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Whitman Opens Season with Lopsided Win Over Northwood
March 21, 2007 --
Senior Ben Lowry pitched a no-hitter to lead Whitman to a 14-1 victory over Northwood in the season opener for both teams. The game ended by slaughter after five innnings. Lowry faced only 16 batters, one over the limit.
The Vikings strung together three big innings on route to the win, which ended by slaughter after five innings. The Whitman team features four sophomores and several had stand-out games. Brantley Hester, coming back from arm surgery, paced the Whitman attack with a 2-for-3, 4-RBI performance. Chris Kelly had a perfect day, with two hits in two at bats, two runs scored, and two RBI. And Max Hilbert scored three times while going 1-for-2 at the plate.
Matt Kaler, Simon Weaver, Mike Lee, and Manoj Bhutani each contributed a hit to the 9-hit Whitman attack.
Lowry, who had four strikeouts and only walked one batter, baffled the Northwood hitters with a series of off-speed pitches and curves. The Gladiators scored their lone run on a three-base error.
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Whitman Comes Up Short Against Sherwood
March 23, 2007 --
Sherwood blew open a close game in the bottom of the sixth inning on Friday and went on to defeat Whitman 9-5, despite a valiant seventh-inning rally by the Vikings. The loss evened Whitman's record at 1-1.
The game was much closer than the scored indicated. After five and a half innings, Sherwood only led 4-3, and if not for a tough call on the bases against the Vikings the game would have been tied. Sherwood entered the game as one of the top-ranked teams in the metro area.
The Warriors broke open what had been a pitching duel with two runs (only one earned) off senior Simon Weaver in the third. The Vikings came back to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the fifth off Kyle Blackwell, a senior right-hander, who has already signed with the University of Maryland. Sophomore Ethan Thompson delivered a game-tying single to center on a full count, scoring Ben Lowry, who had reached on a Blackwell throwing error that allowed the first run to score.
Sherwood rallied for two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead. But the Vikings came right back in the top of the sixth, this time with an earned run off Blackwell, who mixed an explosive fast ball with an off-speed curveball that he consistently threw for strikes. The run scored when Michael Lee hit a long double to left, scoring Matt Kaler, who had walked.
Weaver pitched effectively, too, until the sixth inning when he ran out of gas, walking the first two batters. Marty Hauck came on in relief and, after giving up a perfect bunt single to the first hitter, struck out the next two. Unfortunately, the third batter hit a line drive that barely cleared the infield to score two runs. Sherwood went on to score three more in the inning.
The Vikings made it interesting in the seventh inning, though, nearly bringing the tying run to the plate. Chris Kelly led off with a pinch-hit single down the left-field line. Then Thompson tripled to center, his hard, sinking liner eluding the center fielder, scoring Kelly. Andrew Furth singled to right, scoring Thompson. Kaler followed with a double down the right-field line. But Lee flew out to right to end the game.
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Springbrook Prevails Over Whitman, 10-7
March 27, 2007 --
The Springbrook game will be remembered among Whitman players as the one that got away. The Vikings gallantly battled back from a six-run, first-inning deficit, behind four-plus strong innings from reliever Ben Lowry, but lost the game 10-7 when Springbrook scored three times in the top of the sixth inning.
The loss, which dropped Whitman to 1-2, overshadowed a brillant performance by Lowry, who entered the game with one out in the first inning after six runs had scored. He quickly recorded the final two outs. Lowry allowed only one unearned run over the next four innings, striking out five Blue Devils. The southpaw used his back-door curveball to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, coaxing a ground ball to Mike Lee at third base.
Even after falling way behind, the young Vikings team didn't give up. Whitman scored twice in the second when Brian Gobish drove a double deep to left, scoring Lee, who had reached on an error. Sophomore Max Hilbert followed with a single that scored Gobish.
The Vikings managed to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, pushing across five runs. Lowry led off by getting hit by a pitch. He stole second and scored on a single by second baseman Ethan Thompson, who had three hits in the game. After Andrew Furth walked, Matt Kaler lined a single to score Thompson. The big blow of the inning, though, was a two-run double to deep right by Lee. Hilbert drove home the final run with a sacrifice fly.
