Player of the Year
Gavin Floyd, Mount St. Joseph: This 6-foot-5, 195-pound junior flame thrower dominated both from the mound and the plate. Listed as a preseason second-team All-America in Baseball America Magazine, Floyd's two-year 22-3 record as a pitcher includes 187 strikeouts - 103 this season - and as a batter, his 55 RBIs (a team-high 44 this season). This sprng, Floyd used his 90-plus mph fastball to compile a 12-2 record over 83 2/3 innings and an 0.88 ERA. At the plate, Floyd hit .414. His 11 doubles ranked first on the team, his 41 hits second, and his seven homers third. Floyd has accounted for the scoring of 28 runs for the Gaels, and is considered one of the nation's top pro prospects.
Co-Coaches of the Year
John Robinson, Douglass: The youthful enthusiasm of Robinson, 28, assisted by Sheila Irby, helped turn around a struggling program in his third season. In capturing the Baltimore City B Conference title during a 17-2 season, the Ducks won their first baseball championship since 1965. After going 4-23 over Robinson's first two seasons, Douglass out-scored its opponents 204-83 entering its Class 4A North Region semifinal loss at Perry Hall, last spring's state runner-up. Senior pitchers Corey Smith (7-0) and junior DeShawn Brown (7-1) led the Ducks. Brown's .622 batting average led the team, as did Charles Thomas' 31 steals. A former player at Washington's Eastern High and Morgan State, Robinson has a nice corps returning as the Ducks move up to the A Conference next season.
Bill Yosca, Towson: The 46-year-old Long Island, N.Y., native coached the Generals (20-4) to the Baltimore County 2A-1A title for the second time in three seasons and to the most victories in school history. The Generals also won the 2A North title - the school's third regional title and its first since 1990 - and reached the program's first 2A state title game, where they beat defending champ Walkersville, 7-5. Walkersville's 14-game winning streak was ended by Towson, winner of all four of it regional games in extra innings. Yosca also developed a first-year player, pitcher Andre Gardner, whose three consecutive no-hitters earlier this season tied a state record. Yosca (120-68 in 11 seasons) earned win No. 100 in the Generals' third game, a 7-4 win over Hereford that began a six-game winning streak. The Generals avenged a regular-season loss to Lansdowne in the regional title game, and also defeated county 4A-3A champ Perry Hall.
The first team
Steve Althoff, Curley: The senior third baseman hit .430 with nine home runs, four doubles and 33 RBIs. He had 31 hits and scored 32 runs in leading the Friars into the MIAA A Conference baseball playoffs after being league champs his junior season. Also a two-time All-Metro soccer defenseman, Althoff led that team to an MIAA A Conference title last fall.
Travis Ezi, Southwestern: Likely to get drafted in June, Ezi's .711 average may well lead the area. The 6-foot, 175-pound senior was 34-for-34 on steals, had 28 RBIs, scored 30 runs, and hit seven home runs, 12 doubles and six triples. Scouts from the Orioles, Dodgers, Angels, Mariners, Rockies, Marlins and Pirates are after Ezi, who clocked a 6.2 in the 60-yard dash. The 3.0 student has signed with Young Harris Community College in Georgia.
Andre Gardner, Towson: The right handed pitcher-first baseman's breakthrough senior year included a 6-2 record with a save on the mound, and a .357 batting average with 18 RBIs, six doubles, a triple and two home runs. Gardner, soon to be featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces In The Crowd, used his low-80s fastball, curve, changeup and knuckle-curves to tie a state record with three straight no-hitters. He struck out 105 batters, including nine in a three-hit, no-walk 2A state semifinal victory over Lackey.
Scott Headd, Dulaney: The junior catcher hit .515 with team highs in hits (35) and runs scored (30) to lead the Lions to their first Class 4A state title game, where they lost 3-2 to Watkins Mill of Montgomery County after leading, 2-0. Headd had 27 RBIs, 13 doubles, two triples and one home run. The 6-1, 170- pounder had one of his best games in the Lions' North Region title-game upset of Perry Hall, with a two-run double and a two-run home run.
Craig King, Cardinal Gibbons: A junior, King was 4-1 on the mound with 60 strikeouts. King hit .380 with 23 RBIs, 28 runs scored, six triples, five doubles and two home runs to lead the Crusaders to their second straight MIAA B Conference title and a 25-6 record (18 straight wins). In the title-game win over Mount Carmel, King went 3-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBIs and his 36th steal. King, who had 35 hits, has been recruited by seven college programs.
