Schedule Set For Choosing Of Prep Stars

By: Keith Mills

Saturday morning, 80 of the state's best high school baseball players will gather at Thomas Stone High School in Charles County for a pair of regional all-star games that will determine the participants on this year's Brooks Robinson and Team Maryland All-Star teams. "You grow up dreaming of playing at Camden Yards," said Dulaney shortstop Alex Frederick. "To be out here with the some of the best players in the state is really a big deal." Frederick was among 70 players who turned out for last Sunday's North Region tryout at Calvert Hall. The group also included Kevin Lingerman, Mike Dillon and Luke Sawyer of Calvert Hall; Keith Fritz, Matt Wilson and Sean Thompson of Archbishop Curley; Ryan Kemp of Mount St. Joseph; Ryan Staton and Robbie Harris of Cardinal Gibbons; Jordan Wlodarczyk and Brendon Rabb of C. Milton Wright; Joe Couch, James Cowan and Ben Winter of Cenntennial; Rob Karwacki of Sparrows Point; Joey Jones of Eastern Tech and Austin Knight of Boys' Latin. There were three other region teams selected last weekend: East Region at Chesapeake College on the Eastern Shore, the West Region at North Hagerstown High School and the South Region at Thomas Stone, the site of Saturday's Maryland State Baseball Coaches Association region doubleheader which will determine the two all-star teams. The North will play the West and will form the North team in the Brooks Robinson All-Star Game while the South will play the East and will form the South team. The Brooks Robinson All-Star Game will be played for the sixth time June 15 at Camden Yards after the Orioles play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The game is limited to high school seniors while Team Maryland can also include juniors. Team Maryland also will represent the state in the Sunbelt Classic in Norman, Okla., June 16-22. The game is now sponsored by Geier Financial Group. Once called the Crown All-Star game, it has been played since 1982 and has featured more than a dozen area high school players who have gone on to play professional baseball. Bill Ripken played in the first Crown game in 1982, before moving on to a 10-year major league career with the Orioles, Rangers, Indians and Tigers. Greg Smith of Glenelg and Brian Jordan of Milford Mill both played in the 1985 Crown game. Jordan, who also played football for the Atlanta Falcons, played for the Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers and Rangers in what turned out to be a 15-year major league career. Arundel's Denny Neagle played in the 1986 game. From 1996 to 2000 he racked up 83 of his 124 career wins in Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Cincinnati while Jay Witasik of C. Milton Wright in Bel Air played in the 1990 Crown game before playing three years at UMBC and 10 years in the big leagues. Tony Saunders of Glen Burnie and Kenny Cloude of McDonogh played in the 1992 and '93 games before both moving on to brief careers in the majors. Both Mark Teixeira and Mike O'Connor played in the '98 game. Teixeira is playing now in Atlanta and has hit 175 home runs in his first five-plus years in the majors while O'Connor is pitching for the Washington Nationals. Mount St. Joe's Gavin Floyd played in the 2001 game. He has flirted with two no-hitters this season and is now 4-1 overall with the Chicago White Sox. Steve Clevinger, also of Mount St. Joseph, played in the 2005 game and is now catching for the Boise Hawks, a Chicago Cubs Single-A farm team in the Northwest League. Steven Johnson of St. Paul's played in the 2006 game and is off to a blazing start for the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League with five wins and a 1.67 ERA. Nick Adenhart of Williamsport High School has pitched in three games this year already for the Los Angeles Angels. The recent list of former players is also impressive. Last year, the South beat the North, 5-4. Centennial's Austin Harclerode, who is hitting .311 at Towson University; Catonsville's Adam Kolarek, now at Maryland; Parkville's Kevin Jacob, who pitches for Georgia Tech, and Ryan Rivers of Eastern Tech, who pitches at North Carolina Charlotte, led the North team. One of Rivers' teammates at UNC Charlotte is McDonogh's Joe Yermal, who is 7-1 as a freshman. Chris Moore of Chesapeake High in Pasadena and Kyle Judson of Quince Orchard led the South. Moore, Judson, Harclerode and Jacob were named Brooks Robinson All-Star Most Outstanding Players. Two years ago, the game featured Neal Davis of Catonsville, now pitching at Virginia and Nick Natoli of Mount St. Joe, starting shortstop at Towson University. Dulaney's Steven Bumbry has hit four home runs in his second year at Virginia Tech. Scott Swinson of Centennial pitched a no-hitter for Maryland last week against Delaware while Arundel's Corey Overholser is hitting .355 with five home runs at North Carolina Greensboro. That's where Frederick will play his college baseball. A pitcher and shortstop at Dulaney, Frederick is one of 21 players selected for the North Region team in Saturday's MSABC games. "It would be a great honor to make the team and be considered among the best players in the state," he said. Issue 3.21: May 22, 2008