But Springbrook's bats suddenly came alive in the sixth, when the Blue Devils scored three runs on a two-out triple to center.
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Whitman's Late-Inning Rally Defeats Blake
March 28, 2007 --
The top of the sixth inning began unpromisingly. Down 2-0 at Blake, Whitman’s leadoff batter Matt Kaler hit a nubber off the end of the bat between the pitching mound and first base. He barely beat the throw to first with a head-first slide. Clean-up hitter Mike Lee capitalized on the hustle play by belting the first pitch over the left fielder’s head for a double to put runners on second and third.
Brian Gobish quickly got Whitman on the board, driving a clean single through the hole between third and short, scoring Kaler and whipping the Viking faithful into a frenzy. That made it 2-1. Up to the plate strode sophomore Brantley Hester, without a hit in two previous appearances. Hester, less than six months from ligament replacement surgery on his right arm, calmly worked the count full. Then he deliberately stroked an outside pitch down the right-field line to score the tying run in Lee.
Gobish went for third on the play. The throw from right, too late to get him, got away from the third baseman. Seeing an opportunity, Hester took off for second. When the third baseman’s throw short-hopped the second baseman, Gobish trotted home with the third run of the inning, the go-ahead run.
But the game wasn’t over. Senior Simon Weaver, who had given up only one earned run through the first five innings, needed six more outs to secure a victory. Weaver, who had already thrown 80 pitches, found the strength to strike out two batters in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving him five for the game.
Whitman stranded a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Weaver received some clutch defensive help. Third baseman Lee fielded two tough ground balls on short hops, throwing out the first two batters. Max Hilbert, who had already made several fine catches, ranged back to the track in right to corral the final out and seal the victory.
The win evened Whitman’s record at 2-2, going into spring break. Kaler led the Viking attack with three hits. Lee had two, including Whitman's only extra-base hit. Ethan Thompson turned two double plays at second. Weaver didn’t walk a batter in seven innings, and threw 70 percent of his pitches for strikes.
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Whitman Defeats Watkins Mill
April 14, 2007 --
The Walt Whitman Vikings ran their record to 4-2 with a convincing 11-3 victory over Watkins Mill on Saturday afternoon behind four strong innings from senior starter Marty Hauck. He started the game by throwing 10 straight strikes.
The Vikings capitalized on walks and errors to score nine times in the first three innings. Brantley Hester belted a run-scoring single in the first, and Brain Gobish stroked a two-run double with two out in the third. Andrew Furth and Chris Kelly collected the only other hits for Whitman.
Hauck, exhibiting fine command of three pitches, gave up only one earned run. He was followed to the mound by Ethan Thompson, Matt Kaler, and Ben Lowry. The pitchers coaxed nine groundball outs from the Wolverines, including one that led to a 5-4-3 doubleplay.
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Whitman Defeats Gaithersburg to Remain in First Place
April 17, 2007 --
Sophomore Ethan Thompson gave up only one earned run over six innings, Brian Gobish clobbered a bases-clearing double in the first inning, and the Walt Whitman Vikings (6-2) rolled to a 6-3 victory over rival Gaithersburg at home on Thursday evening. With the win, Whitman remained tied with Wootton for first place in the 4A South.
Thompson, making his first start of the season, used an assortment of pitches to keep Trojan hitters off stride and earn the win. He gave up six hits, struck out five, and walked only two batters. Simon Weaver came on in the seventh to earn the save.
Whitman got off to a fast start when Max Hilbert walked, Andrew Furth singled (his first of two hits on the evening), and Matt Kaler reached when the second baseman failed to make a force play. Clean-up hitter Brian Gobish made them pay by blasting the first pitch he saw to the wall in right center, emptying the bases.
Whitman made it 4-0 in the second when Thompson led off with a single to left. He scored when Mike Lee later walked with the bases loaded. Gaithersburg scored a single run in the third and two unearned runs in the sixth to draw within one run, 4-3.
