Starting their season with a “bang,” the Vikings notched a lopsided 22-0 victory against Einstein. The team looked sharp offensively and defensively. Starting pitcher Michael Flack had five strikeouts in three innings of shut out ball for the teams first “W.” Michael Yang and Henry Kuhn each pitched strong innings, holding on to the shut out.

Offensively, the Vikings combined hot bats with cool heads, taking full advantage of shaky Einstein pitching and fielding. During the first inning, they hit through the batting order and scored six runs, with singles from James Dionne, Michael Flack, Michael Yang, Henry Kuhn and Dan Duffy and a double from Andrew Castagnetti. The second inning saw an explosion of scoring with ten runs. Highlights included a single from Sam Avayou, a double AND a triple by Paul Balland and TWO solid singles by Drew Aherne. Yes, folks, that’s in just one inning. The lone run in the third inning came with a huge triple by Andrew Castagnetti followed by a pinch-hit single from Ben Page. In the top of the fourth, singles from Michael Yang, Michael Flack and Andrew Castagnetti combined with walks and stolen bases to garner the final five runs of the game.

In the top of the fifth inning, the non-pitching defensive highlight was Paul Balland making an excellent play on a slow-rolling ball to third and whipping it to a stretching Andrew Castagnetti at first.

While the game was low on competitive excitement, the confident play of the Whitman team made for an emphatic start to the 2011 season.

Go Vikes!

On a chilly but clear Saturday afternoon at Quince Orchard, Mike West spun a masterful 94-pitch complete game to lead the Vikings to a 7-3 win over the hosts, giving Head Coach Joe Cassidy his first win over QO since coming to Whitman from Wootton. The Vikings never trailed, and parlayed stellar defense and timely hitting into a defanging of the Cougars – repaying them for a 14-0 mercy rule throttling last spring and handing them their first loss of 2011.

Once again, James Dionne got things started in the top of the first with a line single to left. Sam Avayou followed with a hit of his own, and after he got caught leaning the wrong way off first, the two runners managed to both advance as Avayou stayed in a rundown and Dionne beat the throw home to score the first run of the game. Michael Flack followed with a long RBI double over the head of the left fielder and, after Paul Ballard barely missed crushing one out to right, Drew Aherne scored Flack with grounder to short. West started slowly, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first, but then got a pitcher’s best friend – a 4-6-3 DP off the bat of the cleanup hitter. After an error cut the lead to 3-2, West escaped the first with no further damage – a sign of things to come.

After Whitman went out in the top of the second despite a nice Nick Bode sacrifice bunt, Flack turned the first defensive gem of the game, ranging far to his right into the hole and gunning out ex-travel team colleague Chad Martin by a step at first. The play proved critical as West dug himself another hole with a hit and two walks – before coaxing his second bases-loaded DP in two innings as third baseman Balland made a terrific backhanded stab and fired to first to complete the 5-3 twin killing and preserve the lead. Flack led off the top of the third with a solid single, and after Balland reached on an error and Aherne mashed a liner to third only to have it turned into a DP, Flack scampered home on a wild pitch for a 4-2 advantage. West then settled into a groove, wrapping the third on yet another Whitman double play, this time with Avayou snaring a grounder, stepping on second, and firing to Duffy at first.

The Vikings then completed their scoring for the day in the top of the fourth as Bode ripped a one-out double to left center, and pinch runner Ben Page, Dionne, and Avayou all came around to score on an assortment of errors, stolen bases, wild pitches, and yet another Flack RBI single. The bottom of the fourth then witnesses not one, but two web gems from center fielder Dionne, as he first ranged way back and to his left to dive and rob the luckless Martin (fated by wearing number 13) on a long blast and then, just as the ecstatic Whitman fans were settling back into their seats, raced in to grab a sinking liner with an all-out lunge that seemed to take whatever life remained out of the home squad. Whitman’s bats cooled in the final three frames, but West only got stronger in the cold, giving up one run in the fifth on a throwing error, relying on the gloves of Aherne in left and Henry Kuhn in right for three outs in the sixth, and starting the seventh with a swinging K before closing things out with a grounder and solid Avayou force play at second.

As Cassidy left the field with his inaugural Vikings win over QO and a 3-0 mark on the season, he could also look ahead to having a much more rested pitching staff thanks to West’s CG – going into three games in five days (weather permitting) starting Tuesday with Paint Branch visiting Whitman.

After pummeling an overmatched Einstein squad in their opener, the Whitman Vikings decided to add some drama to the menu on a gray, foreboding Wednesday afternoon at Magruder High School – going extra innings and barely staving off a late Colonels’ rally to win, 11-10, and hike their record to 2-0.

The game started auspiciously enough for the Vikes, with a classic James Dionne bunt single, Sam Avayou reaching on an error, and Michael Flack driving a solid two-run single to center. Magruder tied it in the bottom of the first off starter Gabe Steinberg and extended its lead to 3-2 after two and 4-2 after three. Steinberg pitched effectively overall, but was hurt by some spotty defense; all four runs against him were unearned. Whitman then tied it in the fourth with a rally that included a Henry Kuhn infield single and a nice sacrifice bunt by catcher Nick Bode, pressed back into the starting lineup just before game time when Josh Biel reinjured his thumb during warm-ups.

Then in the top of the sixth, the Vikes took at 5-4 lead when Dionne singled in Dan Duffy. Mike West, who had come on in relief of Steinberg in the fourth, gave way to Flack with two runners on base in the bottom of the frame, and Magruder managed to tie it again without the benefit of a hit. Flack and his Magruder counterpart then settled down as the game went through seven and into extra innings.

As the skies darkened further, Whitman burst loose in the top of the ninth, scoring six times in a hitting display that featured RBI singles from Flack and Kuhn, a two-run RBI single from frosh sensation Drew Aherne, and a big RBI two bagger from Duffy. With an 11-5 Whitman lead, some fans (who will remain unnamed) headed for the exits in anticipation of a long ride back from Muncaster Mill Road. They missed a long and at times excruciating bottom of the ninth, as the Colonels cobbled together five runs on an assortment of hits, a walk, and a two-run, two-out throwing error that brought it to 11-10. But Flack, nearing the 70-pitch count on the day, stayed composed and slipped a called third strike – his third K of the inning – past a dawdling Magruder hitter, and the Vikes were again in the win column, overcoming six errors with a solid, thirteen-hit attack.

(Note: this account has been recreated in the finest tradition of Ronald Reagan broadcasting Cubs’ games with great enthusiasm without actually being there. Full credit to Jacob Rasch’s copious game notes for all of the above factual details; any errors made in amplifying those are the reporter’s alone.)

On a chilly and sunny Tuesday afternoon at home, the Vikings suffered their first loss of the 2011 season, to a disciplined Paint Branch team, 4-6. While the bats were not as hot and the fielding not as crisp as in the previous three wins, the Vikes rallied late in the game and have a still-impressive 3-1 record on the young season.
Starting pitcher Gabe Steinberg gave a strong five-inning performance featuring two strike-outs, no walks and two earned runs. In the top of the first, he was assisted by a James Dionne catch in deep center field. In the bottom of the first, Sam Avayou doubled to right field, but was stranded. The top of the second saw Steinberg plus good fielding again hold PB scoreless. In the bottom of the second, Drew Aherne and Michael Yang both drew walks and Henry Kuhn laid down a perfect bunt, but the Vikes came up empty.
In the top of the third, Paint Branch made the most of their opportunities and parlayed two singles and Vikings errors into a run, leaving two men on base. The Vikes were again held scoreless in the bottom of the third, though Michael Flack drew a walk and stole second. In the top of the fourth, Paint Branch number 21 hit a huge two-run homer, putting Paint Branch up by three, which held up through the bottom of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Paint Branch scored again on scrappy play, and in the bottom of the fifth the Vikings put together some timely offense. Nick Bode lobbed a fly ball single into shallow center field. Sam Avayou drew a walk and Michael Flack smacked a lofting two RBI double, scoring Avayou and pinch runner Ben Page. Momentum was gathering as Paul Balland lofted a deep fly that was caught, ending the inning with the score Whitman 2, PB 4.
Michael West took the mound in the top of the sixth and impressed with an efficient one-two-three inning. Despite a single from DH Michael Yang, Whitman was held scoreless in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh, hard-throwing Henry Kuhn took the mound and gave up two walks and a single, which Paint Branch converted into two more runs, leaving the Vikes with a deficit of four heading into the bottom of the seventh. Andrew Castagnetti led off with a pinch hit single and advanced to second on a beautiful bunt single from fleet-footed James Dionne. Sam Avayou singled scoring Castagnetti, but was then caught stealing second. Michael Flack grounded out, bringing home Dionne, the fourth and final run of the game for the Vikes.
Go Vikes!

