Who has the best high school baseball team in Carroll County this season?

That is a very tough call.

The defending champion Westminster Owls have lost eight starters, and always tough South Carroll still is facing some uncertainty in the pitching department.

That would seem to put last season's runner-up, North Carroll, in the best position to win it this season since the Panthers have settled on three strong pitchers, are strong on defense and have good speed.

But North Carroll might not have enough hitting to carry it to a first-place finish.

Making the whole situation more clouded is the fact that the best team in the county just might be Francis Scott Key, and it doesn't play enough games against county teams to qualify for the title.

Carroll Christian

The Carroll Christian Academy Patriots will have a new look this season in more ways than one.

They not only will have new red, white and blue uniforms, but will be playing a tough independent schedule after dropping out of the Mason-Dixon Christian Conference.

"It was just too far for us to travel to play Mason-Dixon teams," said Randy Peterson, Carroll Christian athletic director and baseball coach. "That league was spread out to towns farther west than Cumberland. Now we hope to get in a baseball league closer to home."

In the meantime, the Patriots have been forced to play such renowned Christian powers as Riverdale Baptist of Upper Marlboro and Chapelgate, which is located south of Frederick.

Also, the Carroll Christian baseball team will take on Cumberland Valley (Pa.), the defending Mason-Dixon Christian Conference champions, and Arlington Baptist.

The Patriots will look to improve on a 7-5 record, though they have lost last season's most valuable player, Kevin Ash, a shortstop and pitcher, and power-hitting first baseman Shiloh Mitchell.

Peterson said Carroll Christian will play a different brand of baseball.

"We won't have as much power [Mitchell hit five home runs last season] but we have a lot of good contact hitters and team speed," he said. "We'll run. I think almost everybody on the team is capable of stealing."

Junior shortstop and pitcher Matt Good and sophomore catcher Chip Leonard will be the top players.

Good hit .400 as a sophomore and is called the best all-around player on the team by Peterson. "He's a good athlete. He was a starter on the basketball team and is the kind of player you like to have around."

Leonard already has won the catcher's job, replacing Matt Greenstreet who has graduated. Greenstreet, Ash, Mitchell and

third baseman Danny Grove are the four starters gone from last season.

One of the top newcomers is senior Josh Brethauer, a transfer from North Carroll who will start at second or third base. Another transfer is sophomore infielder Jason Cain, who comes from Westminster High.

Peterson is also high on freshman pitcher Casey Davis, who was a standout in Little League and Babe Ruth competition. "Casey is a good contact hitter and sprays the ball around in addition to being a good pitching prospect," said the coach.

Senior Ryan Martin returns as the team's center fielder after hitting .315 last season, and junior Ben Lieb again will be in left field with his outstanding defensive ability and strong arm.

Three freshmen (Matt Arnold, Greg Koontz, Austin Lankford) and three sophomores (Steve Rill, Chris Darling, Tim Abbott) comprise the rest of the team.

Arnold hit .350 in junior high last season, and Rill has the kind of speed the Patriots will feature.

"Our goal is to play .500 baseball or better," said Peterson. "With our tough schedule, that is a lofty goal."

Francis Scott Key

This is a team on the move, and the roadblock to the state 1A

tournament continues to be Brunswick.

Last season, Francis Scott Key overcame a carnival atmosphere in the semifinals to get a shot at Brunswick in the 1A region final at Dundalk Community College.

The Railroaders ousted the Eagles, 5-1, to advance to the states, but Key believes it has caught up to Brunswick in talent and desperately wants another chance.

To help ensure that opportunity to meet Brunswick in the region final, Key wants the home-field advantage in the semifinals. The Eagles don't want to risk traveling to another site such as Clifton Park, where they played Dunbar last season and were fortunate to escape with a 7-4 victory.

Key and Dunbar had to contend with distractions in center field, youngsters riding bikes across the field and a few unruly spectators.

"It was a challenge to play there," said Key coach Bob Caples. "This year our goal is to win 12-13 games and have the home seed for the regionals. That is an attainable goal for us. Winning the Monocacy Valley League title would be nice, but it is one of the best high school baseball leagues in the state and it would be tough to win that championship."

The main reason for all the optimism around Key is the return of six starters from last season's 10-10 squad.

The entire Key infield is back, including power-hitting junior first baseman Joey Brooks, who is considered one of the county's top players.

Brooks (6 feet, 185) hit .290 last season, drove in 10 runs and slammed one long home run as a sophomore.

Bigger and better things are expected from Brooks, who is stronger than he was last season.

Brooks, a left-hander, will pitch in addition to his first-base duties. He was a reliever last season, when the Eagles were stacked with talented starters John Engel and Jason Smith.

Engel and Smith have graduated, giving Brooks a chance to be a starter.

The other starting infielders returning are junior second baseman David Johnson, senior shortstop Kyle Stephenson and senior third baseman Matt Haines.

Johnson hit .310 last season, Haines .291.

Caples said Johnson is a treat to watch in the infield because he "has good hands, good concentration and is intelligent."

