North I

On this day in 1978, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Cal Ripken Jr. out of Aberdeen High School in the second round. Ripken made Maryland history as the seventh high school player to reach the major leagues. Ripken became the first player to be drafted out of Aberdeen High School. His brother, Billy, would also be selected four years later. The brothers are the only players selected in the school's history. Among MLB players to be drafted and signed out of high school, Ripken accumulated the third most Wins Above Replacement, only placing behind Alex Rodriguez and Rickey Henderson. According to the biography “Iron Man: The Cal Ripken Jr., Story,” Ripken struggled to fit in as an undersized freshman in the 1975 season. Coaches placed him at second base over concerns with his arm and stature. These issues persisted across his freshman and most of his sophomore years. The Aberdeen Eagles needed a spark in 1977 after a combined 13-25 record in 1975 and 1976. A junior year Ripken, more experienced and stronger, provided exactly what they needed. Ripken’s throwing arm held him back as a freshman, but it improved significantly over the years. That arm strength earned his spot as the team’s everyday shortstop and ticketed him for a new role. In 1977, Ripken became a two-way player after coaches requested to try the idea. He had not pitched since playing in Little League competitions. Ripken faced the challenge with a .339 batting average and a 1.66 ERA. His efforts brought Aberdeen to a county championship matchup against Joppatowne High School. The Eagles sought their first county championship since 1959. Ripken earned the start for Aberdeen’s biggest game in years and performed well as the Eagles won the title. His efforts earned him the 1977 Harford County MVP award and cemented him as a top prospect for MLB scouts. Ripken built on his standout junior season with an even better senior campaign. He pitched 60 innings of 0.70 ERA ball alongside 100 strikeouts and had a .492 batting average. That performance propelled Aberdeen to the MPSSAA championship for the first time in school history. Ripken authored the best pitching performance of his life in that game. He threw a complete game against Thomas Stone High School with 17 strikeouts and only one run. The Eagles won the 1978 MPSSAA championship. Aberdeen has not won a championship since then, only making a recent semifinal appearance in 2016. The Orioles used the 48th pick of the 1978 draft to select Ripken. He would make his major league debut on Aug. 10, 1981, at 20 years old against the Kansas City Royals. Ripken became one of the best players of his generation and exclusively played for the Orioles in his 21 year career. Ripken is the Orioles franchise leader in games played, runs, hits, home runs, RBIs and walks. Across baseball, he had the fifth-most games played at shortstop and turned the third-most double plays. He made 19 All-Star games, earned two MVP awards, won the 1983 World Series and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2007. Ripken is most remembered nationally for passing Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 consecutive games streak. Between May 30, 1982 and Sept. 20, 1998, Ripken played in every Orioles game and set a new record with 2.632 games. Now retired after his Hall of Fame career, Ripken gives back to Aberdeen. He founded Ripken Baseball in 2001 as a part of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. The organization provides resources for youth and high school teams to participate in tournaments nationwide. 47 years after graduating from Aberdeen High School, Ripken remains connected with the community that watched him become a baseball legend.

Logan Scheeler went 3 innings to secure the win and Peter Weber nailed down his second save of the season. Mason Hemelt hit his 9th double of the season and accounted for another 2rbis. John Teal had another two hit game and an rbi. Frankie Culotta, Kevin Hardisky and Logan Scheeler also added an RBI each.

Andrew Brinn hit a home run

On March 27, the 4-1 Towson Generals went on the road to take on the 1-3 Pikesville Panthers. Towson comes into the game following a 5-2 victory at home against the Dulaney Lions, while the Panthers host the Generals after a shutout victory against the Lansdowne Vikings. It took until the bottom of the third inning for the scoring to begin. Pikesville's Michael Hagan doubled into right center field with two hours, allowing Richard Carlton to score the first run of the game. Towson answered in the top of the fifth, where Asher Grotsky singled to score the first run for the Generals. Hagan responded in the bottom half, singling to get his second RBI on the day. In the top of the sixth, Towson's Colin Secrist singled to score run number three after a wild pitch scored the second. Grotsky tacked on with his second RBI single of the game to give the Generals a 4-2 lead with just one and a half innings to play. Pikesville went down quiet in the bottom of the sixth, but the Generals loaded the bases in the top of the seventh. With just one out, Pikesville turned to senior Dylan Kodeck who struck out the next two batters to keep Towson's lead at two. Finding themselves in a bases-loaded, one-out situation, Pikesville's Ian Davis scored on a ground ball in the infield, but Kairee Williams was tagged out trying to advance on the fielders choice. This game finished with the Generals edging out the Panthers 4-3. Towson's Owen Leoni earned the win for the Generals, going two innings, giving up two hits and one earned run. For Pikesville, Dylan Kodeck was tagged with the loss despite giving up zero hits, zero walks, and zero runs while striking out the only two batters he faced. Both teams have Friday off, but the Generals look on to next week where they will travel to Sparrows Point to take on the Pointers while Pikesville will travel to Catonsville to try to right the ship against the Comets.