Chances are pretty good that when Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “Almost everything that is great has been done by youth,” he wasn’t thinking about high school baseball – after all, he was British, and died in 1881. But playing on a frigid afternoon in intermittent drizzle, the young Whitman Vikings lived up to Disraeli’s words as they rallied in the bottom of the seventh to edge the Wootton Patriots, 6-5, in a game marked by several unexpected twists and turns in the final stanza.

“They play beyond their years,” said Coach Joe Cassidy about his resilient crew. Fittingly enough, the tying and winning runs came across on a two-run opposite field double by freshman Drew Aherne over the glove of the Wootton right fielder. Aherne’s heroics plated winning pitcher Michael Flack and elder statesman Paul Balland, who motored in just ahead of the throw. The rally began with one out when Flack, whose average fell to a pedestrian .588 on a 1-for-4 day, lofted a high pop that losing pitcher Andrew Craig inexplicably dropped. With the door opened, Balland broke out of a mild slump with a clutch single and Aherne followed with his game winner, bringing his season RBI total to eight, one behind Flack’s team lead.

Until the top of the seventh, it looked like Flack would send the shivering spectators home with an efficient, largely tension-free outing. The junior hurler breezed through three shutout innings as his teammates staked him to a 3-0 lead in the second. The sophomore murderer’s row of Michael Yang, Andrew Castagnetti, and Dan Duffy went single, single, two-run double; later, after a solid single by Harvard-bound James Dionne (also hitting over .500 on the year) loaded the bases, Sam Avayou scored Duffy on a groundout. Flack gave up a run in the fourth on a leadoff double, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly – on which RF Henry Kuhn made a great diving grab but threw too late to nail the runner at home. After working out of some trouble in the fifth and getting Patriots slugger Pete Spiropoulos on a harmless fly to left as the tying run in the sixth, Flack got an insurance run in the bottom of that inning as Dionne singled in Castagnetti, with Duffy out at the plate.
The top of the seventh started innocently enough for Whitman, joined on the bench by cast-free Ryan McGill, in a walking boot (and shorts). Duffy continued the team’s stellar defensive effort by snaring a high throw at first for out number one, and after a swinging bunt dribbler down the third base line, Dionne chased down a fly in CF for the second out. Flack went to 0-and-2 on each of the next two hitters, only to have each one come back to single, making it a 4-2 game. Another one bagger loaded the bases, as Flack’s pitch count crossed the century mark. Then Spiropoulos exacted his revenge, lacing a solid double to left center to tie the score, and after a mound visit by Cassidy, Wootton’s cleanup hitter singled to give the Pats their first lead.

Undaunted, and with the help of Craig’s miscue, the Vikings quickly turned the tables, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on Aherne’s shot and improving to 4-1 while dropping the visitors to 3-2 (both teams having lost previously to underrated Paint Branch). Flack raised his record on the young season to 3-0 – if not quite in the manner expected just a few short minutes before. Youth was served, and the Vikes headed to a Saturday tilt at Richard Montgomery with some renewed momentum following their second one-run win of the campaign.

With Mike West doing his best “Big Train” imitation, Michael Flack scattering discount footwear shoppers with a prodigious blast, and Paul Balland channeling Sam Crawford with two triples among his three hits, the Whitman Vikings parlayed a six-run third inning into a 10-5 domestication of the Walter Johnson Wildcats, winning for the fifth time in six games.

On a gorgeous afternoon with the temperature reading nearly twice that of the previous game, Whitman jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first behind a James Dionne single and stolen base and a two-out Balland RBI single to left center. West ambled out to the hill and promptly set down the side in order in both the first and second, retiring five of the six on strikeouts. The Vikings then exploded in the third. Sam Avayou singled in Dionne to make it a 2-0 contest, and rode home on Flack’s blast beyond the tall pines in left and into the DSW lot – the team’s first round tripper of the campaign. Balland tripled, Drew Aherne brought him home with a single, and Dan Duffy added two more on a double that befuddled the right fielder.

West ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third, yielding a run and loading the bases after a catcher’s interference call, but he induced a fly to left that Aherne put away while battling both wind and sun. Balland then tripled again in the top of the fourth to drive in Flack – sliding into third on a close play that left both sides wondering about the odds of a correct call eventually being made by the base umpire. Aherne brought in Balland on a sac fly and it was a 9-1 game.

Whitman gave one back in the bottom of the frame on a double and hard grounder through the wickets at short, but West settled into a nice routine, and the Vikings went to double digits in the sixth on a Balland walk, two steals, and an Aherne line drive single. West started the bottom of the seventh with a called third strike – his eighth K of the game (giving him a higher ratio of strikeouts/innings than Walter Johnson or any other pitcher of the modern era). But despite Coach Joe Cassidy’s best efforts to get West his second complete game of the season (which would have left him only 529 behind Johnson), a walk, questionable catcher’s interference call, and single ended his day. Mike Yang came in from RF and, after some initial wildness and a two-out, two-run single, wrapped it up on a bouncer to Balland at third.

With WJ in the rear view mirror, the Vikes head into back to back challenging contests at home Wednesday and Friday against 4A West rivals Gaithersburg and Northwest – both also 4-1 going into Monday’s games.

Maybe it’s just something about Zach Fetters and the Gaithersburg Trojans. Last May, the Trojans knocked Whitman out of the baseball playoffs, right after the Vikings had upended top seed Wootton. In the fall, two-way star Fetters had a dominant game at QB and Safety as Gaithersburg ended Whitman’s football season in the first round of the playoffs.

This time, the stakes weren’t as high, but the result unfortunately was the same. With two outs and two on in the top of the seventh of a 3-3 tie game, Vikings ace Michael Flack induced Fetters into what looked to be a harmless grounder – only to have the ball slip under a glove and into short right field as both runners scored. When a Drew Aherne blast in the bottom of the inning was corralled by the rangy Trojan center fielder, Whitman found itself on the short end of a 5-3 final. The Vikings fell one game behind Gaithersburg in the 4A West standings.

As one might expect of a game in which the two squads came in with matching 5-1 ledgers, it was a nip and tuck affair throughout. Flack retired the side in order in the first, and Whitman immediately jumped on a wild starter Billy Cullen. James Dionne walked, stole second, and rode home on a Flack RBI single. Three more walks later, it was 2-0, with Mike Yang getting the second ribbie. But with Cullen teetering on the ropes, the Vikes whiffed twice, with the three runners dying on base (note: this is a baseball expression, not intended to be read literally).