But the Vikings answered with two clutch runs in the bottom of the sixth. Gobish was hit by a pitch. Eric Slesinger went in to run for him. Slesinger took second when the pitcher’s pick-off throw went awry. He took third on a sharp single to right by Brantley Hester. Jeff Susskind went in to run for Hester.
With Chris Kelly at the plate and one out, Susskind took off for second. The catcher, instead of throwing to second, pegged to third to get Slesinger, who was leaning off the base. The throw eluded the third baseman, with Susskind taking third on the play. Kelly followed by stroking a long fly to center that scored Susskind to make the score 6-3.
Simon Weaver mowed down the side in the seventh inning, striking out the final batter to preserve the win.
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Vikings Outlast Bulldogs in 10-Inning Thriller
April 17, 2007 --
The Whitman Vikings battled bitterly cold winds and the Churchill Bulldogs in a three-hour, ten-inning marathon, coming away with a 10-8 victory and a 5-2 record. Whitman broke open a 5-5 tie with five runs in the top of the tenth inning, and held on in the bottom of the tenth after Churchill scored three and put the tying run on base.
Whitman started the scoring in the first inning with one-out walks by Max Hilbert (the first of five walks for Max in the game) and Matt Kaler, who both scored on a Brian Gobish double. Churchill answered with a run in the first and another in the second. In the third inning, Whitman took a 4-2 lead on another Hilbert walk and singles by Kaler, Gobish, and Brantley Hester, who had three hits on the day. Churchill scored a run in the third and another in the fifth to tie the score at 4-4.
After Simon Weaver pitched the first five innings, Ben Lowry came on in relief. He held the Bulldogs scoreless in the sixth after the first two batters reached base, and used his curveball to strike out two batters in the seventh, but Whitman failed to score as well, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Manoj Bhutani reached base on an error, advanced on an Ethan Thompson single, and scored on a grounder by Kaler to put Whitman up 5-4. But Churchill tied the score in the bottom of the eighth on a bad-hop grounder to second that would have ended the game. Whitman’s frustration continued in the ninth, when the Vikings loaded the bases but failed to score.
The Vikings’ fortunes improved at last in the tenth. Hilbert opened the inning with his fifth walk, Kaler reached base on a throwing error by the first baseman, and Gobish stroked his second two-run double to break the tie. The Vikings scored three more on singles by Mike Lee, Hester, Chris Kelley, and Thompson. The Bulldogs did not go quietly, however, quickly loading the bases and then scoring three runs on a single and a sacrifice fly. With two on and two out, the Bulldogs’ clean-up hitter hit a towering fly ball over center-fielder Hilbert’s head, but Hilbert raced back to grab it for the final out.
--David Furth
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Wootton Defeats Whitman to Take First Place
April 21, 2007 --
The Wootton Patriots convincingly defeated the Walt Whitman Vikings 10-1 at home on Saturday afternoon behind two home runs from Sam Bender to take sole possession of first place in the 4A South.
The loss ended Whitman's winning streak at five and dropped its record to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. Whitman could still win the 4A South, but it would have to win its remaining games against division competitors. And Wootton, which has games coming up against Churchill and Gaithersburg, would have to lose twice to division rivals.
Wootton went ahead to stay in the first inning, mixing walks, bunts, aggressive baserunning, and timely line-drive hitting to score four times before a large home crowd. With temperatures in the mid-seventies at game time, it was a perfect day for spring baseball.
The Vikings had their chances to get back in the game. They got to Wootton starter Jason Sargent, who retired eight of the first nine batters, in the third inning, loading the bases on two hits and a hit batsman but failed to score.
Bender, a senior who is going to the West Virginia University to play baseball, crushed his first home run in the fourth, a high arch over the left field fence. His second home run, a three-run shot, was still rising when it hit a tree beyond the fence in left-center.
Whitman scored its only run in the sixth inning after loading the bases once again. The run scored on a double-play groundball. Whitman recorded six hits in the game, each by a different player.
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