Who Are We?
The Mason Dixon Lions are a Spring 2007 13U youth baseball team made up of players from the greater Frederick County, Maryland area. A number of our players have been playing baseball together since they were 7 years old with great success.
Our goal is to offer more advanced and consistent baseball instruction to our players versus what they'd get in a conventional rec league environment. Our desire is to keep our group of players together over a long period of time and help them progress together as a team all the way until they reach high school age. We don't turn our team over each year with tryouts and we only take on new players when a roster opening arises. That contributes to a greater level of team chemistry and consistency in instruction. We play a very competitive schedule against other travel, select, league and all star teams because we are committed to the philosophy that our players will get better by playing against top level competition.
The Lions play their spring season games with the Mid Maryland Baseball League. In 2007, we will participate in the 14U division against other 13U and 14U teams from other communities in the region and we will play using the full rules of Major League Baseball (leading off, balks, dropped third strikes, etc)on a 90' diamond. The Mid Maryland league offers our players the opportunity to play against other top-notch programs from all over the area.
The Lions play their home games in Woodsboro as part of the Woodsboro Rec Council. We're very proud to be a part of this wonderful organization and we're excited to represent them in league and tournament competition.
Thank you for checking out our site. Please check back often for updates.
Lions Advance to League Championship
The Lions kept their unbeaten streak alive with an 8-1 victory over Poolesville in Mid Maryland PONY league competition. Going into the playoffs with a number one seed, the Lions needed to only win the Poolesville game to advance. Despite threatening several times, the Lions held off each successive rally that the Falcons put forth with great defensive plays or timely pitching by pitcher Dalton Brashears who was relieved by Matt Smith. Brashears went a solid 6 innings before being relieved due to his pitch count. Smith came on in the 7th and slammed the door shut.
The Lions will advance to the Championship game to be held at Myersville's Doubs Meadow Park on Saturday at 11am.
The Lions finished off the regular league season with two big wins over the rival Woodsboro Gators to run their record to a perfect 22-0. The Lions will begin tournament play this week. Times and details will be provided soon as they become available. Congratulations Lions on a true Cinderella season!
Lions become Beach Boys!
The Lions made the trip to Georgetown Delaware to play at the beautiful Sports at the Beach complex in their annual "Bat and Battle" tournament. The tournament featured some of the finest travel teams from the entire mid Atlantic region coming from as far away as New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.
The Lions opened the tournament in fine fashion led by a magnificent one-hit pitching performance by Eddie Stevens. Stevens was masterful throwing a complete game gem to pace the Lions to a 2-1 victory to win the pitcher's duel to beat the Delmarva Shorebirds Grey team.
In the second game of the day, the Lions' pitching was once again excellent, but defensive lapses cost the Lions the game. The Miller brothers - Michael and Sam, hooked up to throw another gem on the mound confounding the Delaware Wolverines hitters with their pitch array. When the final out was recorded, the Lions lost 4-3 with all 4 of their opponent's runs being unearned. Shoulda, woulda, coulda... Nevertheless, it was quite an accomplishment given that their opponent went on to the semifinals.
After a day of battle on the diamond, the Lions went back to the hotel, cleaned up, and we all headed out to the Grand Slam restaurant just down the street. This restaurant is a popular haunt for the older Mason Dixon Lions fall team when they trek to Rehoboth. The guys got to hang out, eat pizza, and do some all-important team bonding (and girl chasing!).
Sunday morning found the Lions banged up and sick. A nasty virus swept through the team overnight and had a number of Lions and their parents searching for the porcelain convenience. The Lions were already shorthanded with Dalton Brashears and Steven both nursing injuries. Poor timing for the team as they ran into an offensive buzz saw meeting the Delmarva Shorebirds White team who took it to the Lions 14-1. The Birds squad was impressive as they hit the ball hard from top to bottom of the lineup.
Overall, it was a great experience for the boys as they measured themselves against some of the finest teams in the region and generally made a very good showing. The three teams that the Lions played finished in the top 6 out of 14 teams in the tournament. Definitely a tough tournament draw indeed.
This should be a great tune up for the boys as they begin their season on Tuesday against league member Poolesville on the road.
Lions Start Season Strong
Saturday was the opening day for the Woodsboro Rec Council - host of the Lions. The Lions decided to start their celebration early with a strong showing against the visiting Maryland Rangers. The Lions jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Sam Miller got the win on the mound going 3 strong innings and keeping the Rangers batters off balance. Stellar defensive plays were abundant in the first game as Lions were flying all over the field making Sports Center-like highlight catches. Patience at the plate and timely hitting boosted the Lion run production so early in the season. The Lions won the first game 10-6.
At the conclusion of the game, the Lions had to sprint up to the other field for opening day ceremonies. Many local officials were present to wish the WRC teams their best on the coming season. Each team was introduced from the oldest to youngest. It was quite a sight to see with all of the various team colors.
After an extended break while the Rangers and Frederick Hustlers played, the Lions took the field for the final game of the day against the Hustlers. The Lions had lost the fire and aggressiveness that was present in the first game. As a result, they committed numerous routine errors that extended the innings and allowed the Hustlers more opportunities to score runs. The Lions remained in a coma for the middle portion of the game and finally came to life to mount a rally. The rally fell short with the Lions trailing as the final out was recorded. The Hustlers prevailed with a final score of 7-6.
Overall, it was a great outing for the young Lions. They proved that they could play and be competitive with the finest travel teams in the area. We came away with a number of areas of our game that we need to work on, and we learned a lot about playing as a team and getting used to the new chemistry with new players. The Lions are truly off to a great start!
Check out the Big Train!
Here are actual video clips of Walter Johnson pitching. Johnson won 417 games in the big leagues pitching for a really weak Washington Senators team. Of particular interest is his unconventional delivery.