T. Suit throws a five inning no hitter, one batter away from perfect game with a hit batter in the first. 10 K’s for the victory.

Sophomore Isaiah Edwards pitched a 5 inning shutout with 7 strikeouts

Harford Tech defeated Edgewood 16-0 in a Hatem Division matchup. Hunter Arnett earned the victory for the Cobras pitching a strong 3 innings. He only allowed one baserunner (hit by pitch) and struck out 7. He also went 2 for 2 with 2 doubles, a sac fly, and 3 rbi’s to lead the Cobras offense. The Cobras travel to Bo Manor on Monday for a cross-divisional series.

The Harford Tech Cobras improved to 1-2 on the season with a 19-0 win over host Edgewood Rams. Eleven different Cobras had hits in the game to pace the offense. CJ Scism and Ryan Walto combined for a Perfect Game. CJ earned the win pitching three innings and striking out 7 of the 9 batters he faced. Ryan Walto pitched perfect in relief striking out all 6 of the Rams batters he faced.

6 run 4th inning with Zaire wiggs 3rbi inning Jr. Joshua pulley had 5 strikeouts in the game

Towson High School baseball fell short of their goals but showed major success throughout the spring 2024 season. The team was able to finish the regular season 15-2, which was the best overall record in Baltimore County Division 1, and something to be very proud of. During the end of the season, Towson was able to beat their rival Dulaney in the semifinals. Unfortunately, they fell short to Catonsville and lost in the regional final, despite beating them earlier in the season. Coach Shawn Tomey mentioned “anytime you lose a game it leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” so it will come down to how they react to it. Catonsville beat Towson simply by playing better baseball that day. “When it started to rain, they responded better than we did. It didn’t impact them, Catonsville forged ahead and didn’t blink,” Coach Tomey noted. “We didn’t hit the ball good enough.” Meanwhile, Towson walked 10 guys in the regional final, despite pitching and defense being their strong-suit all year. Towson went into that game with a lot of experience. The class of 2024 was filled with lots of seniors who have accomplished a lot. That group of seniors made it to the state semifinals in 10th grade, giving them a sense of familiarity with the postseason. Expectations were high. With high expectations, it is unfortunate Towson ended in the regional finals, but that does not take away from the success of their season and the talent that the team compiled. Some of the top players that Coach Tomey noted were Aziz Bishop and Jackson Huck, both seniors. Bishop was the best positional player and best hitter on the team, playing shortstop. Huck was the best pitcher. Towson High baseball is looking to match the success next season but take it a step further and win the championship. When explaining these goals Coach Tomey added, “The goals are always to have a successful run in the postseason winning 4-6 games to get to the state final. We have the talent to do it. It will be a learning experience losing a lot of starters, but the new players are capable. We have to hit better. The coaching staff will do what needs to be done to get us where we need to be.” By May, the goal is to be ready to win the championship. What comes before in March and April are growing experiences and good tests to get the team ready for where they want to be. Towson High baseball will continue to improve and strive for success. Having high standards is what sets the tone. Photo from: www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/19/towson-hereford-baseball/…

Nathaniel Barry led the Engineers to a first round victory over a helpless Edgewood team that failed to win a game all season. Poly came into the playoffs with a tough loss against Randallstown, so a rebound against a lower tier opponent gives Poly much needed confidence as they hope to make a deep playoff run. The 10-0 final score will do wonders for the Engineers’ confidence. Nathaniel only gave up two hits and struck out 11 batters. Six runs in the fifth inning blew the game open with multiple errors dooming Edgewood against a team that they couldn’t make mistakes against if they had a chance of winning. Poly will take on Bel Air High on in the 3A semi-final on Saturday. Bel Air was victorious by another 10 run differential against Poly’s bitter rivals City on Thursday. Check out the tournament brackets to see all the matchups as we are right around the corner from finals!

New Town’s 3rd straight no hit game pitched by Senior Calib Richardson. He had 10 strikeouts.

Newtown batted around the 1st inning and scored 7 runs the combined senior pitchers Aaron Hopkins and Kai Holmes pitched a total 7 strikeouts

No hitter 50 pitches through 5 countysports.zone/scores/view/kvMzv7K8ZdinCZ5Np0vEa