After a scoreless second, the Trojans tallied three in the third on a windblown double and “small ball” plays that included a Fetters squeeze bunt and several stolen bases. Just when things threatened to get out of hand, however, Flack made a brilliant diving catch of a low popup to the left of the mound, throwing to Paul Balland at third to double off the runner there. Rejuvenated, the Vikings tied it in the bottom of the frame. After Balland was gunned out (not literally) at home trying to score on a long single to right by Yang, Aherne raced in on a wild pitch and it was 3-all.

The fourth, fifth, and sixth passed without further scoring, if not without incident. Henry Kuhn, who had nearly decimated (again, allowing for some hyperbole) Cullen with a liner back to the box in his first at bat, barely missed leaving the yard on a shot to center in the fourth. Flack breezed into the sixth, then escaped a two-on, one-out threat -- after an error and line drive off the bag at third (on which Balland wrenched his knee but rose up after a brief delay and stayed in the contest) – behind a nicely turned 6-4-3 twin killing (more baseball jargon). Whitman nearly took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Yang hustled out an infield single and raced to third on a Kuhn hit. But Dionne’s fly to center found leather, not turf – setting the stage for the fateful seventh.

Flack deserved a better fortune, overpowering the senior-laden Trojans at times, mixing speeds to keep them off balance at others. If well-hit balls were the measure of success, Whitman would have put another one in the win column. But, in the end, the combination of occasionally sloppy fielding and lack of clutch hitting doomed the relatively inexperienced home squad. Still, in the words of Cleveland Indians immortal Bob Feller, “Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is . . . and that's the way baseball is.” And so it was on to Community Night and a tilt with Northwest, another 4A West power, just over 48 hours later, weather permitting.

Legendary Yankee and Met manager Casey Stengel once summed up his sport by saying in a slightly grammatically incorrect way, “There’s only three things you can do in a baseball game: You can win or you can lose or it can rain.”

Coming into Friday evening, the Whitman Vikings had experienced lots of rain, and two consecutive frustrating losses over an eight-day span. What they needed badly was a home win against 6-2 Montgomery 4A West foe Northwest. And, to get out of their recent funk, they needed their leaders to show the way and live up to the words of another more contemporary, but equally grizzled, veteran manager, Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers (and other teams), who offered up the adage: “You don’t lead by lip service, you lead by example.”

The Viking team leaders would have made Leyland proud. Over two hours on a brisk evening before a nice crowd that included alum Reid Kellam, home from Penn State, James Dionne (with his bat and glove) and Michael Flack (with his strong right arm) showed the way and the Vikes earned an important win on the eve of spring break, besting the Jaguars, 6-2. The win pushed Whitman to 3-1 in the 4A West and 6-3 overall going into a nearly two-week hiatus before facing Churchill.

Flack threw yet another complete game to raise his record to 4-1, scattering seven hits, striking out eight, and perhaps most importantly, walking only one. That came in the top of the first, and Dionne immediately wiped the baserunner out with a sprinting catch and snap throw to first for an 8-3 double play. Flack mixed speeds throughout, striking out the side in the fifth after a leadoff single on both fastballs and offspeed pitches.

Then, when the Jaguars finally pieced some hits together in the sixth, another veteran leader – third sacker Paul Balland – did his best Brooks Robinson imitation by diving to his right to keep a hard shot from going down the left field line. While the batter reached, the play kept the score at 5-1 as Flack settled down and retired the next two. The junior hurler gave up an unearned run in the seventh after a dropped two-out popup, but Dionne closed the affair with a diving stab in center and Whitman was back in the win column.

Meanwhile, while the Viking bats didn’t fully awake from their recent slumber, the squad made the most of its six hits – including two each from Dionne and second sacker Andrew Castagnetti. And the defense picked it up after some recent challenges, with right fielder Mike Yang contributing two nice running catches, Castagnetti solid at second, and Dionne and Balland providing their highlight reel grabs.

The hitting was more timely than frequent, with the offense aided considerably by eight free passes and a Jaguar penchant for throwing the ball to open spaces more than a few times. Dionne scored the first of his three runs in the bottom of the opening inning by tripling to right center and dashing home on a wild pitch. Middle infielder Sam Avayou, playing shortstop with Flack toeing the rubber, walked and scored in the third when the Jaguar third baseman made a wide throw to first and Drew Aherne hustled it out.
Although the Vikes left the sacks loaded in that frame, they then scored three more in the fourth as Castagnetti laced his second straight single, Josh Biel reached on a walk in his second plate appearance after spending eight games on the DL with a dislocated thumb, Dionne bunted safely, and more bases on balls, wild pitches, and throwing errors brought all three of them around. Avayou ripped a single in the sixth to plate Dionne a final time with a key insurance run, building the lead back up to five at 6-1.

Behind its leaders, the Vikings entered the break on a high note, putting the previous day’s loss at BCC in the rearview mirror and with even better days – and certainly better weather – looming ahead after a few days without baseball.

After days of heavy rain and several postponements, the Whitman Vikings arrived at BCC on a Thursday afternoon under clear blue skies on a picture postcard day – only to be swept away by a different type of deluge in a disappointing 9-4 loss to the rival Barons. BCC batted around and plated six runs in the bottom of the third, the Whitman hitting fell off to a trickle over the final four innings, and the result was a mood dampening second straight loss – albeit eight days removed from the previous one. Whitman slipped to 5-3 heading into a Friday night home showdown with Northwest, while BCC improved to 5-4.

The afternoon started well enough with James Dionne walking, Sam Avayou singling sharply, and Michael Flack walking to load the bases with no outs – but, in a harbinger of things to come, the Vikes scored but once on a 4-6-3 DP. Starter Gabe Steinberg was victimized in the bottom of the first by two errors and an RBI groundout, but escaped further damage by stranding runners at second and third. Dan Duffy staked his fellow soph to a 2-1 lead with a towering, opposite field round tripper over the porch in right field – his first varsity homer – but the Barons knotted it again in their half of the inning on a single, steal, wild pitch, and fielder’s choice grounder.

Whitman went up 4-2 in the top of the third as Dionne again started the rally with his legs on an infield single and stolen base; after the left fielder dropped a routine fly ball with one out, fab frosh Drew Aherne roped a two-run single to right center, but he and Paul Balland were stranded in scoring position and the Vikes were up only by a deuce. Minutes later, Whitman found itself doused, as Steinberg plunked the first two hitters, a solid double tied it, and a combination of bunts, dribblers, and Whitman fielding lapses produced a half dozen runs before things finally settled down.

Mike West yielded only one more run over the final three frames, stranding five runners over the last two, but unfortunately the Vikings bats fell silent as well – producing only two runners over innings 4-6 (on a hit batter and walk). Dionne was robbed by a diving catch by his counterpart in center leading off the seventh, and after Avayou walked and Flack singled, Balland’s shot to right center was snared and Aherne grounded out to third to end it. The Vikings made the short trip home hoping to regroup, execute better, and find higher ground in their last pre-spring break outing 24 hours later.

Coming off two lopsided wins with a cumulative score of 25-5, the Whitman Vikings decided to test the ability of their coaches and parents to handle stress on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in bucolic Germantown. Following in the footsteps of their JV brethren, who had their fans holding the breaths (and perhaps chests) earlier in the day on the same field by giving up six runs in the last inning only to hold on for a 10-9 victory, the Varsity rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh and bested the Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles, 9-7.

Unlike the prior two contests, this one was a struggle throughout. Yet the Vikings kept their cool even in the face of on-the-field setbacks and a controversial (but ultimately correct) call that cost them three runs and a tie in the top of the sixth. Only when winning pitcher Gabe Steinberg quite appropriately pumped his fist in victory after striking out two Eagles with the bases loaded to end it did Whitman abandon its posture of calm resolve to get the job done despite the obstacles in their path – some of which they had created themselves with a mixture of base running and fielding blunders.

