Baseball: Huskies Win Fourth Consecutive MAC Title

After losing in the quarterfinals of the state tournament Wednesday, the Huskies had to refocus the next day to take a shot at the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.

With a wacky schedule this week, toggling between the two tournaments, first-year Flint Hill baseball coach Tom Verbanic hoped the Huskies could bounce back Thursday from a tough loss. And they did, as they defeated Sidwell Friends 9-4 to earn the MAC title for the fourth consecutive year.

"I give our kids a lot of credit. I think they played great right from the start," Verbanic said. "We had a great warmup, and it just continued through the game."

The Huskies started strong. Rylan Grosh, senior, threw nine pitches to the minimum three batters in the first inning. The offense followed up with one run after a line-drive double from Michael Palma drove in David Belt, who had hit a double two batters earlier.

They pulled even further ahead in the second inning, scoring all four runs with two outs in the inning. James Abrahamsen started the two-out rally with a single, and he would end the game with three two-out hits in the game.

"I knew we had the top of the lineup coming up next. We're such a powerful, great-hitting team, I figured if I could just get it rolled over to the top of the lineup I knew something was going to happen," Abrahamsen said.

Calvin Baxter and Nick Bazzarone each notched an RBI, and Palma would add two more, in the second inning.

The Quakers did not score until the sixth inning, when Nick Fernandez hit an RBI single with two outs. With runners on first and third, Verbanic put in Brian Lutz to relieve Grosh, who had pitched five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings and gave up four hits — only one in the first five innings.

"Rylan pitched on two-days rest and he did a great job," Verbanic said. "Lutz came in and got a big strikeout for us in the sixth. Just good pitching today."

Grosh's impressive outing was backed by some stellar defense, most notably from center fielder Nick Bazzarone who saved three hits with diving catches. And with 13 hits from seven different batters, Verbanic was pleased with the way everyone contributed to the win.

"I told them that I think this was our best team win of the season," he said.

The Quakers threatened to make a comeback in the seventh, scoring three runs on two hits. After a pitching change pulled Bazzarone from center field to the mound, the Huskies ended the game with a groundout and a score of 9-4.

Verbanic looks back on the season and is pleased not just the MAC title, but the season as a whole

"I mean, 20 wins is the sign of a good season," he said. "I thought they accomplished quite a bit."

Huskies game stats:

Hits: James Abrahamsen (three singles), David Belt (triple, double), Michael Palma (double, double), Jared Knoll (double, single), Nick Bazzarone (two singles), Calvin Baxter (single), Bhendari Moore (single)
RBI: Palma (3), Knoll (2), Baxter (1), Bazzarone (1), Belt (1), Abrahamsen (1)