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The Fairfax Journal                                    Tuesday, March 23, 1999, B1

Liberty District
Langley has a slight edge, Saxons rely on deep staff
by John Keim, Journal Staff Writer
     Here is a preview of the Liberty District baseball season, with teams listed alphabetically:
     Broad Run (10-7) does not expect to suffer the same fate as the school's football and basketball teams, neither of which won a game this season after enrollment plummeted.
     The Spartans hope to duplicate past success as they finished third in the district two years ago and fourth last season.
     They have a chance to win thanks to players such as four-four satarter Brad Bauder, a center fielder who has signed to play with Virginia Tech. Last season, he batted .426 and was first or second on the team in every offensive category.
     Senior Chris Null, the ace a year ago, returns for his third season. The lefthander finished 2-3 with a 2.20 ERA, striking out 42 in 40 innings, in 1998.
     He'll also be one of Braod Run's top defensive players. Sophomore second baseman Ben Slitor is the only other returning starter.
     Promising sophomnore Matt Hall will pitch and play first, as will junior Darrin London. Sophomore Chris Macumber will start at short and junior Josh Smith will start at third.
     Senior Lee Vaughn is another lefthanded pitcher and will play in the outfield.
     If Fairfax (13-8) can replace the middle of its infield, the Rebels should again challenege for the district title.
     The Rebels will again hit well, though they might not be as powerful as last year's team which set a school record for homers.
     Fairfax returns a solid nucleus with slugging senior first baseman Eddie Kim, who will also pitch, and four-year starting third baseman Mike Haake, a bulldog-type pitcher. Senior Brad Thomas is a three-year starter in the outfield.
     Haake will be joined on the mound by junior lefty Jeff Ledbetter, also an outfielder, and junior Chad Kieffer, also a third baseman and DH. All have varsity experience. Freshman Travis Ryblicki will help here as well. Senior Rob Perryman will start in center and junior Andy Young will catch.
      Langley (12-11) is hoping to pick up where it left off a year ago when it won 12 of its final 17 games. Part of that, however, depends on when senior Roy Jones returns from shoulder surgery.
     Jones, 6-3 with a 2.49 ERA in 1998, is entering his fourth season as a starter. He platooned at first base, batting .357 with 10 doubles.
     Fortunately for the Saxons, they have pitching depth in junior Pat Loftus (4-3, 2.65 ERA) and junior Adam Abramson (1-2 2.33 ERA). Loftus also plays first and batted .333 lasst season.
     "We're lucky to have these two," Langley coach Chuck Welch said.
     He's also lucky to return just about everyone else, starting with senior third baseman Chad Tornabeni, who led the team in batting (.397) and RBI (18) last season.
     Strong-armed junior catcher Darryl Turner returns after hitting .294.
     The outfield has plenty of speed with senior Roberto Gonzalez, a .333 hitter in 1998, in left, Jonathan Shernit, a three-year starter, in center and junior Tom Bradley in right. All three started in the secondary and played receiver in football.
     Senior Jeff Hanscom batted .369 with three homers as the DH last spring. Sophomore Skip Talarek, whom Welch calls a pure hitter, takes over at short. Senior Frank O'Conner will play second.
     "We.ve had as much talent as we've had in a lot of years," Welch  said.
     Lee (14-5) is still stinging from its first-round ouster in the district tournament. But, with eight returning players, the Lancers can easily wipe out that bitter memory.
     Senior Colin Smith, who plays in the outfield and infield, finished 1998 on a tear, hitting all five of his homers n his last 12 at-bats.
     Others back iunclude: seniors Matt Andrews (center), Mike Fratoe (pitcher), Tim Grant (first base), Brett McColley (pitcher) and juniors Andy Jewell (third base), Matt McCant (first base/pitcher) and Paul Weisher (shortstop).
     With so much returning the burden falls on the pitching staff, which will be anchored by Fratoe, a mid-80s thrower who went 3-0 as a junior. He has signed to pitch for Elon next year.