In a game that featured so much high drama, it’s not obvious where to begin, but maybe it’s best to start with Steinberg, who earned his second win of the season in relief of Mike West. Steinberg came in after four straight hits had given Seneca Valley their first lead at 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth. He promptly stopped the bleeding by retiring two, one on a strikeout, and would have been out of the inning without further damage but for a popup that fell to earth as the sun temporarily blinded third baseman Paul Balland (more on Balland and his own heroics shortly). The sophomore hurler stayed cool and closed out the fifth, then sent down the Eagles in the sixth with the benefit of a running catch by RF Mike Yang and a nice throw by C Josh Biel to Balland to nail a runner on a stolen base attempt.

Then, after the Vikings’ dramatic five-run rally retook the lead (details on that to follow), Steinberg opened the bottom of the seventh by freezing the cleanup hitter on a perfectly placed third strike. And when a bloop single, the Vikings’ fifth error of the game, and another hit loaded the sacks, Steinberg relied on his pinpoint accuracy and ability to mix speeds by fanning one hitter and getting the next one looking before the aforementioned fist pump.

Meanwhile, the steady Whitman bats combined with the clutch pitching to overcome the adventures in the field and on the base paths. Michael Flack, spending the day as DH after his big pitching outing less than 24 hours before at Churchill, knocked in Sam Avayou with a first-inning double; Balland then singled him in and scored moments later himself on an infield error. Down 3-0 early, the Eagles played solid “small ball” to get one back in the first on a hit, wild pitch, and throwing error by Biel and another in second on an infield bobble, stolen base, and back to back groundouts. Meanwhile, the Vikings ran themselves out of a good scoring opportunity in their half of the second, wasting singles by Biel, Dionne, and Avayou and leaving the bat in Flack’s hands as the Eagles’ solid freshman catcher gunned out two runners trying to steal.

But then Balland provided some fireworks in the top of the third, smashing a towering home run over the 385 sign in right center; his teammates subsequently retrieved the ball for Paul to sign, date, and put in his permanent collection. The senior third sacker then contributed a running, back to the infield grab of a foul pop in the bottom of the same inning, wheeling to fire to first to complete the twin killing. Seneca Valley cut it back to one run at 4-3 in the fourth. Then came the four-run bottom of the fifth – the first of several half innings over the next hour or so that produced the most exciting and stressful back and forth game of the season to date.

With Steinberg keeping things within reach, Whitman looked poised to tie or grab the lead in the top of the sixth. Yang reached on an error leading off, and after Andrew Castagnetti just missed with a long fly to right, Henry Kuhn came off the bench to pinch hit for Dan Duffy and beat out a nicely placed bunt. After Biel grounded out, Dionne walked to load the bases. Sam Avayou, in the second hole and playing short, then hit a slicing liner to left. The Eagles’ left fielder Pesce (but pronounced Pes-kee like the old Red Sox legend honored with the naming of the right field pole in Fenway) dove to his right, extended his glove – and waited for a call.

Something seemed fishy – and not just with his last name – when the base umpire hesitated, three Whitman runners circled the bases, and the ruling appeared to be that Pesce had dropped the ball on contact with the ground. As the home team, their coach, and their combination play-by-play announcer/color commentator/umpire heckler howled in a protest worthy of their nickname, the home plate ump conferred and ultimately reversed the call, saying that the left fielder had bobbled the ball but maintained control for a spectacular catch. A temporary apparent 7-7 tie gave way to the reality of a 7-4 deficit for the Vikings. But Coach Joe Cassidy and his squad did not protest, and from the vantage point of the stands and the eagle eyes of Dave Castagnetti (who was on his seventh hour in Germantown by then) and others, it appeared that the right call had indeed been made.

A lesser team might have concluded that the baseball gods were not on their side, but the Vikings were undaunted and, after Steinberg held down the fort in the bottom of the sixth, Whitman sent ten men to the plate and scored five runs in the top of the seventh. Flack walked, Balland singled, and the always clutch Drew Aherne ripped a two-run single to make it 7-6, taking second on the throw home. Yang took a third strike but A. Castagnetti ran hard and beat out a grounder bobbled by the shortstop – and Aherne scored when the fielder compounded that error with a wild throw to third, knotting the score. Duffy was grazed by a pitch, bringing up Biel. The junior catcher battled by fouling off three pitches, and then hit a fly that carried just over the RF’s glove, plating the go-ahead run in the person of Castagnetti. Dionne followed with a solid single to bring in Duffy, and the inning ended only when Flack’s rope to third was snared.

All that was left was for Steinberg to escape the bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh and the Vikings were 9-3, the second best record in Montgomery 4A behind unbeaten Sherwood, having climbed ahead of Gaithersburg and Paint Branch (as well as Quince Orchard, not in their division). With the final quarter of their regular season to come, starting with a home date on Tuesday the 3rd against a capable Blair team that beat Gaithersburg a few days ago, the Vikings have outscored the opponents 105-61 and averaged nearly nine runs a game (though that is inflated a bit by the opening day rout of Einstein). Flack is 5-1 and pitching with great confidence, and West and Steinberg have two wins apiece and a string of solid outings. Dionne is mashing at a .535 clip with an amazing 18 stolen bases and that homer against Churchill in the bank. Flack is at .514 with 17 RBIs, two behind team leader Aherne, who has nine steals to go with his 19 RBIs. Yang is at .429 and hitting with consistency, and Avayou is at .350. Balland and Castagnetti are both just below the .300 mark and picking up steam, Duffy is in the home run club with four teammates, and Biel is settling in both at the plate and in the field. Kuhn has provided timely hitting and relief pitching, and the rest of the team has contributed from the dugout and in their opportunities on the field. And Ryan McGill is ahead of schedule in his recuperation from a broken ankle, though the timetable for his return is unclear.

All in all, with four straight wins – three in less than 72 hours – the Vikings appear well positioned for a solid run the rest of the way, with the playoffs starting in less than two weeks.

After a rainout on Thursday, Whitman journeyed to rival Churchill on a surprisingly cool afternoon for a rare Friday affair against the 4-6 Bulldogs. While the home team had been playing better of late and came into the game with an apparent high level of confidence and swagger, the Vikings quickly showed they were the much superior squad. Behind another complete game, ten-strikeout, 125-pitch performance by Michael Flack, who ran his record to 5-1, Whitman battered Churchill, 12-3, in a game that got more and more chippy as it moved into the late innings.

Flack ignored the loudmouthed Churchill fans and players (and, at times, coach) and came within one out of a six-inning shutout. Whitman tallied in every frame – scoring one each in the first, third, fourth, and sixth, two in the fifth and seventh, and four in the second. James Dionne got things off to a dramatic start by blasting his first ever outside-the-park homer on the second pitch of the game. Mike Yang replicated the feat with a round tripper of his own, putting them both in the company of Flack and Dan Duffy (to be joined 24 hours later by Paul Balland) as the Vikings’ reigning sultans of swat. The hit parade included Dionne going 3-5 with 3 RBI, Flack dispelling any questions about his ability to hit and pitch on the same day with a 4-5 showing and 2 RBI, Yang finishing 3-4 with 3 RBI, and Paul Balland and Sam Avayou also knocking in two. Josh Biel scored twice from the nine slot and contributed his first hit in his second game behind the plate.

By the time the later innings rolled around, all that was in doubt was whether Whitman would put the Bulldogs out of their misery early with a second straight mercy rule victory – and whether the Churchill coach would manage to get ejected and/or to provoke a fight by berating his counterpart with comments about “running up the score” and by issuing apparent directions to his pitchers to throw a few brush backs. None of those materialized, however, as a two-out throwing error in the bottom of the sixth cost Flack at 10-0 shutout, and the losing skipper failed in his efforts and could only watch glumly as the lead grew back to ten in the seventh before a solo home run off Flack ended the scoring and provided perhaps a small measure of solace for Churchill in the face of an overwhelming loss.

