It turns out the Marriotts Ridge boys lacrosse team is assured a spot in the inaugural District V championship game, which pits the top teams in Howard County and Anne Arundel. The Mustangs (12-1) are 10-0 in the Howard County league going into Friday night's home game against Centennial, which has one loss along with Glenelg. But because Marriotts Ridge won their only out-of-league game while Centennial and Glenelg both lost their games, the Mustangs would still advance should Centennial defeat them to finish in a three-way tie. The Centennial-Marriotts Ridge game, set for 7 p.m. Friday, still promises to be a great test for each team with the playoffs fast approaching. The Anne Arundel representative will be the winner of Friday's Severna Park at South River game (6:45 p.m.) with both teams going in undefeated in county play. The District V championship will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at North County High.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Three seniors from Broadneck's Anne Arundel County field hockey championship team have made college commitments.

Katie Matteo, an All-Metro defender, and Amanda Lawrence, a midfielder, will play for Salisbury while Caroline Hollerbach, a forward, is headed for Radford, reports coach Jen Parks.

Matteo and Lawrence will join former Bruins teammate Shannon Hanratty, a 2007 All-Metro selection on defense.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Tuesday night after Mount Hebron's Ashley Bruns had set two school records and tied another during the No. 7 Vikings girls lacrosse team's 21-14 win over River Hill, she still couldn't believe it.

As the game progressed, she had no idea she had scored 12 goals and dished out seven assists. Her 12 goals and 19 points were Mount Hebron single-game records. Seven assists tied the record.

"It's incredible," said Bruns. "I didn't see it coming at all until [coach Brooke Kuhl-McClelland] told me after the game. I never keep track of my goals. When I came off the field, they said, 'You were involved in every single point.' I had no idea."

Actually, Bruns was involved in each of first 17 Vikings goals and a couple more after that.

Twelve goals broke the record of nine set in 1994 by Cathy (Nelson) Reese, now the head coach of Maryland women's lacrosse team. Bruns' 19 points also bettered Reese's mark of 12 from that same game. In addition, seven assists ties the record held by Reese since 1994 and by Lori Pasquantonio since 1992.

Bruns, a senior attacker who has signed with Florida, was surprised to realize that she was only 4 when Reese set those records.

While Bruns has led the Vikings in scoring in most of their games, she isn't focused on putting up big numbers.

"It's not so much about me scoring," she said. "I want everybody to play the best they can. I like to assist everybody and I like to pick everybody up."

So far it's working, as the Vikings are 10-2 overall and 10-0 in Howard County. Thursday's game with Glenelg likely will determine who wins the county title and advances to the District V championship Tuesday against the Anne Arundel County champ. In between, the Vikings host one of their chief national rivals, Moorestown, N.J., Saturday at 6 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Hereford’s girls lacrosse team knows the secret to success in a team sport – playing together and spreading the wealth.

“They like each other,” said coach Anne Ensor. “I’m never sure how to word it but they’re almost playing better than they are, because they don’t care who gets the points.”

Last week, the Bulls had nine players score in a 17-2 win over Catonsville and six players score in an 11-10 double-overtime win over Dulaney. Marta Randall scored the game winner against Dulaney and had three goals while Ellen Halle scored four.

"But other kids were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to swing the momentum,’ and they opened it up for Ellen and Marta,” said Ensor.

Trailing 4-1 at halftime, the Bulls (8-1) never led until Randall’s sudden-death goal. They also had strong performances from defenders Emily Dohony and Angela Stone, midfielder Courtney Haldeman and goalie Jordan Dempsey (eigth saves).

The Bulls can clinch a berth in Tuesday’s Baltimore County championship with a win over Loch Raven Wednesday.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

North County, which was one of just two undefeated teams left in The Baltimore Sun's baseball poll, lost 13-3 Monday to Old Mill, a team that has steadily dropped in the rankings and this week is listed among "Others considered".

Only No. 2 Fallston remains perfect at 14-0 after its 8-5 victory Monday against John Carroll.

"We got killed," said North County coach Wayne Feuerherd. "I think we were thinking ahead to today's [Tuesday's] game with [No. 4] Severna Park. And I was trying to save some pitching. It didn't work."

Tuesday's game with the Falcons is at North County at 4 p.m. Both teams are now 12-1.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Mount St. Joseph junior guard Eric Atkins, the Baltimore Catholic League's Player of the Year and a first-team All-Metro selection, has committed to play at Notre Dame following his senior year with the Gaels.
Atkins, a three-year starter, averaged 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in leading the Gaels to the semifinals of the BCL Tournament.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Tiana Mitchell, the only senior on Digital Harbor's girls basketball team, has committed to play next season for Potomac State College in West Virginia.

