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When the 2008 baseball season began, Gaithersburg — led by Major League draftee Kevin Brady — looked like the county's best chance to reach the state playoffs and possibly win a championship.
Instead, surprising Sherwood emerged from the 4A West Region and raised the state championship trophy aloft at the end of the spring. Despite graduating much of the talent from its 2007 team, the Warriors put together a stellar late-season run that included a regional final win over Gaithersburg.
Seneca Valley, a program that had hovered around or below the .500 mark in recent times, punched the county's other state playoff ticket, the first in school history.
Graduation and transfer have created another mix of talent across the county, which could make for another entertaining and unpredictable season.
Last season was the first time in Jason Gasaway's four-year tenure as Quince Orchard coach that the Cougars (13-5 in 2008) did not reach the state playoffs, falling to Sherwood in the quarterfinals. They will miss the production of graduated Kevin Johnson (.482 batting average, 24 stolen bases). But with the return of left-handed pitcher/outfielder Mike Ryan, shortstop Tyler Ewing, outfielder Anthony Howard and second baseman Frank Barkanic, Quince Orchard looks poised once again to make a long postseason run.
Ryan, a preseason All-State selection, was a key member of last summer's Gaithersburg Post 295 state champion squad. He compiled a 7-1 record and a 2.12 earned-run average, while batting .377 with eight doubles and 26 runs batted in during the high school season. Ewing and Barkanic form a solid double-play combination. Ryan is joined in the starting rotation by Gonzaga transfer Brett Sliwiak.
Walter Johnson (7-9) will play its home games at Povich Field in Cabin John Park while its field is renovated. The Wildcats will be guided by outfielder James Kim, who led the squad in RBI a year ago, and pitcher/first baseman Carl Yaffe to go along with numerous call-ups from a junior varsity squad that won 25 games over the past two years.
Whitman, which compiled a 14-7 record under then first-year coach Joe Cassidy last spring, welcomes back almost its entire starting lineup, including outfielder Max Hilbert (.452, 23 RBI, 24 runs) and pitcher/second baseman Ethan Thompson (.512 on-base percentage, 3.89 ERA).
"Our weakness last year, pitching, should be our strength this year," Cassidy said. "I have three of my top four pitchers back. … All three have improved."
Cassidy's former team, Wootton (15-2), saw its top all-around player, Michael Campos, and pitcher, Mike Rudin, depart via graduation. But Patriots coach J.D. Marchand brings back loads of varsity experience, headlined by first baseman Evan Pappas (.355, 26 RBI), catcher Mike Mooney (.328, 11 RBI) and pitcher Scot Bergman (4-0, 1.33 ERA).
Bullis, Einstein and Georgetown Prep hope for better results this spring under new management.
Former Bulldogs player and assistant coach Brian Lumpkin takes the reins at Bullis. He inherits a squad that went 8-11 overall, 4-6 in the Interstate Athletic Conference and that goes into the season without two of its top players in All-Gazette catcher Blake Overmiller, who transferred out of state, and Kevin Taney, who is out with injury. Instead, Lumpkin will rely on first baseman Brett Ossola, pitcher-outfielder Pat Seibenlist and shortstop-third baseman Mike Dorman, a four-year starter.
Mike Moreland, another former Bullis assistant, looks to resurrect an Einstein program that went 1-16 a year ago but lost seven games by a single run. Most of last year's team returns, including pitcher/infielder Charlie Anderson, catcher Nicky Smith and center fielder Alex Grant, giving Moreland cause for higher expectations.
Chris Rodriguez is Georgetown Prep's new coach. His squad went 15-11 a year ago and finished third in the IAC. Outfielder/pitcher Gary Schneider, a unanimous All-IAC selection as a left-handed catcher, batted .413 with four home runs and 12 doubles. Schneider, like Ryan, played a huge role in Post 295's state title and he will share innings on the mound with junior right-handers Robert Tatum and Charles Zubrod.
Georgetown Prep's arch-rival, Landon, went through a grueling youth movement a year ago, a process associate head coach Drew Johnson, who will share coaching duties with Charles Devereux, hopes pays off with more wins this spring. Leading the way will be All-IAC corner infielder Josh Mendelson (.370) and speedy center fielder Cal Richards.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase boasts a host of returning seniors, including infielder Jacob Boross and catcher/pitcher Alex Cole. The Barons compiled an 11-8 record a year ago in an up-and-down season that included 10 wins in their final 12 games following a 1-6 start.
Churchill's prospects lie largely in the hands of third baseman Alex Goodman (.463, .491 OBP, 14 RBI) and second baseman Will Johnson (.400, .438 OBP), a pair of veterans who helped the Bulldogs (5-11) win their first playoff game since 2003 a year ago.
-Top pitchers: Mike Ryan, Quince Orchard; Scot Bergman, Wootton
-Top infielders: Evans Pappas, Wootton; Alex Goodman, Churchill; Josh Mendelson, Landon
-Top outfielders: Gary Schneider, Georgetown Prep; Max Hilbert, Whitman; Anthony Howard, Quince Orchard
-Favorites: Quince Orchard, Whitman
-Right behind: Wootton, Georgetown Prep
-Darkhorse: Walter Johnson