Whitman rolled on to 8-3, four games better than their rivals, and the losing coach could only ponder (if he was aware of it) the line of Hall of Manager Leo Durocher (perhaps best known for saying “Nice guys finish last”) uttered more than a half century ago: “I made a game effort to argue but two things were against me: the umpires and the rules.”

Coming off a twelve-day layoff after a nice pre-spring break win over Northwest, the 6-3 Whitman Vikings had to battle both rust and potential complacency in meeting the struggling 1-8 Richard Montgomery Rockets on a warm Wednesday afternoon. Playing on their home turf, but as the visitors since the game had been scheduled for RM before being rained out twice, the Vikings exhibited neither in routing the Rockets, 13-2, in a contest called after five innings under “mercy rule” guidelines.

James Dionne and Michael Flack both felt comfortable hitting in the top of the first at “home”; as has been the case throughout the 2011 campaign, Dionne set the table with a line single and stolen base, and with one out Flack ripped a hit to left center and Whitman led one-zip. RM tied it with a trio of singles off Gabe Steinberg in the bottom of the inning, but the Vikes scored three in the second and never looked back. Drew Aherne started it with a line single to center, and an assortment of walks, wild pitches, and fielding miscues followed. Aherne knocked in Flack and Paul Balland in the third as the lead grew to 6-1, and it ballooned to double digits with a seven-run fourth. Two more Rocket errors and a classic Dionne bunt hit loaded the sacks for Sam Avayou, who came through with a two-run single. Flack lofted a sacrifice fly, Balland followed with an RBI grounder, and after Aherne reached on his third hit of the game, Mike Yang roped a triple to right to bring in two more. Dan Duffy collected the final RBI for the Vikes and it was suddenly 13-1.

Meanwhile, Steinberg settled into a groove, retiring the side down in order in the second, allowing a meaningless single in the third, and striking out two in the fourth with pinpoint control and a mix of fastballs and off-speed pitches. Joe Cassidy got all of his reserves into action by the fifth, and Henry Kuhn took the hill and fanned two more around a couple of walks, wild pitch, and passed ball that yielded one run. The game ended with catcher Josh Biel, in his first game back behind the dish after a thumb injury, chasing down an errant offering and flipping to Kuhn at the plate to nail the runner trying to score.

With the margin more the sufficient to call the game early, Whitman could look back with satisfaction at Steinberg’s first varsity win, two ribbies apiece for Aherne, Yang, Avayou, and Flack, two more runs scored and steals for Dionne, and a chance for all to get back in game playing mode with tilts against Churchill and Seneca Valley looming.

The Blair Blazers came to Bethesda on a warm Tuesday evening with an 11-6 record and riding an eight-game winning streak. And while there was no quit in the visitors, as they tallied four runs over the final two frames, it was the host Vikings who extended their own streak to five with an 11-8 triumph – despite a few minor lapses toward the end that could be attributed charitably to the relatively late hour following a long day of hitting the books.

On this night, pitching stalwarts Gabe Steinberg, Mike West, and Michael Flack each got nicked for at least two runs – though West tossed 2 and 2/3 solid frames in relief, striking out the first two batters he faced in inheriting a bases-loaded jam, setting down six straight at one point, and picking a runner off first to close the sixth after allowing his only runs. The story for the Vikes boiled down to stellar leadoff man James Dionne’s 4-for-4 performance, raising his average on the campaign to an astonishing .574, and four RBIs in innings two and three from first baseman Dan Duffy. With Mike Yang also having a perfect night at the plate with a single, two walks, and sac fly, Andrew Castagnetti reaching base three times on a hit and two free passes, and Drew Aherne going 2-for-3 and scoring twice, Whitman made the most of twelve hits and seven walks. But it was the Dionne and Duffy Show that propelled the Vikes to a 5-0 lead after two and 9-4 after three, as the home team coasted in despite the Blazers’ late efforts.

Dionne also stole four more bases, given him 22 on the season, and scored three times despite being thrown out at the plate on a great throw in the first. While that peg kept the game scoreless after one, Whitman exploded in the second behind Duffy’s two-run double to deep right center, a Dionne RBI single, and a Michael Flack (now at an even .500 for the year) two bagger that plated Dionne. Duffy then drove in Aherne and Yang in the third with a single, and Dionne induced a wild throw that led to two more crossing the plate.

After West held the Blazers at bay in the top of the fourth, Whitman hit double digits on a Paul Balland-Aherne double steal, and Dionne crossed home again an inning later after legging out his fourth hit of the evening. While the 11-4 lead narrowed by the end, West ended the sixth with a flourish on his perfect pickoff toss to Duffy, and Flack closed it out with a strikeout after two nice plays at short by Sam Avayou, who earlier had handled three grounders in a row flawlessly at second base in making the second inning a 4-3 trifecta for starter Steinberg.

The Vikings headed into the final week of the regular season facing an away tilt at far-off Damascus, a Community Day afternoon affair versus Springbrook, and a Senior Day tussle with still-unbeaten Sherwood. And even though Whitman remains mysteriously under the radar screen of alleged rankings experts like The Gazette sports staff, who prefer a QO team that Whitman defeated early in the year and a 7-5 Clarksburg squad, the team is now 10-3 and has shown an ability to win even while performing at less than peak efficiency – whether on a sunny afternoon at Seneca Valley or a pleasant evening at home against Blair.

Not every 15-9 game ultimately comes down to pitching and defense. Yet after the slugging Whitman Vikings had built seemingly insurmountable leads of 7-0 and 12-3, the host Swarmin’ Hornets were on the verge of a road to Damascus conversion as the shadows grew and temperatures dropped late Thursday afternoon. By the bottom of the sixth, the Vikes’ lead was down to 12-9, with five errors on the board and the home team sensing the chance for a huge comeback win on Senior Day. With few healthy arms available as options for Coach Joe Cassidy, Gabe Steinberg was gutting it out on the hill as he passed the 100-pitch count on the day.

So it was when, with two on and two out, the Hornets’ hitter representing the tying run roped a shot to center. James Dionne was off at the crack of the bat and, seconds later, diving toward the descending sphere. Miss it, and Damascus would be within one – unless the ball rolled all the way to the fence, in which case the score would be knotted. But Dionne’s path was true, the ball nestled into his glove just above ground level, and the inning ended with the three-run lead intact. Rejuvenated, Whitman added three in the top of the seventh to provide some breathing room, and Steinberg finished an extraordinary complete game to earn his fourth win of the season – all coming during Whitman’s current six-game winning streak.

Looking back, of course, it was in fact the big Whitman bats that provided room for the drama in the field that followed. The Vikings took measure of the unusual distances – 397 feet down the left field line, but only 319 to center and 304 to right – from the outset, scoring half a dozen in the top of the first. After Michael Flack’s single and a Paul Balland groundout plated Dionne and Sam Avayou, respectively, Drew Aherne bashed his first career home run over the high fence in center. Three batters later, and with Andrew Castagnetti on via an HBP, Dan Duffy repeated the feat, crushing one to nearly the same spot for his second HR of the season, and it was 6-0.

Steinberg had an easy bottom of the first, and with former Pyle Principal Michael Zarchin and alum Danny Shanahan (home from ‘Bama) looking on, a Mike Yang triple to the fence in right center brought in Aherne (after the umpires caucused and reversed their original ground rule double ruling). The Hornets scored once in the second, potentially costing themselves more when a confused runner was easily nailed at home for the final out, and added two more in the third on three hits and an error. But Whitman soon was back on cruise control after scoring five more in the fourth on a Balland RBI single, a clutch two-out, two-run Castagnetti hit, and Duffy’s second round tripper of the game and third of the season, this one a moon shot to right center – giving him eight RBIs over the past two contests, not bad for a guy hitting in the eighth slot in the lineup.