Mitchell, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, averaged 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals for the 24-3 Rams, who won their first state championship this winter, in Class 1A.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Hammond softball pitcher Stephanie Speierman has had a knack for coming up with the spectacular over the course of her stellar four-year career. The three-time first-team All-Metro standout, who will play at Michigan next year, threw a perfect game to win a state championship in her sophomore year, a season in which she broke the state's strikeout record with 426 whiffs. Saturday was another one of those special days under rare circumstances. With all the rain in recent weeks, the Golden Bears had to cram two games at two different locations into one day. Speierman ended up with two no-hitters -- first beating Mount Hebron 6-0 and then edging Centennial, 1-0. In 14 innings, she struck out 34 batters, walked two and hit another. She also went 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored. Not a bad day's work.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Former Western Tech girls basketball coach Heather DeWees will be the head coach at the new Manchester Valley High School in Carroll County next winter, but this weekend she may be looking well into that team’s future.

Her 8-year-old daughter Mackenzie DeWees is competing Saturday in the 8/9 year-old girls division of the Elks National Hoop Shoot in Springfield, Mass. Mackenzie, a third grader at Ebb Valley Elementary School, won the central regional championship last month by hitting 23 of 25 shots from 11 feet (shortened from the usual 15 feet for the younger division).
She is one of 12 contestants in the national competition.

Mackenzie, who plays travel soccer, basketball and softball for North Carroll Rec. and Amateur Athletic Union basketball with the U-9 Sureshots, will get a big sendoff tonight with a party at the Westminster Elks Lodge.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The St. Paul's baseball team may have surprised a lot of people Tuesday when it beat No. 5 Calvert Hall, which is the top team in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. But it didn't surprise its coach Paul Bernstorf.

"I'm dumb enough to think when we go out and play we can beat every team," he said the day after his Crusaders upset the Cardinals, 6-3. "I'm not at all surprised. Our kids expect to be successful. I'd be disappointed if they expected anything else."

Calvert Hall has won the A Conference title the past four years and is going for a record fifth in a row. It still leads the conference with a 9-2 record (16-4 overall). But St. Paul's has had its share of success as well, winning the title in 2002 and 2003 and finishing runner-up in 2001 and 2005.

"We've been a top 4 team for 10 years," said Bernstorf.

This season, while fielding a young team, Bernstorf had faith that when his players matured and got healthy they'd start winning. And that has been the case. Seniors Ryan Bowman and John Kuchno and sophomore Justin Dodson are all back from injury, and the team has grown.

Bernstorf recalled his victorious Tuesday lineup and said he hasdsophomores starting at shortstop, catcher and right field and a freshman in center field. Dodson was the winning pitcher against Calvert Hall with a one-hitter through five innings before being relieved by Kuchno.

The win over Calvert Hall comes on the heels of last week's 12-6, victory over Archbishop Curley and improved St. Paul's record to 3-8 in the conference and 10-12 overall.

"Calvert Hall is one of the top programs in the state and recently, in the country," said Bernstorf. "It's a great program and we like to think there is a rivalry between us -- though they've gotten the best of us in recent years.

"The championship goes through Calvert Hall. For us to have won that game can only give us a lot of confidence. We have seven games left and we believe we can make the playoffs."

The next game in St. Paul's attempted run to the playoffs is Thursday against visiting Mount St. Joseph.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Lake Clifton boys basketball coach Herman "Tree" Harried, who led the No. 1 Lakers to a 28-0 season and the Class 3A state title this year, has been named an assistant coach for the 2009-10 USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team.

Harried will head to Colorado Springs on June 6 for an eight-day camp as the team prepares for the inaugural 2009 FIBA Americas under-16 Championship, slated to take place June 17-21 in Mendoza, Argentina. The championship serves as a qualifier for the 2010 FIBA under-17 World Championship.

Don Showalter, who coaches at Mid-Prairie High School in Iowa, was named the head coach with Kevin Sutton (Montverde Academy, Florida) also named as an assistant. The coaches were selected by the USA Basketball Developmental National Team Committee.

"It's fun to be around the 15 or so players of that level. It's a joy to be able to get to know them and to share my teachings with them," Harried said.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The undefeated, No. 2 Fallston baseball team was supposed to meet No. 12 Bel Air on Monday. It was a game Bel Air was eager to play, given it could be undefeated too, if not for an early season, 7-4, loss to Fallston.

But the rain beat both teams Monday, forcing them to reschedule.

Now the two sides will swing their bats against each other at Bel Air on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Arundel baseball coach Bernie Walter has been working hard to get his team going in a positive direction.

Finally, five weeks into the season, the Wildcats have reached .500 at 5-5.

