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ALLMETSPORTS.COM
A choice that comes with a catch
Some coaches empower their catchers to call pitches; others say it’s too much to ask
by Jason Mackey
and Katie Carrera
Chelsea Ziegler was a fresh-
man at Hylton last spring when she became the team’s starting catcher. From 2003-06, the Bull- dogs’ veteran backstop, Sarah Hi- man, called every game for Hyl- ton’s pitching staff, but after she graduated Coach Harry Bell thought it would be better for him to perform the task rather than lump that responsibility on his catchers. Halfway through the 2009 sea- son, however, Ziegler ap- proached Bell and asked to call pitches. She and pitcher Kris Braxton had worked together previously on a travel team and Ziegler knew what her battery mate liked to throw against cer- tain hitters or in a particular count. “I’ve always called my own pitches,” said Ziegler, who was eventually given the latitude to call games. “I like pitch-calling the best, and I feel like it puts me in control. That way I know what’s going to happen.” Ziegler is not alone among high school catchers with the de- sire to take on the pressure of calling pitches. Across the area, however, coaches vary in opin- ions and practice, from those who believe a confident catcher running the game is crucial to success and increasing a team’s knowledge of the sport to others who question a player’s ability to handle the influx of information
needed to make instantaneous decisions and rarely consider let- ting them having that much con- trol over a contest. For two-time defending Mary- land 3A champion Northern, catchers are expected to learn the art of calling pitches. Junior Elisa Orlandi, in her first year starting for the Patriots, has experience calling for travel teams. She and her backup, freshman Kristina Lozupone, are given the leeway to make mistakes and adjust. “It is something of a trial and error process,” said Robert Earl Radford, who is in his sixth year as head coach but has run travel programs since 1993. “You might give up a run here or there when a catcher is learning, but they have a special relationship with a pitcher. They’re in the best posi- tion to know what pitches are working or make an assessment once the game begins. “We talk about strategies be- fore each game,” Radford said, “but I try to challenge our catch- ers and pitchers to come up with their own plan of how to best at- tack a lineup.” Chesapeake Coach Don Ellen-
berger estimated that he may have called a dozen pitches in special circumstances last sea- son, but hasn’t interjected once this spring for junior catcher Gabby Couture. Over his nine years and pair of Maryland 4A championships, he has called pitches only during his first sea- son. Ellenberger prefers that players run the show and cites an increase in maturity and stron-
ger sense of ownership of the program that develops as they’re entrusted with the assignment. As with many schools, Chesa-
peake has benefited from the growing number of players par- ticipating in travel leagues. The added experience has helped make pitch-calling become a more natural skill.
“Kids are so well-coached now coming up through the youth leagues and playing travel ball, they know the game,” said Lou- doun Valley Coach Joe Spicer, who has a career record of 292-73 during his 17 seasons and is par- tial to catchers calling their own pitches. However, not all coaches are ready to leave the decisions up to their players. Briar Woods Coach Jennifer Traina spent eight years pitching at Loudoun Valley and Longwood University. After hav- ing her catcher call pitches for her in high school, Traina’s col- lege coach opted for the opposite. Now, Traina insists on doing the pitch-calling herself, com- fortable that her staff ’s scouting reports provide a unique advan- tage. She also prefers that her catcher, junior Jillian Olson, fo- cus on the play at hand and sim- ply receive the ball properly. “She doesn’t have to worry about thinking, she just has to catch the ball and know where the play is,” Traina said. “And she’s cool with that, because if I call a pitch and it gets jacked out of the park, that’s on me.” Traina also doesn’t like the idea of sharing those scouting re-
IAC LACROSSE
Bears rally to complete a triumphant day
Third-ranked visitors
LANDON
top No. 1 Little Hoyas after trailing by five
by Christian Swezey
The importance to Landon of
RICHARD A. LIPSKI FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Landon starting pitcher Jack Falvey has something to yell about after the Bears turn a 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth inning.
IAC BASEBALL
Colgain’s big squeeze puts Landon on top
by Josh Barr
Standing 6 feet 4 and batting third as his team’s designated hitter, Landon junior Kyle Col- gain is relied on to produce key hits and drive in runs. On Saturday afternoon, how-
ever, the situation dictated that Colgain deliver with a deftly placed bunt. With the score tied, one out in the top of the eighth inning and runners on second and third, Coach Drew Johnson relayed the sign for a squeeze bunt. “I was trying to be as non- chalant as possible,” said Col- gain, who earlier had a run- scoring single. “I just had to do the job.”