With the 12-3 lead creating visions among the increasingly chilled Whitman faithful of a shortened mercy rule opportunity, and a chance for the reserves to see some action, the Vikings started giving back. Steinberg yielded three in the bottom of the fourth as the home team went yard; Yang ended that frame with a nice grab in right staring directly into the sun. Three more crossed the next inning, in no small part courtesy of a trio of Whitman errors, and it was suddenly 12-9 – setting the stage for the pivotal bottom of the sixth. In that frame, Dionne not only tallied two putouts, including the diving catch highlighted above, but also notched a critical assist as he gunned down a runner trying to advance to third, with Balland slapping on the tag.

Duffy’s third hit – a mere one bagger – started the seventh, and Josh Biel and Dionne followed with hits of their own to load the bases. Avayou ripped a two-run single, and Flack closed the scoring with an RBI grounder. Aherne hauled in two in left in the final half inning, and fittingly enough Steinberg ended it by flipping a grounder hit back to the mound over to Duffy. Having persevered through 130 or so pitches, the sophomore hurler received a deserved ovation from teammates and fans alike – who, having survived a long afternoon in the hinterlands of northern Montgomery County, took the long road back to Bethesda following a stop (for many) at the legendary Jimmie Cone in downtown Damascus. At 11-3, and riding a winning streak dating back to pre-spring break, the Vikings were set to finish the regular season with home games against Springbrook Saturday (Community Day) and Sherwood Monday (their own Senior Night).

Not every 15-9 game ultimately comes down to pitching and defense. Yet after the slugging Whitman Vikings had built seemingly insurmountable leads of 7-0 and 12-3, the host Swarmin’ Hornets were on the verge of a road to Damascus conversion as the shadows grew and temperatures dropped late Thursday afternoon. By the bottom of the sixth, the Vikes’ lead was down to 12-9, with five errors on the board and the home team sensing the chance for a huge comeback win on Senior Day. With few healthy arms available as options for Coach Joe Cassidy, Gabe Steinberg was gutting it out on the hill as he passed the 100-pitch count on the day.
So it was when, with two on and two out, the Hornets’ hitter representing the tying run roped a shot to center. James Dionne was off at the crack of the bat and, seconds later, diving toward the descending sphere. Miss it, and Damascus would be within one – unless the ball rolled all the way to the fence, in which case the score would be knotted. But Dionne’s path was true, the ball nestled into his glove just above ground level, and the inning ended with the three-run lead intact. Rejuvenated, Whitman added three in the top of the seventh to provide some breathing room, and Steinberg finished an extraordinary complete game to earn his fourth win of the season – all coming during Whitman’s current six-game winning streak.

Looking back, of course, it was in fact the big Whitman bats that provided room for the drama in the field that followed. The Vikings took measure of the unusual distances – 397 feet down the left field line, but only 319 to center and 304 to right – from the outset, scoring half a dozen in the top of the first. After Michael Flack’s single and a Paul Balland groundout plated Dionne and Sam Avayou, respectively, Drew Aherne bashed his first career home run over the high fence in center. Three batters later, and with Andrew Castagnetti on via an HBP, Dan Duffy repeated the feat, crushing one to nearly the same spot for his second HR of the season, and it was 6-0.

Steinberg had an easy bottom of the first, and with former Pyle Principal Michael Zarchin and alum Danny Shanahan (home from ‘Bama) looking on, a Mike Yang triple to the fence in right center brought in Aherne (after the umpires caucused and reversed their original ground rule double ruling). The Hornets scored once in the second, potentially costing themselves more when a confused runner was easily nailed at home for the final out, and added two more in the third on three hits and an error. But Whitman soon was back on cruise control after scoring five more in the fourth on a Balland RBI single, a clutch two-out, two-run Castagnetti hit, and Duffy’s second round tripper of the game and third of the season, this one a moon shot to right center – giving him eight RBIs over the past two contests, not bad for a guy hitting in the eighth slot in the lineup.

With the 12-3 lead creating visions among the increasingly chilled Whitman faithful of a shortened mercy rule opportunity, and a chance for the reserves to see some action, the Vikings started giving back. Steinberg yielded three in the bottom of the fourth as the home team went yard; Yang ended that frame with a nice grab in right staring directly into the sun. Three more crossed the next inning, in no small part courtesy of a trio of Whitman errors, and it was suddenly 12-9 – setting the stage for the pivotal bottom of the sixth. In that frame, Dionne not only tallied two putouts, including the diving catch highlighted above, but also notched a critical assist as he gunned down a runner trying to advance to third, with Balland slapping on the tag.

Duffy’s third hit – a mere one bagger – started the seventh, and Josh Biel and Dionne followed with hits of their own to load the bases. Avayou ripped a two-run single, and Flack closed the scoring with an RBI grounder. Aherne hauled in two in left in the final half inning, and fittingly enough Steinberg ended it by flipping a grounder hit back to the mound over to Duffy. Having persevered through 130 or so pitches, the sophomore hurler received a deserved ovation from teammates and fans alike – who, having survived a long afternoon in the hinterlands of northern Montgomery County, took the long road back to Bethesda following a stop (for many) at the legendary Jimmie Cone in downtown Damascus. At 11-3, and riding a winning streak dating back to pre-spring break, the Vikings were set to finish the regular season with home games against Springbrook Saturday (Community Day) and Sherwood Monday (their own Senior Night).

Mike Yang pitched six steady and efficient innings, and Michael Flack and Dan Duffy paced an 18-hit Whitman attack with two-run homers, as the Vikings rolled over an improved but still struggling Springbrook squad, 13-3, in a game shortened to six under “mercy rule” standards. The win on a sunny Saturday afternoon before an appreciative Community Day crowd that noshed on hot dogs and waited to hear if their raffle tickets brought home any of the big prizes raised Whitman’s record to 12-3. The Vikings extended their winning streak to seven and now have scored 73 runs in their six victories since spring break, raising the team’s batting average to a lofty .369. Seven hitters are now over .300 on the season – with Duffy just under that threshold.

Yang, who previously had logged only 1 and 2/3 innings at the varsity level, became the first Whitman starter of the season not named Flack, West, or Steinberg. He looked comfortable on the mound, scattering six hits, needing only 80 pitches, and being victimized only by Blue Devils 2B-P Nick Hondros, who hit two dingers that accounted for all of his team’s runs. Just as importantly, his complete game effort enabled that triumvirate of starters to rest their arms in anticipation of the regular season finale and playoffs.

The entire lineup contributed to this win. The Flack and Duffy shots, the fourth of the season and third in two games for the big first baseman with the Kingmanesque look and swing, brought the team’s home run total to ten. (Flack narrowly missed adding another when his blast to center was hauled in just short of the wall.) Paul Balland doubled and drove in three from his cleanup slot, and added several nice plays at third base. Sam Avayou also doubled and drove in two. Henry Kuhn got the start in right field with Yang on the hill and ripped two solid singles. James Dionne also singled twice and stole two more bases, extending his team record to 25 (just one short of the Whitman career record entering this season); he also is now the single-season leader in runs with 27 and is just one short of Matt Kaler’s hit record of 32. For good measure, Dionne threw in a tremendous running catch in deep right center that brought fans young and old alike to their feet.