The other starters back are senior catcher Erin Brilhart and senior center fielder Jon Crooks.

Two seniors who didn't start last season return: reliever Marty Kelly and outfielder/designated runner Jesse Haas.

And there's more talent on the horizon in six juniors who are playing their first season. They are first baseman/pitcher Daniel Stephenson, outfielder and basketball star Topher Casserly, second baseman Chris Hild, catcher Greg Bowers, pitcher/designated hitter John Frech and outfielder Jason Dykes.

Another newcomer is senior Brian Boese, who will play shortstop and pitch.

"I would say we're very optimistic," said Caples. "We're going to be an aggressive team and make things happen. The only uncertainty is our pitching."

Liberty

Maybe first-year Liberty coach Stephen Insley is trying to lull the opposition to sleep.

Or he just might be telling the truth.

Whatever, Insley has made a rare pre-season comment for any coach of any sport at any level.

"We're in for a long year," Insley said as he looked over his roster that must compete against the likes of Westminster, North Carroll, South Carroll, Thomas Johnson and Frederick.

Could it be Insley isn't aware of the usual hype that most high school coaches hand out in pre-season assessments of their teams?

In other words, a team that has very little talent, speed or experience can be made to look like a contender by the time some coaches are done talking.

Insley didn't play that game, though he has one of the top players in the county returning.

The star attraction will be senior first baseman Josh Gursky, who came close to making first-team All-Carroll County last season with a strong bat, good glove and fiery leadership.

Gursky is coming off a super soccer season and an outstanding senior basketball year. He was the first-team All-Metro goalkeeper in soccer and Liberty's main threat inside in basketball.

"I'd like to have a lot more Josh Gurskys around," said Insley. "He's my leader and a heck of a player. He'll keep the team up no matter how many games we win."

Liberty finished last in the county last season and lost two outstanding hitters from that squad, outfielders Doug Coppeler and Mike Davidson.

Two standout infielders, Mike McGinnis and Bob Bowman, also have departed.

Except for Gursky, the name players just aren't around for Insley.

Providing a supporting cast for Gursky will be junior shortstop Jon Barnowski, junior right-hander and center fielder Chris Devins, senior catcher Danny Boone, junior right-hander Eric Eldridge and senior second baseman Keith Bowen.

Devins appears to have won the No. 1 pitching job, with Eldridge No. 2.

According to Insley, Devins is a 6-foot-1 power pitcher and Eldridge relies on good location and keeping the ball down . Eldridge transferred from Archbishop Curley, where he was 0-2 last season but pitched in bad luck.

The Lions coach is expecting Barnowski to provide speed, hitting and defense for the team. Insley will bat Barnowski in the ++ 2nd or 3rd spot and hope he is on base a lot for Gursky.

"We're not a real strong team and we're very young," said Insley. "We have some good young talent who could help make us competitive some time in the future."

That isn't exactly the kind of talk that will make fans watch Liberty play. But Gursky is there, and he has a way of making good things happen in any sport he plays.

North Carroll

Don't look for North Carroll to bowl anybody over with sheer power at the plate or overpowering pitching.

But there is talent, speed and hustle spread throughout the lineup to go along with some decent pitching.

It was basically that same combination last season that enabled the Panthers to make a strong run for the county championship and the Central Maryland Conference title.

Veteran coach Randy Clark pushed all the right buttons for North Carroll last season but he elected to become an assistant principal at South Carroll this school year.

Denny Snyder, who coached the Panthers' junior varsity team last season, has taken over the varsity and would love to finish the job Clark started last season.

"I feel good about everything," said Snyder. "We have speed and four pitching arms to use. Every year you go into a season with confidence, but I'd say this is more than the usual amount of confidence for our varsity."

Junior left-hander Mike Huller figures to be the pitching ace.

"He's one of the top pitchers in the county," said Snyder. "He has good velocity, good control and is composed when he is on. We're expecting big things out of him."

The other top pitcher will most likely be senior right-hander Sam Dougherty, who has a chance to emerge from the shadows of last season's two aces, Kevin Dull and Donnie Hudgins, who have graduated.

Senior right-handers Kris Heefner and Randy Meekins should see some action on the mound.

The top two speed players are senior center fielder Art Crouse and senior shortstop Eric Wright. Both are superb defensively and will be looking to steal bases.

Crouse made one of the most scintillating defensive plays of last season at Westminster, when he turned his back to the infield and raced into left-center to make a spectacular running catch.

Other key starters for North Carroll this season are juniors: catcher Drew Dean, second baseman Jason Tawney and outfielder Jason Hann.

Sophomore Jason Bresler will alternate between third base and the outfield, depending on who is pitching.

When Huller is pitching, Bresler will play the outfield, and he will be at third base when Dougherty is on the mound.

Dougherty will be at third when he isn't pitching, Heefner will play first when he isn't on the mound, and Huller is set for first base when he doesn't pitch.

So Snyder seems to have all the bases covered in his first varsity season.

