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Laurel shows no mercy to Post 295 starter

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

The bad news began even before the game got started. As Gaithersburg Post 295 starting pitcher Zach Skellchock threw his last warm-up pitches before taking the mound against Laurel Post 60 on Monday, he felt a twinge in his forearm. After a brief consultation, Gaithersburg manager Rick Price decided to scratch Skellchock from the lineup and pressed Matt Civetti into service.

‘‘We were asking a lot of him,” Price said of Civetti. ‘‘He really hadn’t pitched all that much even during the high-school season.”

Civetti was unable to adjust to his new role quickly, walking the first two batters he faced on eight straight pitches. That set the tone, and every mistake made by Civetti and subsequent pitchers Mike Ryan and Kevin Johnson was magnified by shaky defense. Gaithersburg Post 295 committed four errors in the game, and Laurel Post 60 enjoyed a five-run third inning en route to an 11-1 five-inning, mercy-rule victory at Long Reach High in Columbia.

‘‘They [Civetti, Ryan and Johnson] are all 15 and 16 years old,” Price said. ‘‘We really were asking a lot of them, and they struggled, naturally. It was to be expected.”

Part of the reason for the struggles was the fact that some of Post 295’s most experienced players did not make the trip. Mike Celenza, who has started the season with four home runs and 15 runs batted in to go with a .350 batting average, was away, along with fellow recent Quince Orchard graduate Matt O’Keefe. In their absence, Post 295’s lineup lacked a power threat, and Post 60 (2-5 record) starter Austin Drewyer took advantage. The recent graduate of Howard County’s River Hill High is going to pitch at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County next season, and showed off that poise on the mound. Drewyer kept Gaithersburg (5-3) off balance all game, using his fastball to set up his off-speed pitches, including a big breaking curveball, to get six strikeouts. The only time Post 295 manufactured any semblance of a rally was in the second inning, when Matt Filderman led off with a single to right-center field, and was brought home by Ryan’s single two batters later. However, Drewyer ended the threat right there and went the full five innings for the victory.

‘‘He was excellent,” Price said. ‘‘If that’s not their No. 1 [pitcher], I’d hate to see their No. 1, because he was a nice pitcher.”

Laurel manager Kevin Hiden was equally enthusiastic.

‘‘When you have pitcher that’s throwing strikes, it keeps people in the game. Austin led Howard County in wins last year, and he’s been on a roll since March. This was a good win for us. It sort of wipes the slate clean and starts us up all over again.”

For Post 295, this loss came on the heels of a successful weekend. On Thursday, Gaithersburg defeated Wheaton Post 268 at home, and after Friday’s rematch was rained out, defeated both Mayo Post 226 and Pasadena Post 277 on Sunday.

But the loss underscored the changing times for Gaithersburg. The three-time defending county champions lost just four times in 43 games last season, which ended in the state playoffs. With 11 players gone from that squad, Post 295 suffered its third loss just eight games into this season. But, the plan remains to maintain progress toward the playoffs.

‘‘We played a tough doubleheader in two different locations yesterday and we made all the plays, but we just didn’t make any plays tonight,” Price said. ‘‘Were hoping that if we keep pushing the new guys out there a couple innings at a time and limit their pitches, we’ll see if they can get better.”