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Looking Back at 2015

January 14, 2016

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By Jerry Shank
Maryland Scouting Director

Just over one-year ago, PBR Maryland began our high school baseball coverage in the Old Line State. It was a tremendous success and we cannot thank you enough for the support. 2015 saw outstanding story lines with Archbishop Spalding repeating as champions in the MIAA “A” and the emergence of Ljay Newsome into a 26th Rd. draft pick in last June’s MLB amateur draft. We saw Georgetown Prep reclaim the crown of the IAC, Southern repeat as 2A state champs, Chopticon’s impressive playoff run culminating with a 3A championship, and Gaithersburg taking claim of their first 4A title. Not to mention the dominant performance of Brunswick en route to the 1A championship, and St. Mary’s repeating as MIAA “B” champs.

In 2015 we had the emergence of many talented players across the state. On the mound there was Anthony Felitti leading Gaithersburg to their championship, top left-handed pitchers Tyler Blohm and Jaret Bennett  and the development of RHP Brandon Martin. Position players Ryan Brown, Brian Dempsey, DaVonn Griffin, Michael Richardson, Charles Tsintolas, and Bryce Rogers-Black all became highly sought after talents with their impressive playing over the course of the year just to name a few.

2015 also saw the breakout of the talent of the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland. The Eastern Shore has a great crop of talent that jumped onto the PBR Maryland scene in 2015 ranging from the talents in the 2015 class with Hunter Parsons, Grant Donahue, Justin Meekins, and Brady Shreeves, to the bright future that will continue to shine with the talents in the 2017 and 2018 class such as Zachary Adams, Grant Burleson, Jared Hancock, Cade Hurley, Tyson Johnson, Tristan McDonough, Connor Shockley, and Grason Winterbottom to name a few.

There were many great games in 2015 that I had the pleasure of seeing in person. The fans voted on the Southern v. South Carroll 2A state semi-final as the game of the year and it was well deserved. An exciting atmosphere with a full stadium at Montgomery Blair HS and both teams giving their all throughout the game. Another game that stuck in my mind was the 3A state championship between Chopticon and Mount Hebron. The pitcher’s duel between Ljay Newsome (Chopticon) and Mark Smith (Mount Hebron) was one for the ages.

All-in-all it was a fantastic first year for Prep Baseball Report Maryland. Now we can finish this chapter and look forward to 2016. Be on the lookout as we will soon begin to release the Preseason All-State Teams, the Preseason Team Rankings, and Team Previews for the upcoming high school season. We also are finalizing our spring and summer event schedule so be on the lookout for a PBR Maryland event near you.  Good luck to all on the diamond.

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