"The team is an enigma," Walter said. "But they're learning and getting better. It is a work in progress."

The Wildcats have had one thing to celebrate this season -- besides winning two of its past three games. Walter recently notched his 600th career win.

It came in the midst of a win-one, lose-win stretch, but Walter said he never stressed over whether he would reach 600 wins -- the most by any high school coach in Maryland history.

"There was never any doubt that this team would win three games," he said, referring to the number of wins he needed coming in to the season. "So there was never any pressure. It is just an honor to everyone involved who has been involved with it."

The milestone victory occurred on April 3 with a 20-2 rout of Glen Burnie at home.

Walter lists his assistant coaches -- Nick Jauschnegg, Tut O'Hara, Frank Hood, Jason Lively, Barry Kitchen, Mel Montgomery, Lee Rogers, Lou DiMenta, Drian Nehman, Jimmy Taylor, Manny Branco, Denis Shamberger and Tom Keating -- as being critical to hus success over 36 years at the same school.

"I have never won or lost a game at Arundel," Walter said. "The players have done it all. Number 600 is a tribute to all those who have contributed to the record."

You get the impression Walter anticipates his current team, with eight regular-season games left, will continue to add to the victory total.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The No. 1 vs. No. 2 girls lacrosse showdown between McDonogh and Notre Dame Prep scheduled for today has been postponed until tomorrow, because the Eagles' field could not absorb all of yesterday's rain. First draw is at 4 p.m. at McDonogh.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

At the midway point of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Assocation A Conference boys lacrosse race, things could not be any tighter.

A look at Friday's results provides proof:

*Top-ranked Gilman (8-0, 4-0 in the league) needs a couple of late fourth-quarter goals to finally get the needed seperation from No. 9 McDonogh for a 7-4 win.
*No. 2 Calvert Hall (8-1, 5-0) doesn't take its first lead against No. 5 Loyola (7-3, 3-1) until under two minutes remaining when Phil Castranova scores the game-winner in a 9-8 win.
*No. 3 St. Mary's (9-1, 3-1) has an even closer call against No. 4 Boys' Latin (9-2, 3-2) when Mark McNeill scores the winner with 2.9 seconds left.

Playing in tight contests and finding ways to win should prove beneficial come playoff time when the intensity is cranked up another level. Until then, expect more of the same starting today when Gilman hosts two-time defending champ Loyola in a rematch of last year's title game and St. Mary's travels to St. Paul's.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It’s not all that often that we get a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game in girls lacrosse. Those two spots are often occupied by teams from different counties who never, ever meet.

This season is a little different and we will be treated to a No. 1 vs. No. 2 contest with a lot on the line. No. 1 McDonogh (11-1) and No. 2 Notre Dame Prep (10-0) are scheduled to meet today at 4 p.m. at McDonogh if the weather will only cooperate.

More important than the No. 1 ranking, first place in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference – perhaps the toughest conference in the nation – is on the line.
But this contest offers a good look at two different styles of the game. Both teams are highly skilled, but McDonogh plays the modern style of the game while the Blazers show a more traditional style.

The Eagles rely a lot on speed and set offense. They have great depth and run players in and out to keep fresh legs on the field. The Blazers pass more in transition and look to go to goal more in transition. They don’t sub as much, but can run all day.

The Eagles, -- whose only loss was to Canandaigua, N.Y. -- score by committee, and it’s a big committee. One of many players such as Molly Fernandez, Kitty Cullen, Colby Rhea, Hannah Franklin and Brooks Lawler (and some others) could be the top scorer on any given day. At Notre Dame Prep, Erin Laschinger, Kelsi Bozel and Covie Stanwick get most of the points, but there are quite a few more Blazers who can also score.

McDonogh has the pre-game edge, having just beaten The Washington Post’s No. 1 team St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, 10-9, Saturday, but the Blazers won’t go quietly if they go at all.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The last time Mount Hebron’s girls lacrosse team played West Genesee, the New York team ended the Vikings' 103-game winning streak. That was two years ago. Now, the Vikings are ready to take them on again at West Genesee’s tournament tomorrow afternoon.

Coach Brooke Kuhl-McClelland opted to forego the Vikings’ annual tournament in favor of the weekend trip to central New York.

“After we fell of the face of the earth last year, basically due to injury, illness and the fact that we lost all those players to Marriotts Ridge and we only had three seniors, it was basically an anomaly and we wanted to make sure we put ourselves back on the map,” said Kuhl-McClelland.

The Vikings finished 12-5 last season and saw their string of 11 state championships come to an end with a loss to Centennial in the regional final. The five losses were the most in school history and it was the first time the Vikings had missed the state final four since its inception.

