second and third; and perhaps the most astounding double play many of us have (or will ever) witness: a diving catch of a wicked line drive by left fielder Matt Bechtel, who was able to right himself quickly and get enough on his throw to force the runner at second (who had headed for home with every reason to think that he would easily score on a such a scorched shot).

After the top of the seventh did not produce a tying run, and after the gloomy handshakes with a worthy foe, the Barons jogged down the third base line and into left field for their post-game meeting. To the applause of the Baron fan contingent, they jogged with their heads held high, but their shoulders slumped. The meeting was brief, and then the players began the slow walk back to the bench to gather their gear. It was not a quick parting of the ways, and there were some tears shed. The seniors, in particular, lingered on the bench as they let the thought sink in that this was the last time that they would don the Blue and Gold. There was, no doubt, wistful, and perhaps even bitter, thoughts of what could have been. But there was also the rueful sense of satisfaction that they—for better or for worse—left everything they had on the field.

At game time on Wednesday afternoon at Frederick High School, it had been four years since a B-CC varsity baseball team won twice in the post season. The Barons' pressure-packed toppling of Frederick, by a score of 5-4, squelched the streak.

Although B-CC had won 9 of its last 11 games, Coach Jonas Singer's squad arrived unburdened by high expectations: In Maryland's 3A West, B-CC was seeded No. 8, while Frederick was No. 1. The Cadets had lost only four games all season. The win lifted B-CC to 11-8 and into the regional semifinals, to be played at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 vs. Paint Branch.

The Barons beat Frederick with crucial contributions from the entire lineup. Phaon Derr was a one-man wrecking crew offensively. Catcher Alex Cole ran the field, literally. Perhaps the most important stat at game's end was the volume of errors committed by B-CC: zero. The Barons reprised the rest of their now-familiar script for 1-run wins by adding timely hitting, enough good pitching and plenty of poise.

Joey Willman started on the mound and rebounded from a two-run first inning to set down in order the next eight Frederick hitters. Tyler Henry singled through the pitcher's legs in the second for B-CC's first hit. He advanced on a single by Austin Ziskie and scored on Nick Sevilla's infield ground out.

Trailing 4-2, Jake Boross singled and advanced to third on a booming double to right by Derr, who had doubled to the fence in his previous at bat. Henry then grounded to the third baseman -- who, after glancing at Boross -- chunked a throw that pulled the first baseman off the bag. As Derr sprinted from second to third, the return throw sailed out of play. Derr scored and Henry advanced to third. Next up was Ziskie, who lofted a sacrifice fly to right, driving in Henry. The three runs gave B-CC its first lead.

Needing six outs to secure the win, Singer turned to B-CC's relief specialist of 2008, Brooks Coe, who provided another high-wire gem. Coe faced only three hitters in the sixth. But after the Barons had failed to score in the seventh despite loading the bases, momentum appeared to be tilting in Frederick's favor.

Coe hit the Cadets' leadoff hitter, putting the tying run aboard. The next batter laid down a well-placed bunt that had three Barons competing for it -- Boross from third base, Coe and Cole. By the time Cole picked up the ball it was too late for a throw to first. At the same time, Frederick's leadoff runner saw that no one was covering third, and he dashed for the bag. Cole won that race, applying a strong, two-handed tag for the inning's first out.

Frederick's tying run on third with two outs and the Cadets' No. 1 hitter at the plate. On a 2-2 count, he grounded sharply to the right of Willman, who had been shifted from the mound to second base. He moved laterally to square up the ball, handled a tough, high hop and fired to Ziskie. Barons erupted in all directions.

More defense: Boross wasted no time leaving the bag to glove a wayward throw on Frederick's steal of third in the seventh. The alert play prevented the tying run from scoring.

Offensively: Cole (walk); Boross (single, walk); Derr (two doubles); Henry (single, double); Ziskie (single, sacrifice fly); Reid Lawrence (two walks); Willman (walk). Mike McKeon, pinch running in the seventh, stole second base.

Pitching lines: Willman completed five innings and struck out two while yielding five hits and three walks. He earned the win. Coe went the final two innings, striking out one and allowing one hit, one walk and one hit batter. He earned the save.

With just enough hitting, randomly spectacular defense and dominant pitching from Austin Ziskie, the Barons won Game 1 of the playoffs, 4-3, over Urbana. It was B-CC's first post-season victory at home since 2004.

The Barons on this afternoon surmounted misfortunes that may have doomed players who were less supportive of each other:

Defensive miscues in the first and third innings gave Urbana two runs. In those same innings two Baron baserunners found themselves thrown out at the plate. Urbana took another lead, in the sixth inning, by pulling off a delayed steal of home.

Ziskie, making his first pitching appearance since April 26, arrived with a full tank of gas. He struck out 11 and scattered five hits. And he was backed by two stunning plays from left fielder Matt Bechtel.

