After a bit of a rough start to the season, Bel Air Varsity Baseball is beginning to heat up, winning their 3rd consecutive game on Mon., April 14, 2014. The Bobcats split their 4 games last week, losing two tough games to North Harford and Rising Sun, but coming back to win the last two games against Patterson Mill and Fallston. Entering Monday, the Bobcats looked to add a third game to their win streak.
Following his win on the mound last Thursday against Patterson Mill, Senior Grayson Boone pitched again Monday at North East and recorded another win. Boone allowed just 2 runs on 2 hits through 5 innings. Senior Ben Webber came in to pitch the final 2 innings in relief. The Bobcat defense played tough, turning a double play in the 2nd inning, and throwing a runner out at the plate in the 6th.
The offense was led by Junior J.D. Bruck, who hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning, first putting the Bobcats on the board. Following the home run, the offense broke out. Teagan Lamon and Brenden Yetter provided two hits, along with hits from Nick Loiodice, Brandon Clifford, and Trent Tolley. The final score for the game was 9-3 in favor of Bel Air.
The Bobcat Offense seems to be gaining steam, scoring 9 runs Monday and 12 runs last Friday at Fallston.
The Bobcats then hosted their 7th annual Mike Lacey Memorial Tournament on Sat., April 19, 2014. The tournament is a yearly event held at Bel Air High School in memory of Mike Lacey, a member of the 1996 State Championship Baseball Team who tragically passed away. Saturday, the Bobcat Baseball Team was able to win the tournament for the first time in the 7 years of hosting it.
The Bobcats kicked off the tournament against the Bulldogs of Bowie High School. The game got off to a quick start, with Bowie scoring 2 runs in the first inning. The Bobcat offense answered quickly, scoring 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the first. This first inning set the tone for the game, as it resulted in a back and forth high scoring affair. Bel Air came out on top, however, winning the game 13-8. Junior Josh Bavis recorded the win on the mound.
With a 4 team format, the winner of the first two games plays in the championship. In the second game, South River defeated Baltimore Polytechnic Institute 10-0, putting them in the championship against Bel Air. This matchup was highly anticipated, as both Bel Air and South River won the 2013 State Championships in their divisions, 3A and 4A.
In a tough pitching and defensive duel, South River scored 1 run in the third inning and clung to that 1 run lead. The South River defense held tough, holding Bel Air to just a handful of hits. The Bobcats were unable to score until the bottom of the seventh with one out, as Senior Grayson Boone hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game up at 1. The game went into the eighth inning, when Senior Ben Webber was able to knock in the winning run after an error by South River’s Shortstop.
The team feels Mike Lacey would have been proud of their stellar performance. “We played for something bigger than ourselves today,” Senior catcher Dylan Franz said. “We had an angel in the outfield. This one is for Mike Lacey.”