Justin King, Cardinal Gibbons: Though unrelated to teammate Craig King, pitcher-third baseman Justin was equally important. King capped a 10-3 pitching season with a title-game victory over Mount Carmel, finishing the year with 87 strikeouts and a 1.68 ERA over 73 1/3 innings. During a four-game period of the Crusaders' year-ending, 18-game winning streak, King went 15-for-16. He finished with a .468 average and 41 RBIs. He had eight doubles and four home runs among his 34 hits and will play at CCBC-Dundalk.
Ryan Kyle, Calvert Hall: The senior left-hander, bound for St. John's College in New York, has a two-year 17-1 record (8-1 this spring). Kyle is 3-1 against St. Joe's Gavin Floyd, most recently in a 9-4, nine-strikeout win in the MIAA A Conference semifinals. Kyle has employed a fastball in the upper 80s, a curve and changeup, to strike out 80 batters - up from 61 last season - over 62 1/3 innings.
Trevor MacMeekin, Dulaney: MacMeekin (6-1, 185) hit .420, ranked first on the team with 29 RBIs, second with 29 hits and third with 25 runs. He had two each in doubles, triples and home runs. Last fall's second-team All-Metro punter-place kicker demonstrated the arm strength to match his foot in his first varsity pitching season. The left-hander began as the No. 3 hurler, but matured into a mainstay at 7-1 with 49 strikeouts, most recently beating Prince George's County's Roosevelt to earn the Lions their first state title-game berth. MacMeekin also defeated Howard County power Mount Hebron.
Mike Santmyer, Calvert Hall: Another of the very talented juniors on this spring's city/county squad, Santmyer's a consistent hitter and outfielder. Santmyer hit .451 with four doubles, a triple and three home runs, and scored 17 runs to go with 18 RBIs. Santmyer also had 23 hits, helping the Cardinals to break out of a six-game losing streak to reach the MIAA A Conference playoffs.
Joey Sargent, Mount St. Joseph: The junior DeMatha transfer, also an All-Metro wrestling two-time state champ, has two-year totals of 15 home runs (nine this spring), 16 doubles and 10 triples. The second baseman's home runs this season ranked second on the team. Sargent hit a team-high .479 with 33 RBIs and 36 runs, and had 86 hits in two seasons.
Allen Strick, Mount St. Joseph: The senior pro prospect hit .429 with eight doubles and a team-high 12 homeruns. Strick also had 37 hits and 36 RBIs this spring to go along with 39 runs scored. As a four-year starter, the 6-1, 190-pounder, bound for Old Dominion has 113 career hits that include 25 doubles and 20 home runs.
Shawn Warner, Perry Hall: A junior outfielder, Warner hit .394 with two doubles, six triples and ranked among the leading batters for his Gators with five home runs to help last spring's state runners-up to the Baltimore County 2A-1A crown. Warner also scored 30 runs and knocked in 26 others as Perry Hall reached its second consecutive 4A North Region title game.
Brent Weiss, St. Paul's: Preseason shoulder surgery kept Weiss from playing catcher, his usual position, but the junior still contributed to the Crusaders' berth in the MIAA A Conference playoffs. Weiss hit .434 with 33 RBIs, seven doubles, six home runs, 31 runs scored and had a school-record 28 steals. Weiss is tied for the school record for career home runs (17), and is 14 shy of the record for RBIs (90) with 74.
Mike Williams, Towson: The four-year veteran went 9-0 with one save and 66 strikeouts and had a 1.33 ERA. Williams improved to 18-2 for his career. At the plate, the pitcher-shortstop-second baseman hit .370 with 14 RBIs, three doubles, two triples and three home runs. Williams, who also stole 13 bases, owned among his pitching victories a 3-2 decision over Perry Hall, a regional title game win over Lansdowne, and, finally, the Generals' 7-5 Class 2A state-title victory over Walkersville. A second-team, All-City/County football defensive end who also played basketball, Williams was chosen his school's Male Athlete of the Year. The basketball team won its third regional crown, and the football team was 7-2.
Team selection
The Baltimore Sun 2000 All-Baltimore City/County boys and girls lacrosse teams were selected by Lem Satterfield and Katherine Dunn, respectively, after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.