It was tense, playoff baseball to the end. The Barons led by a run entering the seventh when Urbana's first batter lined a shot that Bechtel chased toward the fence. Just as the ball appeared to be traveling beyond him, he snagged it. Following two walks and an infield popout, Coach Jonas Singer ordered an intentional walk to load the bases. Another walk would tie it. Ziskie finished the game with a four-pitch strikeout.

The Barons had regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth by grouping several quality at bats: Ziskie led off with a liner to short. Nick Sevilla flew deep to right -- landing the ball midway up the fence. He cruised into a stand-up double. After Bechtel was walked intentionally, Reid Lawrence singled, driving in Sevilla to tie the game. On a 1-0 count, Joey Willman flew to right -- allowing Bechtel to tag up on the catch and score what proved to be the game-winning run.

Jake Boross earlier had singled up the middle with two outs in the fifth to score pinch runner Ben Trebach -- among the first JV call-ups for B-CC since the 2004 playoffs.

Defensively: In addition to his clutch catch in the seventh inning, Bechtel sprinted far into foul territory in the fifth to snare a leadoff fly ball. Catcher Alex Cole held onto a tipped, outside fastball to secure a strikeout and end the sixth inning.

Offensively: Cole (walk); Boross (single); Phaon Derr (walk); Tyler Henry (single); Ziskie (double); Sevilla (double); Bechtel (walk); Lawrence (two singles); Willman (hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly).

Next: Game 2 of the playoffs 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at Frederick High School, 650 Carroll Parkway, Frederick, Md. 21701.

It wasn't classic B-CC vs. Whitman. It was the Experience Game. As in once in a lifetime.

Coaches Jonas Singer and Joe Cassidy emptied their benches early and often. Every Baron and Viking warmed up on a Major League diamond, heard his spikes echo off the dugouts’ still-scrubbed concrete. For the players and for the fans – more than 1,000 of them – Nationals Park was the jewel of this attraction. Experiencing it was the reward.

Those with compromised attention spans need read no further than this: The game ended Whitman 5, B-CC 1.

The rest of us can savor a stellar evening with mild temperatures, soft sun and West Coast humidity. Notes on a scorecard:

5:01 p.m. Gates swing open to Nationals Park for the first couple hundred fans. Opening glimpse of the playing surface is from the left-field corner. Glimpse morphs to jaw-dropping wonder. Those are our sons, grandsons, nephews, friends and neighbors in uniform on the outfield grass. They're just stretching and tossing lightly. Yet they move like ballplayers who've been here before and – who knows? – will be here again.

5:49 Coaches Singer and Cassidy and the two-man crew in blue who will umpire this game meet at home plate to review ground rules.

5:50 Ceremonial first pitches from Whitman assistant Tom Berlin to Danny Lee and B-CC's Chuck Coe to Alex Cole. Simulated radar clocks Berlin with 11% more velocity. Flattering frame by Cole.

5:51 Final pre-game hands in for B-CC in front of their visitors’ side, third-base dugout. Fitting for a season that's tested them, the Barons say in unison the most important four-letter word of high school baseball: "Team."

5:53 Michael Lee throws the game's first pitch to Cole, B-CC's hard-working junior catcher. Ball one.

5:55 Jake Boross singles for the Barons – the first hit ever recorded by a high school player at Nationals Park.

6:04 Joey Willman delivers the Barons' first pitch. Ethan Thompson lofts it to right field, where Phaon Derr moves in a step, squints and makes a sun-defying catch.

6:05 Shortstop Tyler Henry gloves the third out on Willman’s fourth pitch of the inning. B-CC 1, Whitman 0.

6:28 Henry lays out to his left to snag a leadoff grounder in the third inning by Danny Lee, Whitman's catcher. Henry is quick to his feet but unable get off a throw. Score it the Vikings' first hit of the game.

6:38 Center fielder Nick Sevilla charges a ball on the ground to his right and fires a one-hop strike to third base, where Boross applies a snap tag for the out.

6:42 B-CC's Matt Bechtel puts plenty of barrel on an outer-half fastball. It lands on the warning track in the right-field corner and caroms into the seats. The ground rule double provides a break for Whitman; Bechtel otherwise was steaming for a triple.

6:50 With one on and one out in the fourth and B-CC trailing, 3-1, Singer sticks to a strict pitch count and pulls Willman, who might be needed for Game 1 of the playoffs on Friday.

7:12 Donzen Urubshurow yields a leadoff single in the fifth that is alertly retrieved by Reid Lawrence. Urubshurow ultimately strands Whitman's runner on third base in a taut, 12-pitch inning.

7:30 Baron bats begin to awaken as time and outs draw short. "Let’s Go, Barons" thunders and spreads from the second tier. Bechtel singles to center, and Willman drills one to left, giving B-CC two on and one out.

7:48 After both teams have shaken hands to a standing ovation, one appreciative fan in the long-lingering crowd captures popular sentiment: "Everybody wins tonight."

For the record, B-CC totaled six hits: Boross, single; Derr, single; Henry, single; Bechtel, double, single; Willman, single. Caleb Bank got the start at second base, and he executed the game's only sacrifice bunt. Bechtel and Cole drew walks. Henry was hit by a pitch.