This weekend, Kuhl-McClelland and her players are not thinking about rising to No. 1 in the nation as they have eight times in Lacrosse Magazine, but just keeping their name out there on the national scene.

“There’s not that real sense that we have to be No. 1 in the nation.” Kuhl-McClelland said. “[The girls have] set three goals out again: They want to take back the county championship, they want to get to states again, they want to do all those things that prior teams have been accustomed to doing. I think everyone’s probably realistic about the situation in regards to are they the No. 1 team in the nation. Probably not. Could they become the No. 1 team in the nation? With some effort, with some strategy, they might be able to.”

The 9 Vikings (7-0) are making the six-hour trek north this afternoon. They open tomorrow’s action with Brighton at 10 a.m. and then face the rematch with West Genesee at 3 p.m.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

North Carroll won the most unique “Carroll County championship” Wednesday, beating out South Carroll in the finale of the Buffalo Wild Wings challenge.

The Panthers and their fans raised $655.48 by eating wings and other menu items at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Westminster during designated hours on Wednesday. The South Carroll faithful came in with $507.47. Each school keeps the money – 15 percent of its tab for the competitive hours – for its athletics department.

Despite falling in the final, South Carroll raised more money through all its rounds than any other school. The eight schools in the county raised $8,061.78 for their athletics programs in head-to-head, single-elimination rounds through the school year.

In addition, North Carroll wins the grand prize, the Buffalo Wild Wings Scholarship, which was worth more than $800 going into the final round.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

When rain washes out a tournament, it can be pretty difficult to get everyone back for a make-up date, so Anne Arundel Community College women’s lacrosse coach Jim Griffiths had a make-up date built in for the AACC Girls Lacrosse Tournament.

Of course, rain washed out last Saturday’s games, so all but one of them has been rescheduled for this weekend. Only the C. Milton Wright-Arundel game had to be canceled because C. Milton Wright had another game scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday’s games include some intriguing match-ups, especially the final three:
Queen Anne’s vs. Chesapeake-AA, 9
Urbana vs. Old Mill, 10:30
Towson vs. Westminster, noon
Catonsville vs. No. 4 Annapolis, 1:30
No. 12 Fallston vs. No. 11 South River, 3
Severn vs. No. 2 Severna Park, 4:30
No. 10 Archbishop Spalding vs. No. 8 Broadneck, 6:30.

Best of all: no rain forecast.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The rain that has forced baseball game postponements all over the area through the first three days of this week, has forced Howard County officials to reschedule all the games scheduled for Wednesday to be played Saturday.

"Baseball and tennis are the hardest hit by the rain," said River Hill athletic and activities director Rick Lloyd, who says the county tennis teams are so backed up his Hawks are playing twice Saturday at Long Reach (10 a.m.) and at Atholton (1 p.m.). "You can't play tennis on a wet court and the rain turns the baseball field to mud. You can't have kids throwing projectiles that can't be gripped at one another."

In Howard County, schools are running out of days to reschedule. The teams there are already playing four games a week (the maximum allowed in one week), making up previous rainouts.

Saturday, Reservoir at Oakland Mills, Glenelg at Wilde Lake, Marriotts Ridge at Hammond, Mount Hebron at Centennial and Atholton at Howard will all be played at 10 a.m., while River Hill's varsity will play at Long Reach at noon.

While Saturday seems like a good day for makeups, it can be problematic. There are a lot of other things going on over the weekend. At Marriotts Ridge coach Paul Eckert said it is likely his athletics and activities director Gene Brown will have to be on the bench for the start of the game because Eckert has a family commitment, his nephew is being baptized. And at least three of his players, two of them starters, have college placement tests and job commitments.

"We only kept 14 kids on our team, and three of them might not make the game," said Eckert. "And a fourth is coming back from a foot injury and I don't think it would be physically smart to play him. So we may be down to 10 able bodies and if two of them run into each other -- which could happen -- we could be down to eight."

Eckert said he will double check availability numbers Thursday and will call up JV players if he has to.

"I'm going to impress on my kids that college placement exams and work commitments are more important than one baseball game," said Eckert, noting that this one baseball game is against undefeated Hammond, "just as I would feel remiss to miss this family baptism commitment."

The coach noted calling up junior varsity players for one game to cover a specific circumstance does not jeopardize those players' JV status.

-- Sandra McKee

Posted by Sandra McKee at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Today's steady rain washed out the overwhelming majority if not all of the area's prep schedule.

For school athletic directors, it means a hectic day. First comes the decision: Can we play? South River AD David Klingel said today was an easy call, which meant the first thing for him this morning was making a ton of calls. There's opposing schools to be reached to reschedule games; buses to be called to cancel; and officials to be notified that games are postponed.

