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Cissel Saxon to sit out season

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Despite an exhaustive search, officials affiliated with the Cissel Saxon Post 41 American Legion baseball team were unable to find a replacement for last year’s manager, Chuck Oswald, and will not field a team this summer. The team’s status will be re-evaluated next spring with the hopes of a new manager being found.

Cissel Saxon houses one of the longest-standing legion programs in the county and it bears the distinction of winning the county’s first state championship in 1952. Damascus Post 171 was the next to accomplish that feat in 2000 with Cissel Saxon, then managed by current Georgetown Prep coach Kirk Krikstan, claiming first place the following year.

‘‘I think it’s bad for baseball in the county not to have Cissel Saxon in the league this year,” said former Gaithersburg Post 104 coach and current county commissioner Jason Woodward. ‘‘I think it’s a shame they could not find a coach. Coach Oswald resigned in the fall giving the post plenty of time to find a coach.

‘‘The people it really affects is the kids who want to play legion for the competition and exposure for the college coaches — Paint Branch, Springbrook, and part of Blake [high schools]. Cissel Saxon has always had a long-standing tradition in the American Legion baseball league. I hope they are able to find a coach for next season so they can get back in the league.”

Cissel Saxon’s absence drops the Montgomery County division to seven teams – Gaithersburg Post 295, Gaithersburg Post 104, Damascus Post 171, Bethesda Post 105, Laurel Post 60, Rockville Post 86 and Wheaton Post 268.

Post 41 compiled a 23-10 record last year, falling 12-1 to eventual champion Gaithersburg Post 295 in the county tournament semifinal round to end its season. The team’s last county championship came in 2002.

‘‘It’s a shame because Cissel Saxon covers the Burtonsville area, which is one of the best baseball areas in the county,” said first-year Gaithersburg Post 104 coach Joe Stolz, the team’s general manager since its inception 25 years ago. ‘‘They always put out great baseball players. Cissel Saxon is a great team. I can’t imagine they couldn’t find somebody to coach the team for 8-9 weeks.”

‘‘It’s a sad thing,” added former county commissioner Ken Brace. ‘‘They were one of the original teams. Hopefully, they’ll come back next year. They really ran into a problem finding a coach.”