Catoctin

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There Is on Road

It’s not like Coach Mike has never been here on these pages . Coach is in his 24th . He was here in the as of Coach of the Year in 2017. his peers him in 2019 as “ of the Year.” He has two state in the case, one in 2013 and in 2021.

Coach his as a at State. He began at High in the mid-90s, where he met his , coach Frank . Coach ’ staff as an . His first year , the made it all the way to the State , an that would give him an for .

There is no way to begin about out the very of the , Coach . His *** ile and his are . He his . One of his , Mason , made it all the way from a start on the Road field to the “Big ,” where he the bonus ever for a 12th-round Major draft pick with the Los : $1.25 in 2021 at age 18.

Good for the and that’s why good seem to enjoy over and over again. And that is what is in 2023 for the team. is , going all the way back to 1996.

Coach ’s teams great 。 Joey this team to a 2021 state , and he will take the mound this as an , with 20-30 Major teams in him and a above 90 mph。 was an part of that “” story two years ago。 They the 2021 as the No。 4 seed in the 1A West and to Clear to face the No。 1 , whom they 。

Then, back on the road again, after the title at Clear , still an , they make the short trip over the to for win! But now the short trips were over。 They had to pack up the team bus and head all the way the state to Bel air to face a Mill team。 Once again, they off the upset。 If that weren’t , now they had to come home, , pack and 130 miles to to face , the No。

1 seed in the 1A。 That when they , the field was by a 20-foot-high chain link fence。 fans who had made the drive had to peer the in the fence to see the game。 It was a very venue for 。 It was more like a ball field for the jail。 There was a cold, wind off Deep Creek Lake the field, and it felt like March, not June。 But, once again, the off the , 13-5 on a rally off the bat of Joey , who a two-run shot over the fence, deep into left 。

On the road again, their last game was far, but the and were this time。 They were so and up that the trip like than hours as the bus up to the in , where they the 2021 1A State title!

All in all, the off the , with a 500 miles of over the of 10 days, five wins to bring the home to for the time in Coach ’s .

One of my side that game began with a phone call from some avid fans who to pay the $300 live fee that the state for to the video. WTHU had been video the no-fee and these fans were to cover the state’s fee, just so they could watch the game from their lawn on a big TV in Ocean City. don’t stop real fans from their team play in the big game. the game, they all over of the and game and what a blast they had. That game is still on the WTHU page, with 390 views!

Last year was a very year, but , the ran into a face early in the , the Clear . This is how are . in 2021, Clear out of the early on their own field and went on to win it all. Well, in 2022, Clear the favor by out of the in . The went on to , just like had, and the 1A home. Hey, if you are going to lose, it makes it when you lose to in your (1A West) who goes on to win it all. , it takes the sting out of the loss when you lose to the state , at least it did for all of us for “ .” I am not good at , but here is one I’ll make with : will play Clear in the and the will go deep into the this year.

So, here we are in 2023! This team ’t look ! They have one of the in , with two ace in and . of the , this team two who are tough, -savvy kids who have both come back from last year. The , and , are 100 ready and to get back on the field. They have a great and don’t their . This is the team that “ Ball,” also known as “death by a cuts.”

Of , , as I , is also a team . This group of is very . Led by Tyler , Will , Nick Huff, , and Ken , I had a to catch up with Coach . Will for and Coach in 2004. Like Coach , Will had a for , too. After from , Will took his first in the , but it was way too far to drive to teach and coach at . So, when he his dream job at in seven years ago fifth grade, he Coach and was on to the team. Coach and , and at games, you’ll see him on the first base line. His job as the first base coach is a sort of cop for base .

Coach is with two boys: seven-year-old Liam, and three-year-old Max, who was born in 2020 and with Downs . I asked him what was the to his , four hats in one day: ; in two , and High ; and , and his was “time ” and the to shift gears from one role to the next. When I asked him what he faced Max, Will said: “Max is such a young boy and his and are . He’s in the of , fist and us and us *** ile all the time. He doesn’t us, he makes us .”

has eight home games on the this . It’s not just . It is fun! From the campy “ Call” given at home plate to the who hits a home run to the silly dog in the that goes with his guys, this team knows how to have fun and win!

If you want to see some high and be a part it, come on over to High to check out this team! And if you can’t make it to the games, there is the of the games. Just click on the high tab.