Metro League

It's Wednesday night at the Fallston Recreation Complex and the duelon the baseball diamond is a smoker. The 15-16 Fallston Cubs haven'tbeaten the 15-17 Forest Hill team in three attempts this season. Butthis night things are looking up for the Cubs. The score is deadlocked, 4-4, in the final inning.Forest Hill's Joe Reinhardt steps upto the plate to start the inning and clubs a single. Shawn Wheat follows with a grounder through the hole at second base, but the ball takes a funny bounce on the lip of the outfield grass and deflects to center field.

Area public school football teams start practices today for a season that will open with three restructured leagues. Baltimore County, addressing competitive imbalances of the past, has realigned its league into three divisions, from two. But Baltimore City's league has been condensed into two conferences, from four, also to create "more competitive balance and allow the newer schools to grow," said Bob Wade, the system's director of athletics....

Last summer, Rick Sapp and Jim Benner, head coaches of the Fallston Cubs 15-16 summer travel baseball team, entered the Cubs in the highly competitive Baltimore Metro League on Friday evenings.They wanted to see how the players would fare in such tough competition.The players, mostly 15-year-olds, surged through the one night a week, 10-game schedule, taking first place and advancing to the first round of the state tournament sponsored by the Maryland Amateur Baseball Congress (MABC).The experience last summer has paid dividends this season.

Hard luck should be Jason White's middle name.The former two-year All-County pitcher/first baseman at Chesapeake has had more than his share of misfortune the past couple of years. His most recent setback has him in North Arundel Hospital, where he underwent an operation to remove his appendix on Monday.Unfortunately for the 18-year-old left-hander, he won't be pitching or playing anymore this summer.In the final two years of his high school career at Chesapeake, White often pitched well enough to win against the top teams, such as Arundel and Old Mill, but his teammates often didn't score runs when he pitched.

And then there was one.Westminster will not field a team in the American Legion's Western Maryland District this season, leaving Mount Airy Post 191 as the only Carroll team remaining in the baseball league for players ages 16 to 18.Randy Biden, who coached the squad from 1987 until last year, said there were insufficient players to form the team this season.Legion officials said the lack of players also was responsible for the breakup of Taneytown's Legion team two years ago and the failure of Sykesville's post to start its own team around the same time.

Since entering the Baltimore Metro League two years ago, Carroll baseball squads have been solidly competitive in that loop, which fieldssome of the premier youth teams in the Baltimore area.But a local group of youth baseball officials wants to improve that showing andmake Carroll's teams synonymous with the best the Baltimore area canoffer.In September, it took the first step toward that goal by forming the Carroll County Amateur Baseball Club.The club's aim essentially is to provide the best coaching and the best competition to the county's best young baseball players.

After winning three consecutive Baltimore County recreation league titles with Cockeysville in 9-10 and 11-12 baseball, coach Keith Heaps wanted a new challenge. So, with players from Cockeysville and some others from around the metropolitan area, he took over the Putty Hill 13-14 team and joined the competitive Baltimore Metro Sophomore Baseball League."We knew that we would be respectable, but I never expected this," said Heaps."This" was the 13-14 National Amateur Federation World Series title won in Northville, Mich.

Baseball* 13-14 boys -- Brad Sunshine of Ellicott City was the only player from Howard County to make the Putty Hill travel team this season.But at last week's National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series in Northville, Mich., the 13-year-old reliever appeared in four games, adding a local flavor to the team's second consecutive national championship.Sunshine pitched two hitless innings to earn a save against Renton (Wash.) in the semifinal round.In all, Putty Hill (32-17, including 22-6 in the Baltimore Metro League)

It seems that Francis Scott Key middle infielder Dave Johnson can do no wrong these days.He's batting .474, has been moved into the No. 3 hitting position by coach Bob Caples, steals bases and plays superb defense at second base or shortstop.Johnson (5-foot-9, 141 pounds) is doing all he can to help the Eagles live up to early-season expectations.But it hasn't been easy with most of the other Key players off to sluggish starts."Dave Johnson and Dan Stephenson [pitcher and cleanup hitter] are carrying us," said Caples, whose team is off to a disappointing 2-4 start.