Defensively: Austin Ziskie was flawless at first base. Bechtel made a hustling catch of a shallow fly in the first. Infield subs Mike McKeon and Michael Cunningham converted with aplomb each of their chances. Barons Brooks Coe (PH), Joe Flynn (RF), Albert Kurtz (2B), Max Valenstein (PH), Casey Fitzgerald (CF) and Ben Trebach (PR) also saw playing time.

Whitman’s Matt Kahler was a difference-maker. The senior handled everything at shortstop, pitched one scoreless inning and with the bases loaded and two out in the third, he singled up the middle on a 3-2 count.

Atmospheric outtakes: Backup catcher Valenstein learned that at Nationals Park, a "call to the bullpen" is more than a cliché. While Valenstein warmed up Baron relievers, Coach Singer checked their progress by land line from the dugout. Nats’ ownership kept other gadgetry mercifully unplugged. Who can remember watching a game at a pro sports stadium without deafening decibels and madly flashing scoreboards?

After a 1-5 start, B-CC regrouped and finished the 2008 regular season with 9 wins and 7 losses, an upgrade from last year’s 8-9. Game 1 of the playoffs is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday at B-CC, where the Barons will host Urbana.

The B-CC Barons varsity baseball team reminded yet another opponent that these are seven-inning games and that they can expect to be in a contest until the umpire declares "game over."

In the first inning the first two batters for the Rams grounded sharply to shortstop Mike McKeon, only to be thrown out at first. This firmly established the "get used to it " attitude of the Barons. In the bottom of the first Tyler Henry launched his second home run of the season to score Alex Cole, who was walked, and Phaon Derr, who bunted and was safe at first base.

Rockville made a valiant attempt to discourage the Barons with 5 unanswered runs in the third, another 2 in the fourth and then 3 more in the fifth to take a 10-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth. This is where the Rams' runs were answered by the Barons and where it gets interesting. Jake Boross hammered to deep center and turned it into a triple with a head-first dive into third. Phaon Derr ripped to left and scored Jake. Tyler moved Phaon to second with a little looper to shallow center. Austin Ziskie hit to load the bases, with Nick Sevilla batting next. Phaon, Tyler and Austin must have all thought they saw the "HOLY CHAOS" sign and on a pitch temporarily lost by the Rockville catcher, all broke hard, Phaon for home and Tyler and Austin for 3rd and 2nd. At this point the catcher located the ball and exchanged it like a hot potato with his third baseman, pitcher and second baseman in an attempt to double up our runners Somehow, in this chaos, our front two runners scored, and then Nick Sevilla brought in Austin with a pop to deep right, followed by a Matt Bechtel home run to pull to within two, 10-8, bottom of the 5th.

A bewildered Rockville team then had to face Barons lefty Mike Cunningham in the 6th, who after allowing one single, forced a pop up to short, pop up to center and a clean strikeout for the 3rd out. Jake Boross scored Joey in the bottom of the sixth to pull within one, 10-9. In the top of the seventh the Barons' coaching staff once again went to Brooks Coe to hold the ship steady and give B-CC a shot at a win, and once again Brooks Coe delivered. Sevilla and Bechtel scored hits and positioned themselves on 2nd and 3rd awaiting batter Alex Cole, who launched a ball to deep right with so much spin on it that it spun out of the right fielder's mitt, allowing Nick and Matt to score. At this point the umpire declared "game over." Barons win, 11-10.

Offensive stats: Home runs: Henry (1), Bechtel (1). Hits: Cole (2), Boross (2), Derr (3), Henry (2), Zitski (1), Sevilla (3), Bechtel (2), Willman (1). RBI: Cole (2), Henry (3), Derr (1), Sevilla (1), Boross (1) and Bechtel (1).

Comments heard after the game: "This game was never in doubt." and "The Barons always keep it interesting."

If you go to the huge dictionary in the B-CC library on Monday and look up the word “clutch,” you will find Nick Sevilla’s photograph next to the definition. The Barons were down to their last strike against Richard Montgomery in the top of the seventh inning on Saturday, when Sevilla delivered his third hit of the game—a line shot double into left field—which scored Phaon Derr and Tyler Henry with the tying and go-ahead runs in what turned out to be a 6 to 5 B-CC victory.

It was a tense, seesaw battle between the Rockets and the Barons on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Montgomery College’s immaculate baseball stadium in Rockville (which has served as Richard Montgomery’s home field during the school’s renovation). The day was heading toward a gloomy end when the Barons failed to score in the fifth and sixth innings after falling behind to the Rockets 5 to 3 following their four-run rally in the third inning. Jake Boross’s base-loaded line shot up the middle in the top of the fourth glanced off the pitcher’s glove (after nearly being caught) and brought the Barons to within one at 5 to 4. Had it gone through the middle cleanly into center field, as it seemed destined to do when it rocketed off his bat (pun intended), the game might not have come down to Sevilla’s last-inning heroics.