Drew Aherne and Josh Biel also doubled (Aherne’s would have been a three bagger but for a dubious call), and Yang provided an RBI to support his own cause. And the final three runs crossed courtesy of Whitman pinch hitters. Ryan McGill made his season debut following a broken ankle and was rewarded by being plunked in the back with the bases loaded. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Noah Klotz’s grounder plated run number twelve, and Gabe Steinberg ended it with a solid single that scored Ben Page. Jacob Rasch was ready to add to the onslaught but was left in the on-deck circle for the second time this season, taking some solace in the fact that a 20-year old Willie Mays found himself in the same spot when Bobby Thomson hit his “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in 1951. (Unlike Mays, who admitted later that he had lost track of the score, Rasch indicated that he knew the game was over when Page crossed the plate.)

Next up: the final regular season game Monday evening at home against an unbeaten foe. As Whitman parent Howard Flack put it after the game Saturday, “Nice to win seven straight. Sure would be great to make it an even eight on Monday.” (Phonetic spelling not provided.)

First, the good news. James Dionne went 2-for-3 off Sherwood ace and University of Maryland recruit Will Bouey – and, by so doing, eclipsed Matt Kaler’s all-time Whitman single-season hit record with 33, adding it to his earlier accomplishments in the steals and runs categories, with the batting average mark up next. Michael Flack came out blazing on the mound, striking out the side in the first and five over two innings. By scoring two earned runs in the third to pull within three runs at the time, the Vikings increased Bouey’s previously microscopic ERA – and their six hits marked a season high allowed by the righty fireballer. Freshman Max Steinhorn made his varsity pitching debut and retired both batters he faced, one on a called third strike. And Principal Alan Goodwin tossed a perfect strike in making the ceremonial first pitch of the evening.

Not to mention that it was Senior Night, meaning well-deserved ovations for Dionne, Paul Balland, and Henry Kuhn both during the game and afterwards, when they were honored on the field with their families. And Whitman still finished the regular season 12-4, with a first-round bye in the playoffs and a date next Monday, May 16, against a to-be-determined opponent on the Vikings’ home field.

As for the rest of the evening, to the extent that a 16-2 thrashing at the hands of the unbeaten Sherwood Warriors could ever be said to have been “closer than the final score indicated,” this was one of those rare occasions. After Flack gave up an unearned run in the top of the first, Dionne led off the Vikings’ half with a solid single, only to be called out on a pickoff play on a highly questionable call. That came back to haunt the Vikings when with two outs, Flack lofted a high fly to deep left that his former travel team comrade Adam Abramson misplayed into a double – which would have scored Dionne from first in all likelihood.
Flack then yielded four “soft” runs in the second on a bunt single, two walks, a sacrifice, wild pitch, and a long fly that fell just outside of the fielder’s reach and cleared the bases. But after he escaped further damage in the third after loading the bases, Whitman rallied in the bottom of the frame. Catcher Josh Biel was hit by a pitch, and after Dionne hit into a fielder’s choice, he moved to third on an errant pickoff throw and scored on a solid single by shortstop Sam Avayou. A Balland single and a walk loaded the bases, and while one run scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2, the Vikings stranded two more as the inning ended on a fly to medium right.

The Warriors then blew the game open with four runs in the fourth and, after Mike West retired the side in order in the fifth, batted around in the sixth and added seven more – two coming on a Bouey blast to dead center that was gone from the moment it left the bat. The Sherwood flamethrower only seemed to get stronger as the evening wore on, striking out the side in both the fifth and sixth around a Dionne single, walk to Flack, and Andrew Castagnetti (who had singled earlier) reaching on an HBP. By the end, with Bouey’s strikeout total having reached an even dozen, the Vikings could only lament their early missed opportunities – and the fielding lapses that were their one Achilles’ heel throughout the successful season.

Still, it was an evening to celebrate the achievements of Dionne, Balland, and Kuhn, and the Vikings left the field knowing they would return to action in one week against a playoff foe not named Sherwood.

“The comeback may be the most thrilling event in sports. It makes us realize that against all odds, great things can happen.” Monte Burke, in Forbes, September 2009.

All that was missing by the end was lightning flashing in the sky as the aging slugger redeemed himself (in the movie version, if not the book) by blasting a homer into the shattering bank of lights above the right field roof. While the Whitman Vikings’ 9-8 win over the rival BCC Barons wasn’t quite that melodramatic, it came close. Down 5-0 after a half inning, forced to wait through two mandatory 30-minute thunder/ drizzle delays, and facing a team that had beaten them earlier this year (as well as last) and was riding a six-game winning streak, the Vikes chipped away slowly but surely, finally catching the Barons in the fifth and taking the lead for good in the sixth. And when Michael Flack finished his marathon complete game effort by spearing a hard grounder with the tying run on third, trotting toward first, and flipping the ball to Dan Duffy, it seemed only fitting that the home crowd’s cheers were punctuated with one final burst of thunder in the distance.

The Barons opened quickly against Flack, scoring once on a hit, steal, and error and, after a nice catch against the screen by backstop Josh Biel on a foul pop, ripping a pair of two-run round trippers from the fourth and sixth spots in the lineup. After Flack settled down to retire the side, he gave Whitman back some of its mojo by blasting a four bagger of his own over the fence in left center, and it was 5-1 after one. Then, after nice plays by Henry Kuhn in right and Paul Balland at third kept the Barons at bay, Whitman halved the deficit in the bottom of the second as Drew Aherne reached on an error, Andrew Castagnetti singled with one out, and both came around on a string of BCC wild pitches.
The Barons extended their lead to 6-3 in the third on a hit batter, two singles, and an RBI groundout; it could have been worse but for Kuhn unleashing a dart on the line from right to Biel, who applied the tag at the plate. And then, with the boom of thunder, the teams exited the field for the first unscheduled half-hour intermission, which took place primarily under a blue, sunny sky.

When the game resumed at 5:30, it was drizzling – and BCC had replaced its starter with the better hurler who had beaten the Vikings back on April 14. No matter, as Flack quickly manufactured a run on a walk, two steals, and a throwing error. Then, with Aherne at the dish, Thor wielded his hammer again and the teams retreated to their dugouts under the umpires’ edict for another thirty-minute hiatus.

Under clearing skies, BCC added its seventh run in the top of the fourth on another hit batter and two singles, but Whitman began its comeback in earnest in the bottom of the frame as Mike Yang walked, Castagnetti doubled to left, Duffy hit a sharp RBI single, and Biel lofted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 7-6. Dionne took one off the batting helmet without any ill effects, but the BCC centerfielder raced in to grab Sam Avayou’s sinking liner and doubled the Whitman pinch runner off second.

No matter again, the dream was merely deferred, as Flack stranded two on base and then singled and scored on a clutch, two-out hit by Yang that knotted the count after five. Then, in the top of the sixth, Balland corralled a two-out grounder and rifled a throw across the diamond to nail the Barons’ fifth-place hitter by a step and prevent the go-ahead run from crossing the plate. With one out in the bottom half of the inning, Biel reached on a high throw by the third sacker and Dionne walked. Then with two outs, BCC chose to give Flack a free pass even though it meant loading the bases and putting the lead run at third. The risky move quickly backfired, however, as Balland shot a hard grounder up the middle that was knocked down while pinch runner Ben Page crossed home; a wild throw from second plated Dionne with what proved to be the decisive ninth run for the Vikings.

Flack was well in excess of one hundred pitches as he toed the rubber in seventh. After retiring two following a leadoff single, he got two strikes on the number nine hitter, only to yield a soft hit to right followed by a solid single off the bat of the leadoff man. But then, with runners at the corners and the skies beginning to darken again, the junior hurler completed what he had started roughly three and a half hours earlier by gloving the sharp comebacker and tossing over to Duffy.
As Flack strode off in a uniform caked with mud, exhilaration bested exhaustion for players and fans alike, the scoreboard read 9-8 Whitman, and the Vikings could celebrate their thirteenth win of the campaign – and perhaps their most dramatic one to date. Up next: a rematch at home on Wednesday, weather permitting, against a Gaithersburg team that edged Whitman 5-3 in a nip and tuck affair back in early April and routed WJ to advance to the regional semifinals.

