Playing Baseball

THE KIDS on the Arundel High School baseball team are playing nicely. It's the grown-ups who are causing trouble.Since she was seven, Becky Carlson, now 14, has been playing baseball with boys. Nobody has ever had a problem with that -- until now. All of a sudden, state and Anne Arundel County school athletic administrators are kicking up a stink over Becky, saying she ought to be playing girls' softball. Their argument: Federal regulations do not require that schools allow girls to play boys sports (and vice versa)

Matt Tilley hasn't had much free time outside of practice this year. In fact, Gilman baseball coach Larry Sheets said the senior has taken just two days off since August -- both between the football and basketball seasons and none between the basketball and baseball seasons. Such is the life of a three-sport athlete. And he hasn't just participated in football, basketball and baseball -- he has excelled in all three. He played wide receiver and free safety for the Gilman football team that won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference last fall, served as captain for the basketball team that was one win away from winning its second consecutive MIAA B Conference title in the winter and stars all over the field for the No. 10 Greyhounds in baseball.

Most kids growing up in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, have the same dream: to play shortstop for a major-league team. Orioles second baseman Manny Alexander was one of them."

Laurel Little League is offering fall baseball and softball programs. Fall ball is an instructional program that provides an opportunity to play organized baseball and softball during the fall season. The goal is to provide a fun experience for the players, help them develop and refine their baseball or softball skills and encourage their enjoyment of the game. Practices are once a week (probably Fridays) and games are played on Sunday afternoons. League age for baseball is player's age on April 30, 2011.

While watching Robert E. Smith III play pitcher or catcher for the Presstman Cardinals under-14 baseball team, Robert II, often wonders if his son knows the history of the uniform he wears.Or if he knows how 26 years ago his grandfather and former Negro League baseball player, Robert E. Smith I, dreamed up the concept of a team for city youngsters -- many of whom were the sons of former Negro League players.Or how grandfather picked the team mascot because of the manycardinals that perched daily on his car in front of the same house -- 3307 Presstman Street -- where the league's 66-year-old patriarch is convalescing from prostate cancer treatment.

Arthur RhodesWhat he would be doing if there were no strike: Rhodes, 25, had a strong inside track for a spot in the Orioles' rotation. He pulled himself together in his final starts before the strike.Where he is instead: Rhodes and his family live a couple of minutes from the Orioles' Twin Lakes training complex.How he's filling his time: Rhodes is throwing every day and lifting weights every other day. Sometimes he works out with Orioles outfielder Jack Voigt, sometimes with friends at Sarasota High School.

Name: Doug HamiltonHonored by The Carroll County Sun for: Going 6-for-16 with six runs batted in to help the Yankee Rebels, a baseball team for 15- and 16-year-olds out of Baltimore, win the Bob Bird Baseball Invitational in Detroit earlier this monthAge: 16Residence; hometown: ManchesterEducation: Senior at North Carroll High School in Hampstead; graduate of North Carroll Middle and Manchester ElementaryFamily: Mother: Linda, employed atBellmore Labs in...

The druggist, who always knows what's going on in sports, asked the question:"Have you heard about the Boys' Latin kid who's playing baseball in the major leagues?""Impossible!" snapped one of the druggist's companions. "A kid from Boys' Latin School? Playing on a major-league team? No way."Asked a third person: "Does Boys' Latin even have a baseball team?"Yes, Boys' Latin does have a baseball team, and on the south side of Lake Avenue, behind the lower school, it has a nice little ballpark, named for the late Joe Iglehart, a onetime part-owner of the Orioles and Yankees.

MARK SMITHCareer recordOutfielder was drafted in the first round as the ninth pick overall in 1991 out of Southern Cal. Has played at Triple-A Rochester for the past three seasons. Was called up to the major leagues for the first time May 11, 1994, after Jeffrey Hammonds went on the disabled list.Personal recordHis father, Doug, is a cancer surgeon in Southern California. Majored in public administration with a minor in business at USC. Born in Pasadena, Calif., and lives in Arcadia, Calif.

Poly senior Eric Jarkowski is a three-time Baltimore City tennis champion, but this year he decided to go out for the Engineers baseball team. Coach Corey Goodwin said it isn't unusual for seniors to try out for the first time but added that it is unusual for him to keep a senior on as a rookie. "I'm surprised. It's hard to give a senior who is out for the first time a place on the team over a freshman or a sophomore, who you know will be contributing for two or three more years," Goodwin said.

Archbishop Spalding junior first baseman Nick Freeberger sits on a dugout bench. The evening sun is shining on his boyish face, and he smiles. It has been a good day. He helped his No. 2 Cavaliers to victory with a three-run home run. That would be enough to make most high school baseball players grin, but there is more behind this display of happiness than a single game. To look at him now, no one would suspect that a little more than a month ago, screws were ground into his head for a halo to support a broken neck, and that the chances of his playing baseball this season or perhaps ever were in doubt.

Members of the lacrosse community recalled the former Naval Academy player killed in Afghanistan this week as a tough player who, with his teammate brothers, was a respected competitor. Brendan Looney, 29, a Silver Spring native, was among nine U.S. military personnel killed in a helicopter crash Tuesday in southern Afghanistan. He was a lieutenant in the Navy SEALs and a 2004 Naval Academy graduate, according to the Military Times website. "When you played the Naval Academy, you always felt the presence of the Looneys on the field," said former University of Maryland men's lacrosse coach Dave Cottle, who lives in Edgewater.

This is my story about Spring Training.

The Woodlawn Middle School gym, with its basketball hoops, scoreboards and banners touting school pride, served as a backdrop Saturday for a memorial service honoring Lonnie L. Hill III, a 13-year-old alumnus. About 300 mourners sat before tables filled with photos of a smiling Lonnie posing in various baseball stances, one in front of Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. "We are not in church, but we are having church right here," said Lonnie L. Hill Jr. "My son is not lost. He is in heaven." With words and soulful hymns, dozens of family, friends and teammates paid tribute to the boy who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean July 23 in South Carolina, while a attending a baseball tournament at the Ripken Experience complex in Myrtle Beach.

The Clark twins, Travis and Tyler, are described by Hammond baseball coach Mike Lerner as "dramatically" different from each other in personality, but quite similar in nature when it comes to baseball. "Travis is more boisterous, more vocal," says Lerner, "while Tyler is more reserved. But they both play the game with the same intensity and dedication." Tyler, a first baseman, is batting .353, with two doubles and two home runs, and has yet to strike out. Travis, a right-handed pitcher, is hitting .500, with four doubles, four home runs and is 2-0 on the mound with 16 strikeouts in 10 innings.

Chase Gardner played a big role in Harford Tech making it to yesterday's Class 1A state baseball final. The junior third baseman led the team with a .539 average heading into the state semifinals, where he went 2-for-4. Gardner says he feels fortunate just to be playing at all. He had to make a long recovery from an accident last summer, when he fell off a 3-foot ladder while working in a local retail store, breaking the right occipital bone in his head. He was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and, despite not having surgery, he couldn't do any physical activity for six months.

As a freshman at Wilde Lake in 2005, Josh Futter won four playoff games to lead the Wildecats to an improbable run to the Class 3A state title game. The senior pitcher-first baseman is hoping to close out his high school career in similar fashion. Futter is 4-1 with one save this season and an ERA under 2.00. He's batting .532 with 17 runs and 11 RBIs. Futter played football and basketball before focusing on baseball this year. He has accepted a scholarship to play at James Madison University and said he would like to turn pro some day. With a 3.14 grade-point average, Futter is considering a major in sports management at James Madison.