Newcomers: EllisDiaz, jr., LF; Eric England, jr., OF; Tim Spies, jr., IF; Joe Cherico, jr., OF; Joe Smith, jr., 1B; Chris James, so., SS/P; Tony Forte, so., 2B.
Coach's outlook: "Everybody says we've got the best pitching in the county, and I think we can score a lot of runs. I really can't see us losing if we play up to our potential. Joppatowne did beatus and that's to their credit. But I see us having a really nice year."
Harford County Sun's outlook: Tyree, who took over when Steve Williams transferred to Aberdeen, has inherited a solid nucleus of players. The Rams have the best pitcher in the league in Greason, a lefty who came on in relief in each of Edgewood's first three games. He didn't give up a run and struck out 15 in seven innings pitched. Greason is also one of the Rams' top hitters. He and Coons both hit over .400 last year and knocked in 36 runs between them. Barnes, the squad's power hitter, batted .386, and Anderson and Watchinsky should alsohit well. Defensively, the Rams look strong, especially with Coons in center field, where he can make up for any mistakes up the middle of the infield. The Rams also have a lot of speed and will be a threaton the base paths.
HARFORD TECH COBRAS
Coach: Fred Gradishar, second season.
Assistants: Gary Siler, Brad Osborne.
Last year's record: 1-12.
Starters lost: 5.
Returnees: Richie Garcia, jr., 2B/P; Alan McMillan, sr., 1B/P/CF; Josh Michaels, sr., 2B/OF/P; Jim Townsend, sr., OF; Matt Watson, sr., SS/P.
Newcomers: Billy Berger, fr., OF; Ramel Dennis, fr., OF; Chris Pollit, fr., C/1B; Tye Wells, fr., OF; Ray Johnson, jr., C/1B; Eddie Haroll, fr., OF/2B; Ryan Hall, jr., OF.
Coach's outlook: "Our returning players are all experienced baseball players, and Dietz and Johnson are also pretty good. Of the others, most are freshmen, and they just don't have a lot of experience. I have hopes for them in other years. This year, they're just going to have to do the job. By playing against varsity teams, they'll get experience and they'll get better."
Harford County Sun's outlook: The Cobras play an independent schedule that's a little kinder to them than a Harford County schedule would be. Next year, however, they will play every team in the county once. Gradishar thinks that may be a little too soon for his young team, but he is hoping to be competitive in a few years. The Cobras have a decent defense and some solid offense in Michaels, Watson and Dennis. But they have a lot of other problems because of inexperience. On the mound, the Cobras will use five different players, none of whom has been pitching for long. This year, Gradishar's goal is simple. He's just looking for some consistency from his squad, a sign that they could be competitive in thenext two or three years.
JOHN CARROLL PATRIOTS
Coach: Al Ward, third season.
Assistants: Butch Mainolfi, Kevin Smith, Eddie Fuller.
Last year's record: 2-15.
Starters lost: 3.
Returnees: Caleb Brown, sr., P/OF; Jake Hollin, sr., C; Kevin Hook, sr., 3B; Bob Rossi, sr., P/IF; Paul Sabella, sr., C/OF; Bryan Schiller, sr., OF; Manny Sidhu, sr., P/IF; Greg Webster, sr., 1B; David Ishmael, jr., P/OF; Geoff Pickett, jr., 2B.
Newcomers: David Davis, jr., OF; Michael Marquette, sr., IF; Rick McElroy, so., P/IF; Seth Rigler, jr., 1B; TomScannell, sr., OF; John Schab, jr., P/OF; Brian Vollmer, so., P/C; Troy Walters, jr., P/IF.
Coach's outlook: "I'm almost positive we can do better than last year. Once the pitching comes around, I think we're going to have a nice little ballclub. Last year, we started outwith not one pitcher on the team who had thrown one pitch on the varsity level. This year, we have five."
Harford County Sun's outlook: Ward has eight potential pitchers on this squad, so he can always put someone on the mound who can throw strikes. Brown, Rossi, Sidhu and Ishmael all pitched last year, so they have valuable varsity experience. The Patriots lost their first two games to C. Milton Wright andBel Air, but Ward expects the squad to get better as the season progresses. The starting infield is young but experienced, and the outfield is extremely quick. Brown leads the offense, going 5-7 with two doubles and a triple in the first two games, but Ward expects the rest of the bats to start booming now that they have warmed up.
JOPPATOWNEMARINERS
Coach: Al Zelinski, 10th season.
Assistants: Rick Eney, Len Bivens.
Last year's record: 10-9.
Starters lost: none.
Returnees: Greg Smith, sr., C; Dan Foxwell, sr., 1B; J.P. Lilliston, sr., 2B; Tim Miller, sr., SS; Cable Miller, so., 3B/P; Bill Pilkerton, sr., OF/P; Don Thomas, sr., OF/P; Damon Davies, sr., OF/P; Brett Gilbert, sr., OF; Chris Weber, jr., OF; Sean Ward, jr., P/1B.
Newcomers: Chuck Hunter, so., OF/P; Jason Boswell, jr., OF; Cornelius Barmer, jr., C.