By late morning, Klingel had things well under control today. He said the tough decisions come on the days when the forecast calls for the rain to go away by early afternoon. A decision has to be made by 1:30 p.m. to notify the bus company whether transportation will be needed.

Before then, ADs have to consider whether they will be able to have the field ready to play as well as safety concerns for players. So take a minute to appreciate all the ADs in the area who are working hard right now to make sure the games will be played tomorrow.

-- Glenn Graham

Posted by Ron Fritz at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The final round of the Carroll County Buffalo Wild Wings challenge is set for tomorrow afternoon as North Carroll and South Carroll compete for the title and the Buffalo Wild Wings Scholarship.

The event started with all high schools in Carroll County in one-on-one battles to see which school could raise the most money by eating the most wings (and other menu items) at the Westminster restaurant. Now down to the final two, the program has raised $5,735 for the schools’ athletics departments. The restaurant donated 15 percent of each schools’ tab through the early rounds and added to the scholarship.

The scholarship is valued at $860 but will go higher. The winning school’s administration will decide who wins the scholarship.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Severna Park girls lacrosse coach Carin Peterson, who has led the two-time defending state champ Falcons to seven state crowns in her 20 years, will be a coach at the 4th annual Under Armour All-America Senior Games on June 27 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium.

Peterson will coach the South Team in the girls game, going against the North team guided by Robert Vlahakis from Shoreham-Wading River High in New York. The girls game will take place at 5:30 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 8.

The two games will feature 88 of the best senior players from around the country. Team rosters will be announced at a later date.

Peterson, a Severna Park grad, went on to play at Maryland where she earned All-America honors in helping the Terrapins capture three national championships.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

When Century senior Katie Schwarzmann was little and watching big sisters Ashley and Lauren play lacrosse, she couldn’t wait to get on the field.

“I would come to games with my little stick and I’d be asking my parents, ‘When can I play? When can I play?’ I always went to their tournaments and watched them play, so I definitely learned a lot from them,” Katie said.

Katie followed Ashley, now 25, and Lauren, 22, into the sport and through high school (although Ashley went to South Carroll before Century opened), so when it came time to choose a college, she took a long look at Johns Hopkins where Ashley and Lauren had successful playing careers. In the end, however, Katie opted to break ranks and head farther south – signing with Maryland.

“It was actually a big decision,” said Katie, standing beside Homewood Field Monday after No. 13 Century’s 16-6 win over Roland Park at the Maryland High School Lacrosse Showdown.

“I love it here. I’ve always been comfortable here, because I have seen them play and I’ve been around the coaches and they’re great people. It was really a hard decision, but going to Maryland has been something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been a big Maryland fan since I was little, so I kind of went with my heart on that one.”

There’s little doubt that Katie would be successful wherever she had chosen to go. An All-Metro midfielder last season, she is one of the most prolific scorers in Carroll County girls lacrosse history. After scoring seven goals Monday, she has 35 this season in just five games

But didn't she get a bit of nudging from her sisters towards Hopkins? Not too much, she said with a smile.

“They didn’t really give me too much pressure as to going here. They knew it was my decision and my sister Lauren has worked camps for Maryland, so she really loves both schools. Obviously, she went here and this is where she loves it, but they didn’t really pressure me.”

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Centennial senior Kristin Anderson has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Millersville University, a Division II school in Pennsylvania.
Anderson, a 5-foot-10 middle hitter, helped the Eagles to their 14th state 3A championship last season. During five playoff matches, she led the Eagles in aces and blocked shots with 12 and seven, respectively, and had 22 kills.
A basketball player growing up, Anderson did not play volleyball until high school, but her experiences with her school team and a club team, the Columbia Eclipse, completely altered her athletic focus from basketball to volleyball.
"It was something that changed in me," she said in a recent interview. "When I came to the court to practice [volleyball], I felt like I really wanted to practice . . .Volleyball has just become such a big part of my life."
Sandra McKee

Posted by Sandra McKee at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Two girls lacrosse tournaments scheduled for Satuday – at Anne Arundel Community College and at Dulaney -- have been postponed due to rain.

The AACC Tournament, which included six ranked teams in the eight games that had been scheduled for Saturday, was called off after heavy rain in Arnold continued past 11:30 a.m.

Jim Griffiths, the AACC women’s lacrosse coach and tournament director, said he would try to find a make-up date for Saturday’s games, which included some intriguing matchups. Although most of the teams are from Anne Arundel County, the tournament features non-traditional opponents including No. 2 Severna Park vs. Severn, No. 10 Broadneck vs. No. 6 Archbishop Spalding and No. 11 South River vs. No. 12 Fallston. The rest of the lineup included No. 7 Annapolis vs. Catonsville, Chespeake-AA vs. Queen Anne’s, Old Mill vs. Urbana, Arundel vs. C. Milton Wright and Westminster vs. Towson.