The Barons started the game’s scoring in the second inning when they turned singles by Sevilla and Matt Bechtel and a Richard Montgomery overthrow into a run. The Rockets answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. In the third inning, the Barons scored two runs when they strung together singles by Joey Willman (on a bunt), Boross (RBI), Henry, and Austin Ziskie (RBI).

In the bottom of the third, Donzen Urubshurow’s gritty pitching performance was betrayed by a shaky Baron defense, leading to the Rockets’ four-run outburst. Unrattled, Urubushurow shut down the Rockets in the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the defense came to life when, with a Rocket runner on second, Baron shortstop Henry fielded a hard grounder to his right and threw out the advancing runner at third. The runner who reached first on the play was later gunned down trying to steal second by catcher Alex Cole who was aided by a nifty, backhanded sweep tag by second baseman Joey Willman.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Barons turned their pitching responsibilities over to Brooks Coe. Coe gave the Rockets a glimmer of hope for more runs when he walked the first two batters he faced, but he fanned the next two and retired the third on a routine ground ball to second. After the Barons’ triumphant seizing of the lead during the top of the seventh, Coe again shut down the Rockets in their half of the inning, ending the game emphatically with two straight strikeouts.

The streaking Barons go into Monday’s game against Rockville, having won seven of their last eight. They close the regular season against Whitman at Nationals’ Stadium on Tuesday at 6:00 pm (in case you haven’t heard).

Hitting summary (from my notes and not the official scorebook): Sevilla: two singles, the timeliest double that you’ll ever see, two RBIs, one run scored; Bechtel: single; Willman: single, run scored; Boross: two singles, two RBIs, run scored; Henry: single, run scored; Ziskie: single, one RBI; Derr: single, run scored; Reid Lawrence: single, run scored.

Pitching: Urubushurow: five innings, three hits and four strikeouts. Coe: two innings, four strikeouts, no runs and the win.

The Barons beat the Walter Johnson Wildcats 9 to 0 behind Joey Willman’s 5-inning, 6-strikeout, 2-hit performance, on Thursday. Phaon Derr set the tone for the game in the 2nd inning with a putout in right field and throwing a one-hop missile to Alex Cole, who tagged the runner at home to complete an inning-ending double play.

B-CC scored when Nick Sevilla’s fly ball to right field was dropped. Matt Bechtel laid down a perfect bunt for a hit. Caleb Bank then sacrifice bunted to advance both runners. Sevilla scored from 3rd on a passed ball.

WJ threatened in the 4th inning when Willman hit one batter and walked two to load the bases, but ended the inning by striking out the side.

The Barons' bats came alive in the 5th. Alex Cole led off with a single to center, Phaon Derr and Tyler Henry crushed doubles to left center and left field. Nick Sevilla lined a single to right, and Matt Bechtel launched a double to the bottom of the fence, totaling 5 runs.

The 6th inning was more of the same, Joey Willman smashed a double to right center, Jake Boross walked, Phaon Derr was put on by an error on the WJ shortstop. Austin Ziskie hit a double to total the scoring at 9.

Brooks Coe pitched to and retired the next 6 batters to close out the game. The Barons had no errors, 5 walks, 2 hit batters and 7 strikeouts to shut out the Wildcats, 9-0.

The Varsity Baseball Barons evened their record at 6 and 6 by exploding for 14 runs in the 4th inning against Wheaton High School on Wednesday. The final score was 23 to 2 in the five-inning game; they now have won 5 of their last 6. Tyler Henry pitched the first four frames, with Michael Cunningham pitching the final inning.

Leading the Barons at the plate were Matt Bechtel hitting for the cycle (a single, double, triple, and a home run) along with 9 rbi's. Phaon Derr had 3 hits and 3 rbi's, Nick Sevilla had 2 hits and 4 rbi's, Austin Ziskie had 2 hits and 3 rbi's, Tyler Henry had 2 hits and 1 rbi, with Brooks Coe adding a triple and 2 rbi's. Coming in with solo hits were Alex Cole, Jake Boross, Donzen Urubshurow, Daniel Rossett, Joe Flynn and Mike McKeon.

Leading the Barons were Jake Boross playing tough defense at 3rd base, pitcher Michael Cunningham starting a double play in the last inning on a hard one hopper up the middle, and Casey Fitzgerald joining in on a rundown at 2nd base from his center field position.

The B-CC Barons were carried by the 1-hit pitching of Austin Ziskie to a narrow 3-2 victory over Damascus on Saturday, which was the Barons' Senior Day tribute. The victory was the second in two days for the squad, which has completely reversed its early season tailspin. Besides pleasing the Senior Day crowd, it was also notable because the Hornets had tallied 17 runs against the Barons in 2007 in a very lopsided contest.

Things did not begin particularly well for B-CC. The defense committed 3 errors in the first inning, and only a single run came in because Ziskie struck out the first and last batters. In the bottom of the first things looked promising when Jake Boross singled, his first of two, and Phaon Derr walked. But no further progress was made.   B-CC's defense tightened in the top of the 2nd, and the Barons threatened in their half when Matt Bechtel walked and stole second. But he was stranded.