     McCants and McColley will back him up. Sophomore Matt Serth also might pitch.
     The Lancers do have players with big game experience. Four players -- Grant, Fratoe, Andrews and Weishfield played on the Central Springfield team that reached the Little League World Series.
     Those four, plus Jewell and McCants, played on Springfield's Babe Ruth World Series participant.
     "I feel good about this group," Lee coach Mark Nocera said.
     Madison (19-5) graduated 13 seniors, eight of whom are playing colegiately. Replacing that much experience will be difficult, but coach Mark Gjormand is optimistic.
     Other returnee is senior center fielder Richie Dean, who batted .340 and stole 15 bases in 1998, earning second-team all district honors.
     Senior lefty Josh Glassman is the pitching ace after going 3-1 in the No. 3 spot last year. He has signed with Cornell.
     Three juniors appear solid on the mound in Aryan Moniri, who won two games last year, Brandon Orsinger and Kevin Costello.
     Senior Ryan Garner will pitch and play second. Sophomore outfielder Kyle Davis is fast and strong, a combination that leaves Gjormand anxious for the future.
     Senior Matt Smith will rotate between first base and the outfield. Sophomore Josh White will start in left. Junior John Wilson or freshman B.T. Good will start at short.
     "These kids have been successful and they're good," Gjormand said. "They just lack experience."
     Marshall (5-15) has been rebuilding for two seasons and the Statesmen's efforts might pay off this spring as nearly everyone returns.
     The big key will be hitting in the clutch, something Marshall couldn't do last season.
     The Statesmen return most of their pitching, starting with ace senior Tom Bell (3.14 ERA) and juniors Jason Graffaam and Danilo Garcia.
     Senior outfielder Roþ¥¥¥¥¥ ÀFMicrosoft Word DocumentMSWordDocWord.Document.8ô9²qies could cause a set-back. Junior catcher Jason Sullivan should return within a week from an eye injury. And junior third baseman Joey Rector is out indefinitely after breaking his wrist in a skiing accident. The cast should be removed in a week.
     Sissler said Erichson has not ruled out returning.
     McLean (8-11) returns seven starters from a team that won its first six games last spring.
     Coach Dave Pleasants ins't sure, however, how much the experience will translate into runs, which could be a problem.
     "We'll struggle at the place," Pleasants said. "But our pitching will be good."
     Junior shortstop David Thomas is expected to produce after batting .430 last season. Junior center fielder Kevin Danner should hit as well, as will senior first baseman Phil Yun.
     Yun (3-4), a lefty, and senior Jeff Johnson (4-1) will be the top pitchers. Both are in their third season on the mound.
     Also back are junior first baseman Richard Jones, junior second baseman Matt Jones (no relation), senior right fielder Nick Bennett and sophomore catcher Zac Bausch.
     Freshman Danny Russo has played well at third, collecting three RBI in the season-opening 10-0 win over Yorktown. Senior Pete Tyler and junior Jimmy Strayhorne also will pitch.
     Senior Jason Dausin and junior Time Kuzmuk will split time at catcher. Junior Chris Haig will play in the outfield.
     Park View (7-17) hopes to end its stay in Group AAA by advancing to the region tournament for the fourth straight season. The Patriots will return to Group AA next season.
     Senior right fielder Mike Valcour batted .338 with a team-high 20 RBI last season. Senior shortstop Kenny Tricarico is a solid fielder who batted .275 as a junior. He also reached base 27 times via walks or by being hit.
     Junior Mike McDermott moves from left to second and sophomore Nick Smith will start at third and pitch. Sophomore Dustin Dudynski will start in left.
     The pitching will be handled by senior Chris Davis and 6-foot-7 junior Jeff Schwalm. Neither have extensive varsity experience, which could hamper Park View come in the post-season.
     The Patriots are confident they will hit and the defense is usually solid. But either Davis or Schwalm will need to produce for them to content.

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