Fortunately, this is a two-day round-robin event that continues on Monday when the weather forecast appears more cooperative. All these teams will get to play then but against different opponents.

It was also too wet at Dulaney to play the Baltimore Showcase, which featured No. 3 Notre Dame Prep, No. 13 Century and No. 15 Hereford.

Dulaney athletic director Mike Lafferty said he would try to reschedule some, if not all, of the games in some format even if it has to be over several days if that is possible within Maryland public school rules. Rescheduling, he said, could be a problem because public school teams have limits on how many games they can play in a single week and how many games they can play overall.

If games were to be played over several days that might no longer classify as a tournament and could put a team over its season limit. That could also be an issue for some of the teams in the AACC Tournament.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

In softball-rich Anne Arundel County, the Chesapeake-Broadneck rivalry has been the hottest in the last three years largely due to the pitching duels between Cougars' senior Lauren Gibson and Broadneck junior Kourtney Salvarola.

Thursday, the No. 1 Bruins (6-0) threw a curve ball when they sent junior Ashley Thomas, an All-Metro shortstop and No. 2 starter, to the mound and came away with an impressive 3-0 win over the No. 3 Cougars.

Like most games the teams have played in the past two years -- Broadneck has taken the regular season and county championship games in both seasons only to have Chesapeake win the Class 4A East region title game on the way to consecutive state titles -- it came down to execution and attention to detail.

Enter Thomas.

With two on and no outs in the top of the first inning, she slammed an inside pitch from Gibson over the left field fence to provide all the runs she and the Bruins would need. After the game, she said Gibson has always pitched her outside, so she made the adjustment to have the outside pitches covered but was still able to turn on the inside pitch.

With the early lead, Thomas was able to overcome butterflies on the mound by staying around the plate and trusting her defense. She surrendered just three hits, but struck out only one with some fine plays behind her contributing to the complete team win.

-- Glenn Graham

Posted by Ron Fritz at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If you are a fan of girls lacrosse, you can spend all day Saturday and Monday watching games to your heart's content. Three round-robin tournaments feature many of the area's top teams and games that go all day long.

Saturday, you can head to Dulaney for the Baltimore Showcase, featuring No. 3 Notre Dame Prep, No. 13 Century and No. 15 Hereford. Or you can head for Anne Arundel Community College for games, including one with No. 2 Severna Park, from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday, the High School Lacrosse Showdown at Johns Hopkins features No. 1 McDonogh. The AACC Tournament runs all day once again.

Following are the full schedules for these tournaments:

Friday
Anne Arundel CC Tournament
Chesapeake-AA vs. Queen Anne’s, 9 a.m
Old Mill vs. Urbana, 10:30 a.m
Arundel vs. C. Milton Wright, noon
Westminster vs. Towson, 1:30
No. 11 South River vs. No. 12 Fallston, 3
No. 7 Annapolis vs. Catonsville, 4:30
No. 10 Broadneck vs. No. 6 Archbishop Spalding, 6
No. 2 Severna Park vs. Severn, 7:30

Baltimore Lacrosse Showcase at Dulaney
Dulaney vs. No. 3 Notre Dame Prep, 10
No. 15 Hereford vs. No. 13 Century, 11:30
Notre Dame Prep vs. Hereford, 1:30
Century vs. Dulaney, 3

Monday
Anne Arundel CC Tournament
Old Mill vs. Queen Anne’s, 9 a.m.
Urbana vs. Chesapeake-AA, 10:30 a.m.
C. Milton Wright vs. Annapolis, noon
Fallston vs. Arundel, 1:30
Severn vs. Westminster, 3
Towson vs. Broadneck, 4:30
Severna Park vs. Catonsville, 6
Archbishop Spalding vs. South River, 7:30

High School Lacrosse Showdownat Johns Hopkins
No. 13 Century vs. Roland Park, 10 a.m.
No. 14 Winters Mill vs. No. 1 McDonogh, noon

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

South River will honor former boys lacrosse and soccer coach Greg Carroll on Saturday afternoon, dedicating the junior varsity field in his name.

The ceremony will take place after the 2nd annual Greg Carroll Invitation Boys Lacrosse Tournament. Carroll, who coached and taught at South River when it first opened its doors in 1978 until his retirement in 2005, will be on hand Saturday with family, friends, former players and co-workers.