The Barons broke on top in the 3rd, after Austin had fanned two more Hornets. Alex Cole walked and, after a fake bunt helped produce a balk, Jake tied the game with an RBI single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then Derr rapped a sharp single to center, scoring Jake and making it 2-1 Barons. Derr stole second but was out at third trying to advance on the catcher's overthrow. It was a fine peg by Hornet center fielder Shane Boyd, who moments later retreated into very deep center, not far from the fence, to haul in a blast by Ziskie and end the inning.

After a 1-2-3 roll up of the Hornets in the 4th by Ziskie, who had still not allowed a hit, the Barons made it 3-1 when Nick Sevilla singled, was sacrificed to second by Bechtel, advanced to third on a grounder by Reid Lawrence, and scored when Joey Willman's bouncer wasn't handled by the Hornet second baseman.

Damascus got their only hit, a bloop to right, by the leadoff batter in the 5th. But he was stranded at first as the next 3 batters were easily retired. The bottom of the 5th saw another exceptional play by Hornet center fielder Boyd, who raced into very deep right center to snag a booming shot off the bat of Tyler Henry.

The top of the 6th was scary. After a leadoff walk, the next batter was hit on a 1-2 pitch by a runaway slider. They were moved up on a sacrifice bunt, and a fly to medium left easily brought home the second Hornet run. But Ziskie still had plenty of gas in the tank and K'd the last batter to end the threat, keeping the Barons ahead, 3-2. Despite 2 walks the Barons could do no damage in the bottom of the 6th.

As the tension mounted in the top of the 7th, Ziskie was still on the hill, showing very good stamina despite a pitch count that now neared 100. After a routine ground-out to third, a pitch ticked the helmet of the second Hornet batter, who, fooled by a curve, twisted his mid-section away from the plate but at the same time bent his head in toward the pitch.   The tying run was aboard, and the Hornet bench increased its game-long hoarse chorus directed at Ziskie, trying to rattle him.   To no avail. Joey Willman gobbled up a grounder and flipped an easy toss to shortstop for the second out, and Reid Lawrence took command of a very high, twisting pop-up to the right side for the final put-out.   The Barons mobbed each other outside the dugout, and the sweet victory was in the books.

The Baron hitting was just enough to gain the win. Jake Boross had 2 singles and an RBI, Phaon Derr one hit and an RBI, and Nick Sevilla also singled. Alex Cole had 2 walks, Nick one, and Matt Bechtel 2, with 2 stolen bases. Phaon also had a walk.

The pitching line for Ziskie, who clearly threw his best game of the year, was: 7 IP, 6 Ks, 1 hit, 1 earned run. He walked 2. The Barons visit Wheaton this coming Tuesday, and of course a week later close the regular season with the Grand Finale, a game at Washington Nationals park against Whitman.

A great team effort by the B-CC Barons enabled them to overcome a shaky start at Watkins Mill and come away victorious, 11-7. Every starting Baron player collected at least one hit, and six batters recorded RBIs.

The base paths were full of runners for both teams at the start of today's game.

Jake Boross's right field double in the first scored pinch runner Max Valenstein from second, and after stealing third Boross came home on a Watkins Mill error. The Barons’ 2 -0 lead was soon lost as Watkins Mill cashed in on three B-CC fielding errors in the bottom half of the inning. A leadoff double followed by the three errors, a bases-on-balls and a single produced four runs for the Wolverines. But the Barons battled back as Nick Sevilla led off the second with a long double and was later joined on the base paths by Joey Willman, who drew a walk. A two-out single down the middle by Alex Cole scored both runners, and he was able to easily advance to second. Boross's second hit, a single to left, scored Valenstein again (pinch running) as the Barons briefly regained the lead, 5-4. In the bottom half of the second inning, Watkins Mill was able to get their leadoff batter on via error, and their next hitter scored him with a triple. With no outs, the runner on third came across for the Wolverines by way of a fielder's choice. The Barons found themselves down again, this time 6-5.

There was no scoring for either team during the third, fourth or fifth as each team managed to collect only two hits apiece during that span. The Barons’ defense tightened up after the second inning – no more errors – and starter Donzen Urubshurow found his groove as well. Urubshurow allowed only two singles while striking out five in the third through sixth innings.

The B-CC comeback started in the sixth as Sevilla led off with a single and then stole second. One batter later, Urubshurow ripped a shot toward the third baseman, who was playing shallow. Even though he knocked it down, it was a difficult ball to field, and the player overthrew to first, allowing Sevilla to score the tying run.

The bats really heated up for the Barons in the seventh. With one out, Phaon Derr dropped one in front of the centerfielder and advanced to second on his misplay. Derr got to third and scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice by Tyler Henry. With two outs, consecutive well hit singles by Austin Ziskie, Sevilla, Matt Bechtel, Urubshurow and Willman produced four more runs. A well executed double steal by Bechtel and pinch runner Mike McKeon put runners on second and third for Willman, who came through with a two-RBI single.

Brooks Coe came on in relief and allowed one run when the bases got loaded with no outs, but he deftly responded by striking out two and catching a pop-up to retire the side.

