April 2009 Archives

SILVER SPRING - - The Blazers lost two out of their three games over the past four days, losing to Walter Johnson and Paint Branch on Thursday and Friday, respectively, and defeating Winston Churchill last night at home.

On Thursday night, Walter Johnson took an early lead off Peirce Marston and the Blazers. An error by first baseman Josh Gordon and two missed foul pop up opportunities led to an RBI single, and it was 1-0.

Blair was able to use small-ball tactics in the bottom of the first to tie it up. Center fielder Neil Corran led off the bottom of the first with a single through the right side and promptly stole second. Third baseman Greg Friedman advanced Corran to third on a groundball to second, and designated hitter Brady Ettinger was able to score him on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Blair took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Right fielder Nate Hukill led of with a single, advanced to second on a Corran walk, and got to third on an error. Friedman drove him home with another ground out to second, and the score was 2-1 Blazers.

Marston tossed scoreless second and third innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth, serving up two doubles to tie up the game. The sophomore struggled with his control all game, walking six batters in 5 1/3 innings.

Walter Johnson was able to put it away in the final two innings, scoring four runs against a combination of Marston, Gordon, and Giulian Garruba on the mound. The game ended at Wildcats 6, Blazers 2.

The Blazers lost their next game, at Paint Branch, 7-2. I was unable to attend.

Yesterday, the Blazers struck early against Churchill. After falling into a 1-0 deficit after the top of the first, the Blazers produced seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by three-run doubles from catcher Alex Egber and second baseman David Fegley.

The Bulldogs were able to climb back into it, scoring six runs in four innings against Marston, who started this game on the mound as well. Marston only walked two in this game, but also hit two batters and served up six hits in four innings.

The Blazers' bats answered once again in the bottom of the fourth. Blair scored five more runs in the inning, including another three-run double, this time delivered by left fielder Sammy Denenberg. Relievers Gordon and Lucas Babinec were able to close out the game, and Blair won 12 to 7.

Blair's next home game is Saturday, May 2nd, against Gaithersburg. It is Senior Night, so come out and support the graduating class. The game starts at 2:30.

SILVER SPRING - - The Blair Blazers split a doubleheader last Friday, losing to the Wootton Patriots in extra innings and outlasting the Springbrook Blue Devils in the second game.

Blair starter Sammy Denenberg struggled in the top of the first inning, starting off with 2-0 counts on the first three Patriot batters. Wootton took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by catcher Mike Mooney. Mooney was also Wootton's starting quarterback this fall, and set a Maryland state record with 451 passing yards in their October 17th matchup against the Blazers.

Blair was able to take a lead of their own in the bottom of the first. With one out, shortstop Nevin Brown singled and stole second. Two batters later, catcher Alex Egber doubled him home. First baseman Josh Gordon followed with a run-scoring single, and the score was 2-1 Blazers.

Denenberg then got into a groove, pitching three scoreless innings before allowing a run in the fifth. The Blazers were able to back him up in the bottom of the inning, however, as right fielder Neil Corran executed a gutsy two-out bunt single with third baseman Brady Ettinger on third to tie it up.

After a scoreless seventh, the game headed into extra innings. Relief pitcher Lucas Babinec walked four batters in the eighth and gave up a two-run double to Mooney, making the score 5-3. Blair opened up the bottom of the eighth with two straight outs, but Denenberg and Babinec were hit by pitches to keep the game alive. Brown walked to load the bases, and Ettinger reached first on an error by Wootton's shortstop, scoring Denenberg. Egber grounded out to short to end the game, and Blair rested for about half an hour before taking on Springbrook.

Blair vaulted out to a 6-0 lead in the second game with a six run second inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Brown and Egber and a three run double by Babinec. The Blazers scored two more runs in the top of the third (they were the away team for this game), and Springbrook scored one in the bottom of the inning. With the score 8-1, coach John MacDonald pulled Blair starter Peirce Marston, who had allowed only two hits and one run after three innings, to give some time to his bullpen.