Covering high school sports, I see plenty of stadiums and gyms dedicated to individuals and I'm always curious as to the special contributions they must have made to the respective schools. In this case, I had a first-hand look as I covered a number of Carroll's teams over the years, particularly in soccer.

His teams were always disciplined, organized and worked hard to the final whistle. Those traits were a reflection of Carroll, who always showed strong character with a friendly and professional manner whether the Seahawks won or lost on a particular night.

Carroll, A St. Mary's High and University of Maryland grad, led the South River boys lacrosse team to two state titles (1984 and '86) and the soccer team captured a crown in 1987.

Saturday's tournament gets started at 10 a.m. on different fields with the host Seahawks taking on Century and Severn meeting Archbishop Curley. The championship and consolation games will take place at 12:30 p.m. with the ceremony to follow.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It’s not often a team moves from the B Conference to the A Conference in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland and has an immediate impact, but Garrison Forest’s girls lacrosse has announced its arrival.

Two weeks ago, the Grizzlies pushed No. 8 St. Mary’s before falling, 14-13, and Tuesday, they surprised No. 6 Archbishop Spalding, 14-7, in the biggest upset of the season so far. Ana Henrich scored four goals while Liza Blue and Alex Goldstein had three each. Megan Mullan made 11 saves.

The Grizzlies won the B Conference championship last season, but they did not beat either of the A Conference teams they played, including St. Mary’s, falling 13-8. They are now 2-2 in the A Conference and 3-2 overall.

First-year coach Jess Onheiser said talent, experience, hard work and a new focus on defense have been critical to the Grizzlies' solid start. Many of these girls have won two straight A Conference field hockey titles, so they know how to win amid the toughest competition.

“I just think there’s a core group of juniors and seniors who are very experienced and have been playing on varsity since they were freshmen. They were a big part of wanting to move up,” said Onheiser. "They play club with all these (A Conference) girls and the majority of them have collegiate expectations. Having such a large group that is committed and willing to put in the work, I’m not surprised we’re competing.”

Onheiser knows how to win too. The former Jess Roguski was an All-Metro midfielder at Liberty and the school’s all-time leading scorer when she graduated in 2000. As a senior, she led the Lions to the state Class 4A-3A final, where they fell, 5-4 in triple overtime, to Severna Park. She went on to play at Vanderbilt and has been an assistant coach at Ohio State and Loyola.

Now she has the Grizzlies in the middle of a tight pack in the A Conference and the defensive play of Kingsley Mooney, Christine Knauss, Kristen Meehan, Grace Emerick and Meghan Cover also has a lot to do with that.

“At the beginning of year, I told them our focus had to be on D,” said Onheiser. “Looking at their record for the last two years, I was not worried about them putting the ball in net or running a set offense. There’s a lot of defense in the A Conference and that’s got to be a solid foundation for us. We work on it every single day. We can change it up and make it look different but D has got to be our No. 1 priority.”

It's safe to say no one will be taking the Grizzlies lightly now.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Most of the talk in the early boys lacrosse season in the mighty Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference has been centered on all of the teams' impressive offensive firepower.

Rightly so when you look at all the talent that is layered throughout the league on attack.

But yesterday, No. 2 Calvert Hall came away with a 12-8 win over previously undefeated Boys' Latin with a stifling defensive performance when it was needed most.

Holding a 9-8 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals shut down the Lakers' potent attack the rest of the way, finally getting an insurance goal with 6:39 left for a two-goal lead.

Junior goalie Greg Dutton needed to make just one save in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals' defense -- led by Chris Lightner, Patrick Rhodey and Stephen Greene -- provided a cohesive front.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

One final thing about this girls basketball season.

This truly was a benchmark season in many ways for the public school and the private school teams. For the first time in as long as I can remember, the Baltimore-area teams really outmatched their Washington counterparts in the postseason.

I can rest my case on these two examples: No. 1 Seton Keough defeated The Washington Post’s No. 1 team, Riverdale Baptist, to win the first ESPN RISE National High School Invitational on Sunday and No. 4 Fallston defeated The Post’s No. 3 team, Paint Branch, to win the state Class 3A championship last month.

In addition No. 7 Digital Harbor beat Surrattsville for the state Class 1A title. Seton Keough, the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champ, beat another Washington-area team, Elizabeth Seton, becoming the first team from Baltimore to win the Bishop Walsh Girls Invitational Tournament, a girls' version of the boys' Alhambra Tournament for Catholic school teams.

It was a big year for the local girls at the state tournament as Fallston, Digital Harbor and City, the Class 2A champ, gave Baltimore-area teams three of the four girls state championships for the first time since Western, Hammond and Wilde Lake won in 1995.