Pitching: Urubshurow - six hits and eight strikeouts, Coe - 4 hits and two strikeouts

Hitting: Cole (2 singles, 2 RBI), Boross (single, double, 2 RBI), Derr (single), Henry (double, RBI), Ziskie (2 singles), Sevilla (2 singles, double, RBI, 3 runs), Bechtel (single, RBI), Urubshurow (2 singles), Willman (single, 2 RBI)

The Barons battled back from two deficits but lost a tightly played game to the Clarksburg Coyotes, 6-5, on Wednesday.

One-run losses magnify every aspect of a game. In this one Clarksburg could credit the clutch plays made by its right fielder. He helped beat the Barons with sprinting catches across the line and another fine grab and snap throw to first to double off an aggressive B-CC runner.

Joey Willman started for the Barons and held Clarksburg in check while striking out five and walking none. Leading 4-3 and needing six outs for the win, Austin Ziskie relieved in the sixth inning, but he didn’t get the flawless support he needed to seal it.

The Barons trailed 3-1 when they came to bat in the fifth. Matt Bechtel led off and battled through a nine-pitch at bat to reach base on an error by the shortstop. Albert Kurtz dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance Bechtel. Next up was Willman, who drove a pitch to the right-center gap, scoring Bechtel. The on-fire Alex Cole followed with a booming triple to right field – driving in pinch runner Mike McKeon to tie the game, 3-3.

Tyler Henry led off the sixth inning with a blast over the fence in left center – putting B-CC ahead, 4-3.

Clarksburg worked a six-pitch walk and stole second to start the bottom of the sixth. Ziskie rose to the challenge, striking out the next two hitters. But on an 0-2 count, the next batter flared a single to right that was fielded on one hop. Clarksburg’s coach gambled his third out by waving home the runner: It paid off for the Coyotes when the throw sailed high and wide, allowing the tying run to score. A single to center field brought in the go-ahead run.

Trailing 5-4 to start the final inning, B-CC rallied. Willman led off with a six-pitch walk. Cole moved pinch runner McKeon to second with a sacrifice bunt. Jake Boross, facing a 2-2 count, lined a fastball to right for a single, driving in the always-hustling McKeon.

Clarksburg – an improving new school and team that had waxed B-CC 16-5 in 2007 without any seniors – answered quickly. After a lead-off single and a steal of second base, Ziskie struck out the second hitter. But the next batter drove the first pitch high and deep. Center fielder Nick Sevilla sprinted with his back to the plate, and for a moment it looked like Nick would add this to his season-long stack of spectacular plays. But it wasn’t to be – the ball fell just beyond his reach, and the winning run scored.

Defensively: Henry made a diving stop of a bounding grounder in the sixth, whirled and tagged second base with his hand to get an inning-ending force out. Boross and Ziskie ranged far into foul territory to snare pops in the fifth.

Pitching Lines: Willman completed five innings and yielded seven hits, struck out five, walked none and threw 80 pitches. Ziskie pitched the sixth and into the seventh and struck out three while yielding two walks and four hits. He threw 44 pitches.

Offensively: Cole (triple, sac bunt); Boross (two singles, hit by pitch); Henry (home run, walk); Ziskie (walk); Bechtel (triple); Kurtz (sac bunt); Willman (double, walk).

For a while on Saturday it looked like the Barons would be in another low-scoring, well pitched game that they might end up on the short end of. But a sudden explosion of hits in the 4th and 5th innings reversed all that, as the Barons rolled to a 13-3 triumph over Northwood in a game ended by the mercy rule.

As has been their lot, the Barons stranded 5 runners in the first 2 innings and didn't score. They went 1-2-3 in the 3rd, despite a wicked shot to off the bat of Tyler Henry which was directly at the left fielder. Meanwhile Northwood had built a small early lead off pitcher Brooks Coe, powered by a 2-run homer.

The 4th inning looked like it might repeat the first two. Nick Sevilla led off and ripped a triple to right center, but was left at third as the next two batters fanned. Then Joey Wilman rapped an RBI single to left. Moments later he took off on a steal attempt, and was in safely when the catcher's overthrow shot under the Northwood center fielder's glove and rolled well past him. Joey raced home to make it 3-2, and the dynamics of the game had changed. Alex Cole shot a liner to right center for a double, and Jake Boross followed with long drive that also split the right and center fielders and continued to the tree area near the fence, scoring Alex. What happened next caused a considerable controversy. One of the fielders raised his hands up to signal the ball was caught up in the tangle, but the other industriously dug the ball out of the underbrush after several seconds. Jake meanwhile put his head down and steamed around the bases. After much discussion, the play was ruled a home run, and the Barons had taken a 4-3 lead. A long drive by Phaon Derr, again to right center, was caught to end the inning.