Hard luck should be Jason White's middle name.The former two-year All-County pitcher/first baseman at Chesapeake has had more than his share of misfortune the past couple of years. His most recent setback has him in North Arundel Hospital, where he underwent an operation to remove his appendix on Monday.Unfortunately for the 18-year-old left-hander, he won't be pitching or playing anymore this summer.In the final two years of his high school career at Chesapeake, White often pitched well enough to win against the top teams, such as Arundel and Old Mill, but his teammates often didn't score runs when he pitched.

It seems that Francis Scott Key middle infielder Dave Johnson can do no wrong these days.He's batting .474, has been moved into the No. 3 hitting position by coach Bob Caples, steals bases and plays superb defense at second base or shortstop.Johnson (5-foot-9, 141 pounds) is doing all he can to help the Eagles live up to early-season expectations.But it hasn't been easy with most of the other Key players off to sluggish starts."Dave Johnson and Dan Stephenson [pitcher and cleanup hitter] are carrying us," said Caples, whose team is off to a disappointing 2-4 start.

Baseball* 13-14 boys -- Brad Sunshine of Ellicott City was the only player from Howard County to make the Putty Hill travel team this season.But at last week's National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series in Northville, Mich., the 13-year-old reliever appeared in four games, adding a local flavor to the team's second consecutive national championship.Sunshine pitched two hitless innings to earn a save against Renton (Wash.) in the semifinal round.In all, Putty Hill (32-17, including 22-6 in the Baltimore Metro League)

After winning three consecutive Baltimore County recreation league titles with Cockeysville in 9-10 and 11-12 baseball, coach Keith Heaps wanted a new challenge. So, with players from Cockeysville and some others from around the metropolitan area, he took over the Putty Hill 13-14 team and joined the competitive Baltimore Metro Sophomore Baseball League."We knew that we would be respectable, but I never expected this," said Heaps."This" was the 13-14 National Amateur Federation World Series title won in Northville, Mich.

Last summer, Rick Sapp and Jim Benner, head coaches of the Fallston Cubs 15-16 summer travel baseball team, entered the Cubs in the highly competitive Baltimore Metro League on Friday evenings.They wanted to see how the players would fare in such tough competition.The players, mostly 15-year-olds, surged through the one night a week, 10-game schedule, taking first place and advancing to the first round of the state tournament sponsored by the Maryland Amateur Baseball Congress (MABC).The experience last summer has paid dividends this season.

And then there was one.Westminster will not field a team in the American Legion's Western Maryland District this season, leaving Mount Airy Post 191 as the only Carroll team remaining in the baseball league for players ages 16 to 18.Randy Biden, who coached the squad from 1987 until last year, said there were insufficient players to form the team this season.Legion officials said the lack of players also was responsible for the breakup of Taneytown's Legion team two years ago and the failure of Sykesville's post to start its own team around the same time.

Since entering the Baltimore Metro League two years ago, Carroll baseball squads have been solidly competitive in that loop, which fieldssome of the premier youth teams in the Baltimore area.But a local group of youth baseball officials wants to improve that showing andmake Carroll's teams synonymous with the best the Baltimore area canoffer.In September, it took the first step toward that goal by forming the Carroll County Amateur Baseball Club.The club's aim essentially is to provide the best coaching and the best competition to the county's best young baseball players.

Area public school football teams start practices today for a season that will open with three restructured leagues. Baltimore County, addressing competitive imbalances of the past, has realigned its league into three divisions, from two. But Baltimore City's league has been condensed into two conferences, from four, also to create "more competitive balance and allow the newer schools to grow," said Bob Wade, the system's director of athletics....

The under-14 Fallston-based Harford United Flash (20-2-2) won the Division I championship of the Washington Area Girls Soccer League last Sunday with a 1-0 victory over host Prince William (Va.) 79's and a 1-0 forfeit win over the Springfield (Va.) Legend.With 20 minutes remaining in the game against Prince William, inside halfback Haley DeLaurence converted a pass from right wing Karen Tiedemann for the game-winner.The Flash defense limited Prince William to three shots on keeper Tina Steck, all in the first half.

It's Wednesday night at the Fallston Recreation Complex and the duelon the baseball diamond is a smoker. The 15-16 Fallston Cubs haven'tbeaten the 15-17 Forest Hill team in three attempts this season. Butthis night things are looking up for the Cubs. The score is deadlocked, 4-4, in the final inning.Forest Hill's Joe Reinhardt steps upto the plate to start the inning and clubs a single. Shawn Wheat follows with a grounder through the hole at second base, but the ball takes a funny bounce on the lip of the outfield grass and deflects to center field.