Boys Baseball

River Hill ended its baseball season on May 14 with a loss to Mt. Hebron in the playoffs. Vikings pitcher John Zabel, who Coach Rick Lloyd said had his vote as county player of the year, once again came out on top against the Hawks. In each of River Hill's three losses to the Vikings, Zabel pitched. In a game interrupted twice by rain, Mt. Hebron scored 4 runs in the third inning after the first delay and one more run in the fifth. Zable held the Hawks to only two hits.

Often facing some of the best pitching in the County, the Hawks had an up and down season characterized by some great victories and some disappointing losses. Baseball is a game of lots of small things often adding up to either a win or loss. In the last half of the season, the little things just did not go the Hawks way. A lot of hard hit balls went, game after game, right at fielders. That, combined with some excellent play by other tough Howard County teams, was often the difference between a win and a loss. But the losses should not detract from the great memories the players, coaches, and parents can take away from this season. If the only teams that carried away great memories were the ones that went on to win a State championship, then just about every team would end up short.

Those players who will be around next year can look forward to another chance to represent their high school against some of the best baseball teams in the state. With an experienced pitching staff of Steve Cornelius, Kevin Marrie, and Mike Anton all returning for their senior year, the Hawks should do well next year. All three of these pitchers showed they can succeed against good teams. Position players Bryan Bednarczyk, Nick Madiou, Wes McCoy, Shawn Ward, Dan Konapelsky, Curt Gilliam, and Dave Marquart all had good seasons and will form the nucleus of a solid squad next year.

Head coach, Rick Lloyd and assistants Rick Marquart and Scott Lavender put in a tremendous amount of unselfish time with the team this year and deserve a lot of thanks from players and parents. Score keeper Bob Cornelius also deserves thanks from everyone for keeping the records.

The seniors, who have played baseball for four years at River Hill, deserve special thanks for lots of great memories that started when they were freshman on the JV squad. In alphabetic order they are:

Justin Bilohlavek - Justin proved he is a hard nosed catcher. Nobody kept track of balls in the dirt he blocked, but it was a lot! Whenever he got banged up he would be back for more in the next game. Justin "took a quite a few for the team," reaching first after being hit by pitches. Reaching first this way, combined with all the walks he earned, produced a lot of runs for the Hawks. Justin also could hit. In his first at bat of the season he singled to load the bases against Long Reach and went on the score. Later in that game, he doubled. In the completion of the first Long Reach game Justin drove in the winning run with a perfect safety squeeze bunt.

Scott Curtin - Scott played a slick second base for the Hawks, showing he could turn double plays with the best of them. He also proved he could help his team offensively. In the season opener against Long Reach, Scott picked up two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two runs in the Hawks big first game. When he didn't start in the field, Scott was very effective as a pinch runner for the Hawks. Watching Scott play for River Hill for the past four years has brought a lot of joy to Hawk fans.

Ken Gilliam - Ken prowled right field for the Hawks for the last two years. The setting sun makes this position very difficult. Lots of errors were made by visiting right fielders on our home field, but Ken was just about flawless there. He is excellent at judging fly balls and then getting to them with speed. Ken also helped the Hawks offensively with base hits and being able to draw walks that often led to runs. Ken helped lead the charge in the Hawks victory over Oakland Mills with his base hits, runs scored, and RBIs.

Brian Heinz - Brian co-captained the Hawks this year and has been a three year starter for the team, this his second year in center field. In the very first game of the year, the darkness shortened game against Long Reach, Brian collected four hits to help his team keep even at 13-13 after 6 innings, and then scored the winning run in the completion of the game at a later date. Brian's 3-run home run in the first inning against Oakland Mills was one of two round trippers he hit this year. Brian combined great fielding, hitting, and base running in his four years as a Hawk.

Jeff Marquart - Jeff held down left field for the Hawks for the second year. Jeff's great throw in the Hawks last home game to nail Mt. Hebron's Nick Hoffner who was trying to stretch a single into a double, was typical of his solid defensive play. Jeff also did some pitching this year, closing out the Wilde Lake game with a strike out and picked off runner. Jeff played a critical role in the Hawks 9-8 victory over Howard, bashing two doubles and a single. Jeff used his great speed both defensively and on the base paths.

Greg Roach - With a balanced team and a lot of other good players Greg did not get much time in the field for the Hawks this year, but he contributed in just about every game with pinch running and smart play. When Greg got a chance to play in the Oakland Mills game, he connected for two RBIs and scored one himself to help the Hawk cause. When he held down first base Greg played some very good defense and on the base paths, whether reaching on his own or pinch running, Greg was a smart base runner who scored a lot of runs for River Hill.

Ben Trapuzzano - Ben was co-captain for the Hawks and could be seen playing at short, outfield, and pitching. Ben hit with great power this year, clubbing several doubles and triples. Ben's two-out three run homer, plus his two singles, led the Hawks to a dramatic 8-6 victory over Hammond. In the win over Centennial, Ben came in to pitch in the sixth and seventh innings and closed down the Eagles, striking out one batter and inducing 3 fly outs and two grounders. Ben has been a leader for the Hawks for his four years on JV and Varsity.

Every team is successful in the most important sense of the word when they work hard, play as a team, and enjoy what they are doing. Thanks to all the players and coaches for giving everyone some great memories and expectations for more next year.