It looked like Northwood might come right back, as their leadoff hitter drove one to--you guessed it--deep right center, all the way to the fence. However the Baron outfielders both signaled it was a lost ball in high weeds, and the umpires, after verifying it was not to be seen, ruled the hit a double. (The Northwood coach was not too happy with this seeming disparity in rulings.) Tyler Henry then showed his great range at shortstop by moving far to his left to pick up a slow grounder and throw out the batter by an eyelash. With the runner still at second, Tyler and Brooks Coe executed a timed pickoff play perfectly, and he was caught several feet off the bag and tagged out.

The Barons would bat around in the 5th inning, getting six hits mixed in with several walks and a hit batter. The explosion was started by Nick Sevilla, who blasted his second triple of the game and third extra base hit. Consecutive singles by Brooks, Joey Willman and Alex Cole each knocked in a run. Jake got a sacrifice fly to center. After Tyler was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Austin Ziskie hit a 3 run double, a high drive to deep center, making the score 12-3. Northwood's pitching staff had been shredded. The final relief pitcher could not find the plate, and the 13th run came in after consecutive walks to Nick, Matt Bechtell and Brooks.

The Barons finished with 12 hits, 7 for extra bases. RBIs were made by Jake Boross (3), Austin (3), Joey Willman (2), Brooks (2) and one each by Nick and Alex Cole. The Baron defense was solid in this effort, as was the pitching performance of Brooks, who got his slow curve in for strikes to start many batters off, and settled into a fine groove after giving up a few early hits. Alex Cole gunned down a runner at third who had doubled in the 3rd inning to help keep the score close, Tyler played outstanding shortstop, and the Barons turned in what looked like their best overall performance of the year.

The B-CC Barons varsity baseball team defeated the Einstein Titans by the score of 5 to 4. Tyler Henry took the win for the Barons with Brooks Coe earning the save. Max Valenstein scored 3 runs along with a stolen base.

The top of the lineup set the pace as the first four hitters accounted for all 10 hits. Alex Cole and Jake Boross had 3 each with Phaon Derr and Tyler Henry adding 2 apiece. RBI's were supplied by Boross, Henry, Nick Sevilla, and Austin Ziskie with 2.

The varsity Barons baseball team lost a tough game against the Falcons of Poolesville. Poolesville came back and won the game in the bottom of the 7th inning, 5 to 4. The Barons were ahead 3 to nothing at the end of five innings. Joey Willman pitched a great game for the Barons, pitching out of a jam in the second inning with the bases loaded and one out.

Leading the team at bat were Phaon Derr, Matt Bechtel, and Austin Ziskie, all with 2 hits apiece. Alex Cole and Tyler Henry also added hits, with Henry having a leadoff triple in the 3rd but failing to score. Bechtel had 2 RBIs, with Nick Sevilla and Ziskie adding ribbies also.

The Barons will be at Einstein on Friday, April 18, and will host Northwood on Saturday, April 19, at 2 pm.

Hosting a solid divisional rival, the Barons yielded five runs in the first inning and lost, 8-2, to Paint Branch.

The top five hitters for Paint Branch put the game away with a lead-off walk, a home run, a single, a hit batter and another single. Austin Ziskie started and was relieved by Brooks Coe, who held Paint Branch scoreless for the final three innings.

The Barons’ only runs came in the second, when they strung together singles by Ziskie and Nick Sevilla and a double to right field by Alex Cole. With one out in the sixth, Jake Boross doubled to left field. B-CC put little other pressure on Paint Branch’s defense: Of the Barons’ 21 outs, 15 were infield pops or fly balls to the outfield. Joe Flynn drew B-CC’s only walk.

Defensively: With two outs and the bases loaded in the second, first baseman Reid Lawrence speared a smoked one-hopper to his right and flipped to Ziskie for the inning-ending out.

The loss dropped the Barons to 1-4. They travel to Poolesville on Wednesday (4/16).

Another exciting one-run game played out at the Barons' home field, but this time B-CC came up just short, as they lost to the Kennedy Cavaliers 4-3.

Starter Phaon Derr had good command of the strike zone this afternoon, striking out nine Cavaliers on the day, but Kennedy grouped their hits together to score in the first, third and fifth innings. A one-out single followed by a well-hit double to left-center put Kennedy on the board. Derr responded by striking out the next two batters to end the first, and followed that up with a 12-pitch gem as he struck out the side in the second. Kennedy's bats got hot in the fifth with two outs. Two singles were followed by a double that scored both base runners. Any more damage was prevented by center-fielder Nick Sevilla with an impressive over-the-shoulder catch in deep center.

Brooks Coe came on in relief in the seventh inning with one on and no outs. After giving up a bunt single, Coe picked the runner off and then retired the side.

Aggressive base running was the order of the day for the Barons. A lead-off double by Derr was lost as he tried to advance on a fielder's choice for the second out in the first inning.

Alex Cole did get to third after his one-out double in the fourth inning while Jake Boross was able to get him home with a sac fly that just missed going over the left field fence. In the sixth, Cole was back on base after an error by the Kennedy shortstop, and Boross followed with a double to right center, putting runners on second and third. Pinch runner Max Valenstein broke for home and scored after an errant throw back to the pitcher, but the Kennedy infield quickly reacted to throw our runner out at second. Austin Ziskie and Nick Sevilla continued the rally with back-to-back singles. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners, when Joey Willman hit one through the right side of the infield to push another run across. With runners on the corners again, both base runners broke on a 3 and 1 pitch to Caleb Bank, who drew the walk, but our runner on third overcommitted and was tagged out in a rundown.