The combination of Giulian Garruba and Egber gave up 10 runs (6 earned) in three innings to put the Blazers down 11-10 after six. In the top of the seventh, the Blazers were able to put together some more offense. Babinec led off with a double, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Elliot Meyerson. Babinec later scored on a single by Egber, and Denenberg drove in two more with a double. Gordon followed with an RBI triple, making the scoring 15-11 Blair.

The Blazers still managed to get a scare in the bottom of the seventh. Gordon, entering the game on the mound, surrendered a singled to Springbrook's first batter, and three wild pitches allowed him to score. After walking the next hitter and striking out the next two, a pop up back to Gordon seemed to be the last out of the game. However, Gordon dropped it, and MacDonald pulled him in favor of Babinec, making an appearance on the mound in both games. Babinec struck out the last hitter, and the final score was 15-12 Blair.

On Saturday, the Blazers played at Sherwood, and lost 1-0. The Blazers were no-hit, and the only run of the game was scored in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Warriors a walk-off win. I was unable to attend the game.

The Blazers play Thursday, April 23rd, at home against Walter Johnson. The game is scheduled for 7 P.M.

(Note: It's been a really busy weekend, I hope to have a full article up tomorrow or the next day).

The Blair Blazers lost two of their three weekend games over the past few days, losing to Wootton and Sherwood and defeating Springbrook. I'll put up my full article soon.

According to TMZ and multiple news outlets such as The Huffington Post and the LA Times, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart died last night after the car he was in was struck by a minivan. The minivan had run a red light and collided with the car Adenhart was in, sending it in to a light pole. Adenhart was 22.

Three people in the car, including Adenhart, were killed, and one more is reportedly in intensive care in a nearby hospital. The minivan's driver apparently fled the scene, but was quickly caught by local police and charged with felony hit-and-run.

The accident happened shortly after Adenhart started a game on the mound for the Angels, pitching six shutout innings against the Oakland A's. It was his fourth major league start.

Adenhart was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Williamsport High School near Baltimore.

SILVER SPRING - - The Blair Blazers hit their first four home runs of the season today in wins over the Wheaton Knights and Rockville Rams. Blair beat Wheaton 8-7 and Rockville 18-8.

Wheaton took an early lead when starting pitcher Lucas Bremerman drove home third baseman Jonathon Sandoval on a sacrifice fly to center field. Blair responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double by JV call-up Gabe Resstack and a two-run home run by catcher Alex Egber, his first for Blair.

Wheaton played much better in this rematch of the 11-1 Blazer victory last month, hitting well and only committing two errors. Although Bremerman allowed eight runs, he was able to throw 120 pitches and give the Knights a complete game. The pitcher was also 1-2 with an RBI and a walk.

"It felt good to finally get it off my back, it's exciting," Egber said. "We didn't play awful, you've got to give the other team credit, but we still have confidence, we're not feeling down. We've just got to keep up the confidence."

Wheaton scored another run against Blair starter Evan Holliday, also a JV call-up, in the second inning. Left fielder Chris Williams hit an RBI single to center, scoring Juan Rosas. Wheaton tied up the game in the next inning against Resstack, the new Blair pitcher. Catcher Miles Leider led off with a single and his courtesy runner stole second base. Leider later scored on a bases loaded walk to right fielder Marvin Padilla.

Resstack led off the bottom of the third with a single, and Egber reached on an error by Padilla. Both runners scored on a throwing error by Sandoval. Third baseman Greg Friedman drove in catcher Ben Hukill's courtesy runner with a single to make the score 6-3 Blair. Nevin Brown, pinch hitting for center fielder Lucas Babinec, led off the fourth inning with a home run of his own.

"It feels good," Brown said "Because all season I've been talking about hitting the firehouse [a building about 20 feet beyond the left field fence], and I haven't hit it yet, but I got closer."

