Northern Virginia held off the Oriolelanders, 7-3, Sunday night at Joe Cannon Stadium in Harmans to win the Mid-Atlantic Fall Baseball Tournament.
Faced with having to win six games in two days, the host Oriolelanders, a team of high school all-stars selected by Baltimore Orioles scouting supervisor Jim Gilbert, fell a game short.
Sponsored by the Baltimore Orioles and Frederick Keys, the double-elimination tournament brought together eight high school-age all-star teams from four states and was played in Anne Arundel County Friday through Sunday.
Northern Virginia was the only unbeaten team (3-0) going into Sunday's games and needed one win over the Oriolelanders, who had won five in a row in the loser's bracket on Saturday and Sunday.
The Oriolelanders' fifth win was a 10-2 victory over Northern Virginia in the first game of the finals with right-hander Brendan Sullivan (St. Alban's, D.C.) posting the win.
In Friday's opening game at Northeast High, the Oriolelanders were upset by Chaney Enterprises of Charles County, 8-7, but bounced back Saturday morning to start their string of five straight wins.
The Oriolelanders' first victim was the youngest team in the tournament, the Little Orioles of Anne Arundel County, who were humbled, 15-0. The Sun's 1992 High School Baseball Player of the Year, Kenny Cloude (McDonogh School), and Larry Marino (Calvert Hall) homered for the winners.
The Oriolelanders then eliminated Chaney, 18-2. Left-hander Jason Hackett (Caravel Academy, Del.) got the win, and outfielder Jamie Coons (Edgewood) hit two home runs.
Harrisburg, Pa., was the Oriolelanders third victim Saturday, 15-4. Right-hander Joe Canady (Chancellor High, Fredericksburg, Va.), who has accepted a scholarship to the University of Virginia, got the win.
Outfielder Dan Olson (Cape May, N.J.) and first baseman Tim Giles (Arundel) belted back-to-back 400-foot-plus home runs at Northeast High against Harrisburg.
In the first game Sunday at Arundel High in Gambrills, the Oriolelanders blanked Adams County, Pa., 10-0, behind All-Metro left-hander Brian Matz (Calvert Hall).
Northern Virginia moved into the finals by winning its first three games, starting with a 16-6 romp over the Little Orioles Friday night. Tom Golden was 5-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBI.
L. J. Yankosky was the winner in the second game, a 10-2 win over Chaney. An 8-0 win over Adams County put Northern Virginia in Sunday's final.