Hitting: Derr (double), Cole (double), Willman (2 singles, RBI), Boross (double, RBI), Ziskie (single), Sevilla (single)

Clutch two-out hitting in the bottom of the 7th secured rookie coach Jonas Singer's first victory as B-CC's head baseball coach. The win, a high-scoring affair against Seneca Valley, was not pretty, but the Barons will take it after an 0 and 2 start.

The Barons took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, only to give it up in the top of the second on a bases-loaded double that plated 3 runs. The lead came back to B-CC on a home run by Phaon Derr with a man on in the bottom of the inning, only to have Seneca Valley tie it again at the top of the 4th.

In the bottom of the same frame, B-CC pushed across 5 runs to take a commanding 9-4 lead. But the Seneca Valley team fought back to tie it at nine and then go ahead 10-9 entering the bottom of the 6th. The Barons managed to tie the game at 10 in that inning and held the visitors scoreless in the top of the 7th with a nifty pickoff move that caught the leadoff hitter leaning after his single to start the inning. Two strike outs followed, and B-CC came up for their last licks.

Two groundouts brought B-CC's third hitter, Jake Borross, to the plate. Jake came through with a lined shot into left field for a two-out single, which brought up Tyler Henry. Tyler hit a line drive just fair into the left field corner, scoring Jake and clinching the win for B-CC.

Austin Ziskie started for the B-CC team before being relieved by Donzen Urubshurow in the 6th. Donzen lasted just two-thirds of an inning before he was relieved by Joey Wilman, who picked up the win. The Barons (1-2) will travel to face the Einstein nine on Wednesday the 9th and will host Kennedy on Friday the 11th.

B-CC dropped their home opener to the Churchill Bulldogs, who took advantage of every opportunity given them to come away with a 5-1 victory. The loss drops the Barons to 0-2 for the year.

Joey Willman had the start today and began by striking out the first two Churchill batters, but a double followed by two bases-on-balls and a sharp hit grounder down the third base line pushed a run across for the Bulldogs. Willman would strike out a third batter to end the inning. Churchill scored two runs in each the second and fourth inning, as all the runs came in with two outs.

Lead-off hitter Phaon Derr began the game with a single for B-CC, but the Barons were unable to advance any of their base runners through the first four innings. The Barons' first batter in each of the first three innings reached base - on the day, B-CC would strand seven base runners. In the fifth inning with one out, Matt Bechtel easily beat out a hard hit shot to third base and advanced to second on the fielder's errant throw to first. One batter later, Willman drove a shot to left-center to produce the only run for Barons.

Pitching: Joey Willman pitched a complete game, allowed six hits along with four walks and recorded nine Ks. Five of six batters faced in the fifth and sixth went down on strikes.

Hitting: Derr (single), Bechtel (single), Willman (single, RBI), Ziskie (single), Boross (single)

Fielding: The only base runner (HBP) allowed by Willman in the last three innings was tagged out at second by Caleb Bank. A great throw down by Alex Cole was just late, but Bank stuck with the play to tag the runner as he slid past the bag.

One big inning spoiled the 2008 baseball opener as the Barons fell, 8-3, to the host Wootton Patriots.

Austin Ziskie started on the mound and helped his team mightily at the plate, driving in all of B-CC's runs with a single and a double. Tyler Henry led the Barons with three hits.

B-CC was unable to get enough hits with runners on base. The Barons stranded nine runners – leaving the bases loaded in the second inning after having taken a 1-0 lead. Wootton responded with two runs in the bottom half and never again trailed.

Wootton put the Barons in a deep hole in the fourth. The Patriots parlayed an infield single, an error and a walk to launch the big inning: Six runs scored as Ziskie faced nine hitters.

The Barons threatened in the seventh when Alex Cole and Caleb Bank drew walks. With two outs, Ziskie launched his double to right field. But on this day the Barons would do no more offensively.

Defensively: Jake Boross, starting at third base, squared his chest in front of a hot smash in the second inning, absorbed a nasty hop and threw the hitter out by half a step.

Offensively: Six hits – Phaon Derr (1); Henry (3); Ziskie (2). Six walks – Matt Bechtel, Joey Willman, Donzen Urubshurow, Cole, Bank and Boross. Hit by pitch: Willman.

Pitching lines: Ziskie completed five innings and yielded seven hits. He struck out six, walked two and hit one batter while throwing 86 pitches. Willman handled the final inning and struck out one, allowed no hits and walked one while throwing 18 pitches.

The Barons and their first-year coach, Jonas Singer, will seek to build on the day's positives – they struck out just once through the first six innings and they fought back in the seventh. Their next challenge comes at home on Saturday, April 5, against Churchill.

Varsity Baseball Results