Link to Gazette Article

For many Metro commuters, Gaithersburg signals the end of the Red Line. For Whitman far too often of late, the Gaithersburg Trojans just signal the end of the line – period. With Wednesday’s 9-7 playoff victory that ended the Vikings’ season at 13-5, the Trojans have now eliminated Whitman in the baseball postseason two straight years in the regional semifinals, and three out of four years overall. And just yards from the unexpected scene of Wednesday’s crime, Gaithersburg knocked the football Vikes out of the playoffs last fall.

It wasn’t planned this way, of course. Whitman, the Number 2 seed, was slated to host Gaithersburg, but the heavy rains left the Vikings’ field unplayable and prompted the late shift of venue – with Whitman still treated as the home team and batting last. (Meanwhile, unbeaten Sherwood took an additional day to play its own semifinal at home, and then got absolutely stunned by a Churchill team that came into the game with a losing record.)

With Mike West on the hill, James Dionne in CF retired the side in the first on three fly balls, two hit deep and one involving a classic JD running grab with full extension right in front of the fence. After Whitman went down in order in the “home” first, with Michael Flack flying to the track in left, Gaithersburg broke through with two against West in the second, all coming with two outs – but the junior escaped further damage by inducing a fielder’s choice grounder with the sacks filled. A Mike Yang double and Andrew Castagnetti infield single went for naught in the Viking half, and Gaithersburg doubled its lead in the third. Gabe Steinberg replaced West after a leadoff walk, loaded the bases on two more free passes, and two consecutive squeeze bunts plated runs three and four – though the second ended up as a pitcher-to-first-to-home twin killing that ended the frame.

The never-say-die Vikings then went to work against starter Stephen Lee in the bottom of the third. With one out, Dionne singled (his 34th hit of the campaign on the day he was featured in a Gazette piece on “unsung” star players), Sam Avayou smoked a double, and Flack brought them both home with a two bagger of his own to cut the deficit in half. After Paul Balland reached on an outfield error and Drew Aherne walked to load the bases, things unraveled for the Trojans. First Flack scored on an errant pickoff throw to third, and then a Yang RBI grounder and wild throw from third brought in two more and gave Whitman a 5-4 lead before Gaithersburg fireballer Billy Cullen retired the final two hitters.

Two more walks – bringing the Whitman pitchers’ total to eight (plus a hit batter) – and sacrifice fly to center knotted the score in the top of the fourth, with Flack ending the half inning with a leaping grab of a Lee liner at short. Whitman then appeared ready to retake the lead off Cullen when Aherne came up with two outs and the bases loaded following a Dionne single, intentional pass to Flack, and unintentional freebie to Balland. But his shot to right-center was speared on a diving grab to end the inning and keep the score tied. As baseball immortal Branch Rickey noted decades ago, “Baseball is a game of inches” – and Aherne just missed giving the Vikings at least a 7-5 lead by the narrowest of margins.

Gaithersburg wasted no time retaking control in the top of the fifth, as back to back doubles (the second coming when an apparent home run was denied on a questionable call) and a single made it 6-5 and prompted Coach Joe Cassidy to summon Max Steinhorn in relief of Steinberg. The freshman, with all of two-thirds of an inning of varsity pitching experience, yielded a two-run single to the first hitter, but settled down beautifully after a balk and closed out the inning without further damage. The Vikings couldn’t muster anything beyond a Castagnetti walk in the fifth, but the gutsy Steinhorn kept things within reach by overcoming the very tight strike zone and leaving two more Trojans stranded.

The bottom of the sixth brought up the top of the Whitman order. Dionne smoked a liner back at Cullen, who grabbed it reflexively. The hot-hitting Avayou then stepped to the plate and launched his first homer of the season over the fence in RF to make it 8-6, and the ever-resilient Vikings got to within one on a Flack single, Balland walk, and Aherne line drive hit to left following a Gaithersburg pitching change. But fate intervened in the form of a successful pickoff play for out number two and a strikeout that left the Trojans ahead by the narrowest of margins.

In a final signal of Viking guts and pride, Balland rose from the ground and limped out to third for the top of the seventh on a wounded knee after the adventure on the base paths minutes earlier. Steinhorn nicked the leadoff hitter, who came around on a soft single with two outs to make it 9-7, and despite a Henry Kuhn pinch walk in the bottom half, it was game-set-season minutes later for the Vikings. As the team gathered in short left field for a postgame meeting, players, coaches, and fans alike were left to consider the “what ifs” from a game that was certainly winnable despite being played on enemy turf and the team’s relative inexperience in pressure-packed postseason play.

But stepping back from the disappointing ending, all could agree that it was a very successful season indeed. A team whose regular nine typically included three juniors, three sophs, and a freshman, and with a junior-junior-sophomore pitching rotation, managed to win thirteen of eighteen, including eight of its final ten. Led by Dionne’s record-shattering .538 average and Flack at .491, Whitman hit over .350 on the season, with Yang at a lofty .395, Avayou finishing strong at .373, Castagnetti at .341, and Aherne at .339. Flack paced the squad with 23 ribbies, one ahead of Aherne. Dan Duffy ripped four of the team’s twelve round trippers and added 18 RBI, while Balland drove in 14 and walked 13 times – one behind Yang’s team lead. Seven different players went yard, and Dionne’s 35 hits and 26 stolen bases set two more team marks.
The pitching staff did its best to overcome the preseason loss of southpaw ace Ryan McGill. Flack led the way with a 6-2 record, 2.91 ERA, and 48 Ks. Steinberg had a solid second half to finish 4-3, West went 2-0 with several strong efforts, and Yang won his only start of the season. Defense was never the team’s forte, but Dionne played a fantastic centerfield all season and Balland was a steadying presence at third. Josh Biel started the final nine games behind the plate after recovering from a dislocated thumb and blocked nearly everything along the way, while Nick Bode held down the fort nicely during the first half of the season. Kuhn finally got to show off his gun in right with a rifle throw to the plate that proved critical in the 9-8 playoff win over BCC.

Still, for these Vikings the statistics and individual plays hardly tell the story. This was a team that never seemed to make it easy (the blowouts against Einstein early and Springbrook late notwithstanding), but always persevered and had more than its share of dramatic efforts – from the wins over Magruder and Wootton early to Seneca Valley and Blair later on to the great comeback over BCC that set the stage for the narrow loss to Gaithersburg. And the foundation for future success is strong. Seven regulars and the full starting pitching staff – including McGill – will return. Flack and Biel will look to cap off a playing partnership that dates back to kindergarten. Avayou nearly doubled his average from the previous year and has added power, while splitting his time between second and short. The soph trio of Yang, Duffy, and Andrew Castagnetti should be ready to build on the major successes of their first varsity campaigns. Juniors Ben Page, Noah Klotz, Evan Reeves, Connor Bissell, and Jacob Rasch will vie for more playing time along with a strong group of sophomores who paced another excellent JV season – and freshmen like Ben Castagnetti and Steinhorn who look to join their classmate Aherne as varsity regulars in 2012.

Still, while the future looks bright, the Vikings are losing a lot – if not in numbers, then certainly in quality. As the Hall of Famer Rickey said, “It is not the honor that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.” And graduating seniors Dionne, Balland, and Kuhn leave behind a heritage of winning baseball, and considerable talent mixed together with great attitude and strong leadership. The 2012 squad will need to draw on those traits as it looks to build on the successes of the past several seasons in the quest to reach the elusive regional finals for the first time since 2009 and perhaps beyond.

Click here for 2011 box scores

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Click here for defensive stats

 

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