Saturday's two county championship game participants are on opposite ends of the historical baseball spectrum.
If you were to give Westminster an MLB comparison, it'd be the Yankees — a perennial contender, always finding a way to be in a competitive spot by season's end.
Francis Scott Key could be equivalent to the Cubs — a long drought without a championship, mostly mediocre seasons in the past decade.
The Owls have won eight county championships since 2002 (six outright). They've captured two state championships along the way in 2007 and the undefeated 2011 campaign.
The Eagles haven't won a county title since 2004. This year will be their first winning season since 2004 and their first without a losing record since 2006.
"We're not exactly the powerhouse in athletics, we're just kind of out in the end of the county, we're one of the smaller schools," FSK coach T.J. Murphy said. "Westminster, it seems like they're probably expecting to be there every year and we're the contender that just wants a shot at the title."
The two teams will play Saturday night at Taneytown Memorial Park at 7.
Westminster won five county championships in six seasons when it captured the title in 2013. The past two seasons, while the Owls have remained competitive, they fell short as South Carroll won the championship in both seasons.
For the past few seasons, Westminster had followed a similar formula to success — strong pitching and solid defense.
With seniors Brandon Martin and Justin Buberl and junior Justin Cotter, the Owls (13-3) again have had quality hurlers on the mound this year. That trio is a combined 10-2 with a 2.99 ERA.
But Westminster has also been hitting. Senior Robby Walsh leads the team with a .438 batting average and the Owls have seven players hitting .326 or higher.
"A lot of my seniors have been with me for three years, we've been a young team, and I think they really want to go out their senior year as county champions," Westminster coach Mark Winebrunner said.
FSK (13-4) has been one of the most surprising stories of the spring. The Eagles enter on a four-game winning streak after beating Westminster for the second time last Saturday.
Much like the Owls, FSK has had solid pitching and defense this season. The Eagles have the county's top two ERA leaders — seniors Camden Cregger (1.11) and Trent Copenhaver (1.71) — that combine with junior Luke Luckenbaugh for one of Carroll's top rotations.
"It's going to be a tight, well-played ballgame, and that's a reason why both of our teams are in this game," Murphy said. "We play good 'D,' we both have good pitching, we both have timely hitting. I think it does give us a little bit of confidence going in though since we have beat them twice, that definitely helps. But honestly, it's a one-game playoff, so you can kind of throw that out the window."
The Owls finished first in the Hersh Division and the Eagles placed atop the Cowan Division. Carroll County Athletic League rules state that the two division winners will face off to decide the county champion.
The game was originally scheduled to be played Friday at Manchester Valley, but it was moved to Saturday.
If the game would be rained out again on Saturday, it would be Monday at Taneytown Memorial Park at 7 p.m.
"Everybody's champing at the bit, indoor practices at this point in the season are kind of monotonous," Winebrunner said. "Being the game that it is, I think they're pretty focused and whenever they tell us to play, I think we'll be ready to play."
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If you go
What: Baseball county championship game
Who: Westminster (13-3) vs. Francis Scott Key (13-4)
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Manchester Valley High School
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