Wheaton was able to tie it up in the top of the sixth with a two-out rally with Egber on the mound for Blair. Sandoval singled, and scored on a double by Carlos Santana. Santana scored on a double by Lieder. Lieder advanced to third on a passed ball by Hukill, and Bremerman walked. Egber balked, scoring Lieder and advancing Bremerman to second. Eduardo Pedroza reached first on a throwing error by shortstop David Fegley, and Bremerman scored to tie the game at seven.

In the bottom of the sixth, Blair was able to take the lead once again. Brown led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Resstack grounded out to second, advancing Brown to third. Egber drove Brown in with an RBI single to the left side, giving Egber his third RBI of the game. Senior Giulian Garruba struck out the side in the top of the seventh to finish the game and earn the save.

Garruba started the second game on the mound for the Blazers and fell behind, serving up a two-run double to Patrick Mobley in the first inning. The Blazers' bats, however, were able to back him up, scoring a total of 14 runs in the first two innings.

Egber hit a two-run single and left fielder Sammy Denenberg followed with an RBI single of his own. First baseman Josh Gordon hit a two-run single later in the inning, the first of three two-run hits for the senior on the day.

In the second inning, Brady Ettinger hit a three-run home run, his first of his high school career. The ball went an estimated 385 feet to right field, and Ettinger, usually an opposite-field hitter, joked that it was "the first ball I've ever pulled out of the infield."

"There was a split second where it just kind of went blank," he said. "But as soon as I saw how high it was, I knew that it had a chance, and as soon as I looked down and saw the right fielder looking at the wall, I knew it was gone. I've never seen someone hit it out of Blair in a regular season game before today, and four times in one day is just miraculous."

Right fielder Neil Corran drove in Egber on a sacrifice fly, and Gordon hit a two-run double. Babinec drove in Gordon on an RBI groundout, and Brown hit his second home run of the day in his next at-bat, capping a nine-run second inning.

Blair coach John MacDonald could not recall the last home run hit by one his players, but said he thought it had "been a couple of years", and said that in his twenty years of coaching, he's only had "three or four players hit one out [at Blair]."

"Four in one day, that's outstanding," he said. "The ball wasn't even blowing that way on Brady's home run, and that ball was just crushed."

Gordon's performance was particularly impressive, as the senior was 4-4 with a game high six RBIs. Gordon had been in a bit of a slump coming in to the game, but showed signs of great improvement.

"Well, it feels good," he said. "Because I was hitting the ball well in the preseason, and then I went to a little slump, I don't know why. I just stopped trying to think about it so hard and pushed it the other way."

Blair's next game is next Wednesday, April 15th, against Springbrook at Martin Luther King, Jr. Field. The game is scheduled for 3:30 P.M.

SILVER SPRING - - Blair junior Sammy Denenberg pitched the Blazers' third complete game of the season, as Blair beat the visiting Walter Johnson Wildcats 2-1.

Denenberg allowed one run, unearned, in the top of the second. Left fielder Corey Goldstone doubled with one out, and scored on an error by Blair third baseman Brady Ettinger. Denenberg was lights out the rest of the game, allowing two hits and one walk through the remaining four innings.

"I was just feeling good again," Denenberg said. "That's two straight games that I've just been very confident. I had good velocity, and my arm feels good."

Blair tied it up in the bottom of the third. Denenberg singled to start off the inning, and advanced to second on a single by shortstop Nevin Brown. Denenberg scored two batters later on a Brady Ettinger single.

The Blazers took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Brown led off with a double, and advanced to second on a Lucas Babinec single. Right fielder Neil Corran bunted down the first base line and beat out the throw, scoring Brown. It was Corran's second bunt single of the day.

"Well, the first game today, I didn't get a hit, so I was just trying to get a base hit," Corran said. "So the first time, I was just trying to hit it to the left side. The second time, Nevin was on third base, so what I was really trying to do was just get him home, and if I get a base hit, that's just icing on the cake. So I went to the right side, and the pitcher was taking his time, so I sprinted it out and ended up getting the hit."

Coach John MacDonald thought it was key to win the second game, giving the Blazers momentum into another doubleheader tomorrow.