Eleanor Roosevelt, No. 2 in The Post, did take the state Class 4A title after beating Arundel in the semifinal, but that was the only Washington-area school’s victory of these six most prestigious titles.

It was nice to see so many of the local girls do so well. This has been a girls basketball season no one will soon forget.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Basketball season is finally over for No. 1 Seton Keough, which polished off a fabulous post-season by winning the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational Sunday with a 44-42 win over Riverdale Baptist, The Washington Post’s No. 1 team.

But Gators coach Jackie Boswell is still getting phone calls – some from college coaches interested her players. Although the tournament was held during a recruiting dead period and no college coaches were at the game at Georgetown Prep, some saw it on TV and liked what they saw.

Boswell said she has gotten inquiries about senior point guard Katelyn Fischer as well as sophomore guard Amber Singletary, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Fischer, who got suprisingly little attention from Division I coaches, scored 10 points in the ESPN RISE final while Singletary finished with 13 points including some key baskets down the stretch.

“For Amber, I’m not sure she realizes how big it is yet,” said Boswell, “but we just tried to reiterate how much of opportunity it is. Amber kind of stepped up at the end of this year. After the Jericho Christian loss in mid-January, I really laid into them and I think mentally, they realized, 'This is unacceptable to us. We’re not living up to our best.' I think Amber really figured out what her role was and she really stepped up.”

That has certainly put Singletary on the map with college coaches – and she has two more years to go.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

After 10 challenging innings Monday, Calvert Hall and Cardinal Gibbons were tied, 8-8, in their Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A-conference game at Calvert Hall when the game was called for darkness.

The game will be resumed at the top of the 11th inning on April 17 when Calvert Hall goes to Cardinal Gibbons for the next meeting between the two sides. The tie game will be decided and then the next game will start.

Gibbons remains 4-0 in conference play, while Calvert Hall is 4-1.

Monday each team used five pitchers and Gibbons saw a 6-3 lead, built over the first four innings, disappear in the sixth and seventh.

Cardinal Gibbons got five strong innings from Eric Drechsler, who allowed five hits and five runs (four earned), while Calvert Hall's Blake Geiger went six innings, giving up eight hits and six runs (four earned), before a series of teammates took their turns on the mound.

The Gibbons' offensive attach was led by designated hitter John Marshall, with two hits and three runs and Blake Thompson was just one hit short of hitting for the cycle with a single, double and a triple. Calvert Hall's centerfielder Evan Cain had two doubles, two RBI and scored two runs and his teammate Ryan Welling had a double, a triple and three RBI.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The MaxPreps Tour of Champions made a stop at Lake Clifton Thursday to honor the No. 1 and state Class 3A champion boys basketball team, which was ranked No. 24 in MaxPreps.com's Xcellent 25.

The Lakers, who finished 28-0, were one of 10 teams honored by the tour. At a school assembly, coach Herman Harried received a national ranking trophy from Maryland Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Cornelius Mickel, whose organization sponsored the tour.

Posted by Katherine Dunn at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Things are going well for the Eastern Tech baseball team and for one of its alumni, too.

After an 0-2 start, the Mavericks are on a four-game winning streak, its last victory by 8-0 over Sparrows Point.

Meanwhile, coach Ty Whittaker said alum Ryan Rivers, who was on the Mavs 2A state championship teams from 2005 and 2007, is doing very well in his sophomore season at UNC-Charlotte.

A week ago Rivers, a sophomore, hit two home runs against North Carolina, the No. 5 team in the country, to give his 49ers all the offense they needed in a 2-1 win. The March 25 win was also the first for UNCC in 21 years in Chapel Hill.

Rivers has been a key ingredient in UNCC's 15-10 performance this season. He leads the team in sluggling percentage (.622), RBIs (26) and homeruns (8), with a .280 batting average.

Posted by Sandra McKee at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A fine boys basketball season is drawing to an end this weekend.

No. 2 St. Frances will be competing in the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational starting on Friday with an opening-round game against St. Benedict's from New Jersey at Georgetown Prep in West Bethesda. Game time is set for 4 p.m. with the game airing on ESPNU. The eight-team tournament continues through Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the ninth edition of the Charm City Challenge takes place at Towson University with the City All-Stars taking on the County All-Stars at 3 p.m. followed by the Baltimore All-Stars against the U.S. All-Stars at 5. In the featured game, the Baltimore team has a 6-2 advantage in the series.

In other basketball news, Lake Clifton, Class 3A state champs who finished the season with a perfect 28-0 mark, is ranked 21st nationally in MaxPreps.com's Xcellent 25 poll. And congratulations to St. Frances senior forward Terrell Vinson, who was named to the PARADE All-America's fourth team.

Posted by Glenn Graham at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)