More News

Back to the top for Post 171?

Full, experienced roster bodes well for Damascus as American Legion season gets underway

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Despite being limited by a thin roster and a short pitching staff, Manager Kenny Keith guided Damascus Post 171 back to the Montgomery County American Legion playoffs after a year absence as it snared the fourth and final seed last July.

Keith’s bench consisted of as few as three players at times while his pitching staff had just a handful of experienced hurlers. That staff was further shortened by the loss of starter Matt Howard just prior to postseason play.

Post 171 still finished eight games over .500 overall (28-20) and won nearly 20 times in league play (19-14) before dropping back-to-back games to eventual county champion Gaithersburg Post 295 (39-4) and third-seeded Cissel Saxon Post 41 (23-10) in the county playoffs.

Similar problems in depth, however, won’t be a problem this season as Keith has a 17-member team this year with the return of numerous starters from last summer and the addition of a key starter in pitcher⁄first baseman Nick Franceski, who moved to the area recently.

‘‘I think we’re deeper, definitely pitching-wise,” Keith said. ‘‘Offensively, we’ll be pretty strong. Defensively, we should be solid. We should be in the top as long as we play well, play to our potential.”

Franceski, who transferred to Gaithersburg High from St. John’s (D.C.) prior to his senior year, compiled a 6-3 record and a 2.94 earned-run average with 46 strikeouts this past spring for the Trojans. Offensively, he added a .311 batting average with three home runs and 19 runs batted in.

‘‘He’s going to be a nice pitching asset for us,” Keith said.

Post 171 will also benefit from a healthy Kevin Keith, the 2005 Gazette Player of the Year, who sat out his first year of college to rehabilitate from arm surgery last fall. He had ligament replacement or ‘‘Tommy John” surgery on his elbow.

Kevin Keith, who battled arm troubles throughout his high-school career, smacked 14 home runs last summer and batted .591 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI as a senior at Damascus High in 2005.

‘‘He’s probably about 80 percent,” Manager Keith said of his hard-hitting son. ‘‘He needs a little more time to get right physically. We’ll keep him at first base for the summer.”

The team’s other key players are catcher George Papuchis (Good Counsel), third baseman⁄pitcher Blake Beaudoin (Damascus⁄Montgomery College-Germantown), outfielder Dan Liscinsky (Sherwood), pitcher⁄outfielder Brian Moran (Sherwood), pitcher Scott Elliott (Sherwood⁄Montgomery College-Rockville), infielder Harrison Stills (Damascus), infielder Austin Bernardo (Damascus) outfielder Cliff Miller (Sherwood) and shortstop Carter Wilson (Sherwood).

Papuchis will be the team’s primary catcher and clean-up hitter. He batted .363 with seven home runs and 34 RBI to help lead the Falcons to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title this past spring.

‘‘I’m looking forward to that three and four [combination],” Manager Keith said of Kevin Keith and Papuchis.

Beaudoin is coming off a strong freshman campaign at Montgomery College-Germantown, batting .369 with 19 RBI. He was the team’s starting third baseman and he helped lead the Gryphons to the NJCAA Division III World Series. He also compiled a 5-5 record and a 3.50 ERA on the mound.

Liscinsky (.500, 18 RBI), Wilson (.400, 12 RBI) and Moran, who hit .438 and compiled a 6-3 record with a 2.00 ERA, were Sherwood’s three leaders this past spring. Liscinsky can play in the outfield or spell Papuchis behind the plate. Bernardo batted .500 for Damascus High this past spring.