"Yeah, I think it makes a huge difference," he said. "Just from the standpoint that 4-4 sounds so much better than 3-5, plus we won a close game instead of losing, like we have in the last three. I think it'll give us a little boost going into tomorrow, I think we'll be a little fresher."

Denenberg's complete game once again saved MacDonald from having to go into MacDonald's shallow bullpen, leaving six pitchers (Giulian Garruba, Babinec, Alex Egber, Brown, and JV call-ups Evan Holliday and Gabe Resstack) available for tomorrow's doubleheader against Wheaton and Rockville.

"[Denenberg's complete game] does [help]," MacDonald said. "Because I was thinking that the two JV pitchers would throw against Wheaton, and Giulian would start against Rockville, and that's tenuous at best. But now we've got Lucas and Alex Egber, who didn't pitch at all, and they can come in at the first sign of trouble, so I think we'll be okay."

Blair beat Wheaton earlier in the year, 11-1. The first game is scheduled for 11 A.M.

SILVER SPRING - - In the opening game of their doubleheader, the Blair Blazers could not quite come back from an early deficit against Seneca Valley, losing 8-6.

Sophomore Peirce Marston surprisingly started the game on the mound for the Blazers. Last week, Marston suffered a toe injury and speculated that he would be unavailable for both today's games and tomorrow's doubleheader. Marston allowed six runs, four earned, in four innings for his first loss of the season.

In the bottom of the sixth with the score 7-2 Seneca Valley, the Blazers mounted a rally. Left fielder Sammy Denenberg singled home a run, and David Fegley followed with a pinch-hit two-run double. Second baseman Elliot Meyerson brought another Blazer home with an RBI groundout, and the score was 7-6 Seneca Valley.

Reliever Josh Gordon walked the first two Seneca Valley hitters in the seventh inning, and a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third with one out. Curiously, coach John MacDonald opted not to intentionally walk Seneca Valley's next hitter, which would have set up a double play opportunity or at least a force out at all bases. The pinch hitter flied out to right field, scoring a run and making the score 8-6.

Blair had a promising bottom of the seventh, but could never put it all together. Center fielder Lucas Babinec led off with a double to left center field, and right fielder Neil Corran walked. Third baseman Brady Ettinger struck out on a seven pitch at-bat, and catcher Alex Egber flew out to right field. Denenberg grounded out to end the game.

An article about the second game, which the Blazers won, will be coming sometime soon.

(NOTICE - Sorry, this article is a little shorter than most and a little delayed, I've been very busy.)

ROCKVILLE - - The Blair Blazers' record fell to 3-3 last Wednesday, as they lost to the Magruder Colonels, 4-2. Blair is now 0-3 on the road this year.

The Blazers took an early lead in the top of the first. First baseman Josh Gordon reached base on an error by Magruder shortstop Brad Blum, and right fielder Nate Hukill followed with a grounder to Blum. The shortstop threw the ball away from second baseman Drew Culver, and Gordon was able to hustle to third. Blair shortstop Nevin Brown followed with an RBI single to make the score 1-0 Blazers.

Blair starting pitcher Lucas Babinec ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth inning. Magruder catcher Mike Abod led off with a double and scored on a Matt Luber single. Pinch hitter Adam Mower doubled in two more runs for Magruder, and a fourth scored on a Blair error.

Blair scored in the top of the fifth, as Brady Ettinger knocked in Peirce Marston with a one-out double. Marston sprained a toe running from second to third, and will miss about a week, including today's doubleheader against Seneca Valley and Walter Johnson.

Reliever Giulian Garruba pitched a great game in relief for the Blazers. The senior pitched a perfect fifth and sixth, striking out two.

The Blazers play today, April 6th, at home against Seneca Valley and Walter Johnson. The game against Seneca Valley will start at 11 AM, with the Walter Johnson game following shortly after.

The Blair Blazers lost against the Magruder Colonels tonight, 4-2, making Blair's record 3-3 on the season. The Blazers have yet to win a game on the road this year.

I'll put up an article or Friday.