With teammate Keegan Do-
lan charging in from third base on the pitch, Colgain’s bunt toward the first-base side was successful, scoring Dolan with the tie-breaking run and lifting visiting Landon to a 6-5 victory over St. Albans in the champi- onship game of the Interstate Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
Because the IAC determines its champion based on a combi- nation of regular season and postseason tournament finish, Landon and St. Albans will share the league title. While that was disappointing for St. Albans (20-13), which was undefeated in IAC play dur- ing the regular season and won at least a share of the league ti- tle for the fourth consecutive year, it was thrilling for Lan- don. Upon recording the game’s final out, the Bears’ reserves stormed the field as several players threw their gloves high in the air. “It’s an honor for us to share it with them, to be honest,”
LANDON
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ST. ALBANS
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Shutting it down: Landon pitcher
Jonathan Lewyckyj came on in relief with the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth and pitched three scoreless innings, getting out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh with a double-play ground ball. Up next: St. Albans will play Georgetown Day on Monday in a qualifier for the Congressional Bank Classic that will be held May 29 at Nationals Park.
Johnson said. Both teams scored twice in
the first inning, but Landon scored again in the second and did not relinquish the lead until the bottom of the sixth, when Justin Coulter’s dramatic two- run home run to center field tied it, 5-5. Having edged Georgetown
Prep, 2-1, in a rain-delayed semifinal that finished earlier Saturday, Landon (19-8) again found a way to manufacture a run in its final at-bat. Dolan walked to lead off the eighth, then Cal Richards beat out an infield single to third base. Both runners advanced on a delayed double steal. With the count 3-1, Johnson put on the squeeze bunt, expecting the pitcher to throw the ball down the middle of the plate to avoid walking Colgain. While Colgain was thrown out at first on the play, his job was done as Dolan touched home plate.
“I just tried to show it as late as possible, not give anything away if they were expecting it,” Colgain said. “We work on do- ing that so much in practice.”
barrj@washpost.com
the Interstate Athletic Confer- ence lacrosse tournament cham- pionship Saturday at Georgetown Prep was evident with about three minutes to play. Then, sev- eral members of Landon’s base- ball team, fresh off a win that clinched a share of the IAC base- ball title, arrived still in uniform to cheer on the lacrosse team. In what has been a rough cou- ple weeks at Landon — ever since one of its graduates, George Huguely, a lacrosse player at Vir- ginia, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Virginia women’s player Yeardley Love — the school final- ly had a good all-around day. The third-ranked lacrosse team came back from an early five-goal deficit to defeat host and top- ranked Georgetown Prep, 9-8. The Bears (17-4) and Little
Hoyas (18-4) shared the IAC title after Georgetown Prep won the regular season crown. Landon’s players and Coach Rob Bordley were not made avail- able after the game. But Neil Phil- lips, head of the upper school and a Landon graduate, said the vic- tory meant quite a lot to the com- munity. “This has been a tough stretch,” Phillips said. “Both for our school
CREW
St. Albans comes up three seconds short of a title
by Jeff Greer
philadelphia — It took the St. Albans’ boys’ first eight a moment to finally smile. In that noticeable pause after their boat first arrived at the finish line, the rowers sat si- lently in their racing shell as it gently floated on the surface of the Schuylkill River. The sheer disappointment of losing the cov- eted Stotesbury Cup by just three seconds showed on the rowers’ dejected faces. There would be no trophy, no pomp and circumstance, no flow- ers — just a hearty handshake and some silver medals. Unlike the first-place finishers, the St. Al- bans rowers didn’t even get to step off their boat for a team pic- ture on the dock, which was sur- rounded by hordes of raucous rowing fans from across the East- ern seaboard.
Standing alone on the dock, St. Albans Coach Ted Haley reached out and congratulated each of his
Quick turnaround: Schools from
both the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association and Virginia will take to the Anacostia River and Occoquan Reservoir, respectively, to decide their champions next Saturday. Rowing coaches around the area can only hope that the exhaustion from this event will subside quickly. Their title hopes depend on it..
rowers as they waited for their medals. The sight of Haley finally got the crushed high schoolers to grin. After all, the St. Albans row- ers had just won silver medals at the oldest and largest high school rowing regatta in the United States, which saw 39 D.C.-area crews compete Saturday. The fact that they even made the finals was a feat of its own. St. Albans hadn’t raced in the prestigious, highly competitive boys’ first eight finals since 2007, and only one other Washington- area school, Gonzaga, reached the
finals in the previous two years. “You know, it’s an honor to be a medalist and even just a finalist,” said Haley, whose team lost to St. Joseph’s Prep, a Philadelphia- based rowing powerhouse. “It takes a lot to get here. And [St. Jo- seph’s Prep] is one of the top- notch crews in the country, and just to be a part of this is awe- some.”