Now all the Panthers have to do is avoid the type of late-season pitching slump that ruined their title hopes last season.

South Carroll

No one had to look too far to discover why South Carroll failed to win a fourth straight county championship last spring.

The Cavaliers scored seven runs a game but gave up 7.4, as the pitching and defense came unglued.

South Carroll pitchers had a lofty 5.50 ERA, and errors gave away another 1.9 runs a game.

That allowed Westminster to return to the top of the pack in the county and North Carroll to slip past South Carroll into second place.

Now Cavaliers coach Joe Foltz is prepared to come back fighting with pitching, pitching and more pitching.

"We're concentrating on pitching," said Foltz, whose team dipped to 7-11 last season. "You can't go into a game giving up more than five runs. I've brought in Wayne Hollman to work with our pitchers. He is a South Carroll graduate who holds career school pitching records for best ERA and most strikeouts."

Foltz is checking out several young pitchers for possible help but now has only three with any proven ability: senior right-hander Brad Schulze and juniors Ronnie White, a right-hander, and Kile Maxcy, a left-hander.

In addition to questions about pitching, the Cavaliers received a major setback to their championship hopes just four days into their practice sessions when catcher Greg Mihalko, probably the school's top athlete, decided a second time to quit.

"Greg said he was burned out," said Foltz. "He had come to me before practices started and said he wasn't going to play but he changed his mind and was there for the first practice. Then after four days, he said that was it."

Mihalko, a junior, was the county's top running back and football Player of the Year. He also was a standout guard on the basketball team this season.

Junior Jeremy Hancock most likely will replace Mihalko as the top catcher.

However, all is not bleak for the Cavaliers, who started 1-6 last season before going 6-5 in the final 11 games.

Schulze, who will play third base when not pitching, and senior shortstop Tim Beck return with some impressive offensive credentials.

Schulze and Beck each hit .370 and were 1-2 on the team in most offensive categories last season. They both are adept at stealing bases and scoring runs.

More offensive help is expected from junior second baseman Bryan Herche and senior first baseman Michael Paull.

"We're pretty young throughout the lineup," said Foltz. "I hope we have some unexpected people come through for us. We have a bunch of players up from the JV and they have to help us."

Westminster

The prime-time players such as center fielder Todd Dorsey and pitcher Chris Archambault are gone along with six other starters.

That would be enough to send most coaches into a bit of a frenzy.

However, Westminster High's co-coaches Carl Rihard and Guy Stull are remaining calm, at least on the outside, these days as they talk about the Owls' chances of repeating as county champions and Central Maryland Conference co-champions.

"We just have to hope that somebody comes through to replace an Archambault on the mound and a Dorsey in center field," said Rihard. "The key to any high school season is pitching and avoiding injuries. This isn't like professional sports. If a youngster gets hurt, you can't go out and find a quality replacement for him."

Other starters graduated are second baseman Brad Gibson, catcher Adam Pfieffer, third baseman Brett Haines, first baseman Jeff Ibex, right fielder Brian Dayton and designated hitter Todd Dickensheets.

Starters back are senior left-fielder Jason Magin and junior shortstop Paul Reter. Two part-time starters return in senior first baseman/designated hitter Russell DeMont and senior right-handed pitcher Jeremy Robinson.

Robinson, 1-1 last season in three starts and five relief appearances, is one of five pitchers available for Rihard and Stull.

The others are junior right-hander Ryan Starliper; senior right-hander Mark Winebrenner, who also will catch and play third base; sophomore right-hander Mike Peters; and senior left-hander Eric Weller.

"You never know too much about your pitching until the season (( is half over," said Rihard. "We're setting our goals as usual to win the county, the CMC and go to the regionals. But it's going to be tough to repeat."

The Owls won the county last season with a 5-1 record, shared the CMC with Thomas Johnson with an 8-4 record, and finished 12-7 overall to make the Class 4A regionals.

They lost a tough 2-1 decision to Paint Branch on the road in the opening round of the regionals.

Stull sees North Carroll as a strong contender for the county title and Thomas Johnson as a major threat again in the CMC.

"We have some experience back and we should be very good in the outfield with Magin in left, Steve Mays in center and Brian Parker in right," said Stull. "Parker [a senior] played a good bit last season for us and Mays is a good athlete."

Mays, a junior, was quarterback of the Westminster football team and played on the basketball team.

According to Rihard, Mays gets a good jump on the ball, has good speed and can run down fly balls as Dorsey did.

Rihard said that Winebrenner would be the starting catcher until senior Lawrence Alvarez returns from an injury. Alvarez was the backup to Pfieffer last season.

DeMont and senior Timmy Frank will share first base and designated hitter, and Robinson will play second base when he's not pitching.

"We have a consistent hitter like Jason Magin to get on base and steal, we have a fundamentally sound player like Ryan Starliper who can pitch and play third base, a fluid shortstop in Paul Reter, and a good-looking outfield," said Rihard. "But I'm not going to make any predictions on how many games we'll win. It doesn't do you well to make predictions."