The recent snow may have curtailed outdoor practices and scrimmages, but it did nothing to change the opinion among county coaches that the Howard Lions are the team to beat this season.

While some squads are going through a youth movement -- Centennial and Wilde Lake each have eight sophomores, and River Hill has three sophomores and three freshmen -- the Lions return eight starters from last season's third-place county finisher.

Howard's strength starts with its battery. Pitcher Kelly O'Neill and catcher Stacey Swiney, first-team All-County selections for two and three years, respectively, are among the Baltimore area's best. Add to them the solid play of shortstop Sarah Berg and second baseman Lindsey Hasiuk, and the Lions are very strong up the middle.

What the Lions don't have, however, is depth.

"We're just one player away from having big problems," said Lions coach Dave Vezzi, whose team won the county title two years. "But if we stay healthy, we're going to be a tough team to beat."

O'Neill suffered a stress fracture in her right leg during basketball season and missed roughly the last third of the season.

But with physical therapy, said O'Neill, who had 116 strikeouts and a 1.16 ERA last spring, the leg is "feeling 100 percent better. It doesn't even bother me."

Vezzi is counting on another strong season from his veteran right-hander.

"Every year, she's gotten a little stronger and faster," Vezzi said. "She works really hard at it, puts in a lot of time on her own, and that's what it takes. If she stays healthy, she will be even more dominating then she was last year."

Extra-inning games

A new rule, approved for regional and state tournament play this season, also will be used in the county. It involves extra-inning games.

If a game is tied after seven innings, the team hitting in the top of the eighth will start with a runner on second. That player will be the one who proceeds the leadoff batter that inning. The home team will do the same in the bottom half of the inning.

The rule is meant to speed up games. It is used at the college level and also in tournament play.

"If you're going to have to use it in regionals, we might as well put it in during the season. It makes sense," said Wilde Lake coach Sal Milio, who added that players who participate in tournaments are familiar with the rule.

For teams that depend on one pitcher, it should help.

"It's probably a good thing, especially when your using only one pitcher," said Centennial coach Dale Huting. "If you can shorten the game a bit, it's less wear and tear."

And for coaches and players, it certainly adds a strategic element.

"It makes an interesting situation, no doubt about it," Howard coach Dave Vezzi said.

New coaches

The two new coaches this season -- Scott Farrow at Hammond and Jon Browne at Oakland Mills -- have a couple things in common. Both graduated from high school in 1990, and each is coaching at his alma mater.

Farrow played football, baseball and wrestled at Hammond. He was the co-coach of Hammond's wrestling team this winter and has been an assistant varsity football coach for the last three years.

He helped out the softball team in the 1997 and ended up coaching the Golden Bears in two playoff games that year.

Farrow's sister, Jill, is the girls lacrosse coach at Wilde Lake. She graduated from Hammond in 1993.

Browne has coached the JV softball team at Oakland Mills the last two seasons. He also has coached the boys JV basketball team for the last three seasons and assisted the varsity boys basketball team for two seasons.

Browne ran cross country and track at Oakland Mills. His sister, Nancy, graduated Oakland Mills in 1994 and his brother, Thomas, is a senior this year. Thomas was a second-team All-Metro football player and also played basketball and will run track.

All dirt infields

Wilde Lake, the only county team with a grass infield last season, has moved to a new field with a dirt infield.

"I'm glad," Wilde Lake coach Sal Milio, whose team moved to a field closer to Wilde Lake Middle School. "That [old] field drained terribly. It never got any sun. This field drains really well."

For openers

Monday's season openers have a few interesting matchups. Howard, behind O'Neill, travels to Centennial, where it will face second-team All-County sophomore Amanda Hall. River Hill will send sophomore Shannon Jackson against Long Reach's second-team All-County junior Kristen Schaper. Mount Hebron and Atholton each had pitching problems last season and will start freshmen, Jessica Lewis for the Vikings, Kathleen Zitnay for the Raiders.

Pub Date: 3/18/99