But Haley acknowledged the
great amount of emotional en- ergy that his team expended at this expansive, marathon-like re- gatta that starts Friday morning and goes until dinnertime Satur- day night. His team, which has been the boat to beat in the D.C. area this spring, now has to re- group for the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association champion- ships next weekend, which were postponed because of dangerous conditions May 8. For now, Haley said his team will need some time to gather it- self and “take a deep breath.” It won’t be easy to forget Saturday’s
race. “It’s hard to reload after a
weekend like this,” Haley said, adding that the Scholastic Row- ing Athletic Association regatta is in two weeks in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “I’m not anticipating any sort of letdown, but we’ll need to decompress. These guys really wanted to win this.” Haley found some consolation in his boys’ second eight, which placed second in that event’s fi- nals. And St. Albans’s sister school, National Cathedral, placed third in the girls’ second eight, behind T.C. Williams. Other crews found similar suc- cess on the Schuylkill. Wood- bridge’s boys’ lightweight eight and McLean’s girls’ lightweight eight each won bronze medals. “This is a home-field advan-
tage” for the other crews racing, McLean Girls’ Coach Chris Gor- don said. “So, for an out-of-town crew like us to do so well, it’s great.”
greerj@washpost.com
MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Will Joyce makes a first-half save in Landon’s victory in the tournament final. He made five of his 15 saves in the fourth quarter.
and for a lot of folks beyond our school. . . . But a moment like this is great for the kids. They have been working hard to get back to normal, or as close to normal as they can.” Georgetown Prep led 5-0 fol-
lowing a goal by senior Bobby Gribbin with 9 minutes 49 sec- onds left in the first half. To that point, the Bears had seven shots and seven turnovers.
But the Bears tied the score at 5 with 9:59 left in the third quarter
9
8
Stopper: “The difference was their goalie,” Georgetown Prep Coach Kevin Giblin said of Will Joyce. “We outshot them, but he made 15 saves. . . . I think it’s time that, as a league, we make the tournament count for everything. But for now, I’m glad it doesn’t and that we get a share of the championship.”
Some consolation: George Huguely
remains on the minds of everyone at Landon. “We’re going to be immersed in sadness for a long time,” said Neil Phillips, head of the upper school. “That type of pain doesn’t get relieved by winning a lacrosse game. But it’s a good feeling and I’m happy for the team.”
after senior Wes Lincoln won a faceoff and scored a few seconds later. They took the lead for good on a goal by senior Austin Dod- son with 6.1 seconds left in the quarter for a 7-6 lead. From there, the defense took
over. Senior Will Joyce made five saves in the fourth quarter and finished with 15. The Little Hoyas closed to 9-8 on a goal by senior Michael Pirone with 40 seconds left, but Landon junior Justin Murphy won the ensuing faceoff and the Bears ran out the clock. Seniors Harrison Archer and
Jimmy Sloan each scored two goals for Landon. Senior Pat Glading had two goals for Georgetown Prep.
swezeyc72@yahoo.com
ports with her catcher out of con- cern that they might start think- ing too much.
“I know some coaches will do research and then tell the catch- ers, but if you’re 16 and you’re in a tight game, are you going to be able to remember a sheet of pa- per?” Traina continued. “That’s like studying for a test every game.”
South County Coach Al
Thompson prefers to have assis- tant coach Gary Dillow call pitch- es for All-Met pitcher Chelsey Dunham, although the Yale- bound Dunham has final veto power. “I need to have confidence the pitch is going to work,” she said. “If I don’t feel that it will, that’s what causes me problems.” Thompson and his staff will
watch opposing hitters during batting practice to see where their feet are positioned and where they hold their hands — tendencies that are only truly un- derstood, Thompson believes, af- ter years of experience. “The coaching staff is better prepared [to deal] with what the other team is bringing,” Thomp- son said. “It doesn’t take me long to size up another team, but the catcher, being a teenage girl, typ- ically can’t make those guesses.” Some of the area’s veteran coaches worry that calling pitch- es for their catchers removes the teaching element from their job description. Longtime O’Connell Coach Tommy Orndorff prefers that his catchers call their own pitches and tries to educate them on what to look for to do so suc-
SUNDAY,MAY 16, 2010
Who’s your player of the week?
Go online to submit photos for your nomination for Play- er of the Week in baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse. Vote for your favorite.
TRACY A. WOODWARD/THE WASHINGTON POST
South County’s Chelsey Dunham has her pitches selected by an assistant coach who has years of experience in making the right call.
cessfully. During spring practices, Orn-
dorff spends a significant chunk of time holed up in a classroom with his catchers. In those ses- sions Orndorff whips out dia- grams of hitters’ swings, com- plete with spray charts and what he looks for to assess a player’s swing. Then he conveys which pitch he thinks would work best to thwart all of that, hopefully in an effort to help his catchers better
understand the sport. “As both an athletic adminis-
trator and a coach for 40 years now, I feel that there’s not enough teaching going on . . . in all sports,” Orndorff said. “If you’re calling the game from the side and trying to teach why cer- tain pitches are called, that’s fine. But if the catcher is capable of calling the game, I’m of the belief that she should be doing that.”
mackeyj@washpost.com carrerak@washpost.com
GEORGETOWN PREP
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