Digital Harbor baseball manager Tom Fortman calls pitcher Kevin Villanueva his gift from God. After watching him pitch, it's easy to see why.
The junior, who arrived at the school this year from his native Mexico, had a 120-pitch, 11-strikeout effort to give the Rams (12-3) a 16-7 victory over Academy of College and Career Exploration (12-2) and the Baltimore City championship at Camden Yards.
Chris Day and Erik Exum each hit a triple to pace Digital Harbor at the plate. Devin Biggers had a triple and double for ACCE.
The championship was the seventh in eight seasons for the Rams.
"He walked in to my office and, in broken English, said that he wanted to play baseball," Fortman, smiling, said of Villanueva. "After I saw him pitch, I had to tell my wife that I was in love with someone else. It's very rare to find a kid at this level who has good command of three pitches [fastball, curveball and circle changeup], and he does. "
After a rough third inning in which the Eagles closed the gap to 6-5, Villanueva seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
"Once I got really warmed up and I got used to the mound, everything started working very well," Villanueva said through an interpreter. "I'm just really excited to be on this team. It's been a great first year."
The Digital Harbor offense also was hitting on all cylinders. The Rams scored in every inning but the third, and their aggressive style on the base paths — they had eight stolen bases — forced ACCE into five errors.
"This feels great," said Day, a catcher and senior. "They handed us our only [city] loss of the year on Monday, and [ACCE starter Joseph Laumann] pitched that game, too. We just knew we had to be patient and let the game come to us. It all worked out for us today."
Exum said the two losses to ACCE last year and earlier in the week motivated the Rams.
"There were three teams last year with no losses going into the final week," Exum said of last season. "We lost to them, and it kept us from playing for the championship. We got a little [revenge] this season."
Several members of the team talked about the recent unrest in the city in the wake of the protests over Freddie Gray's death, and how baseball had become a refuge for them.
"All that we were thinking about was what happens between those white lines," Exum said. "This is the greatest game there is, and I think we sent a positive message today. We showed the youth of Baltimore that we can come out here and compete in a positive way and then shake hands at the end of the day."
Fortman agreed with Exum's message.
"As a teacher and a parent, I was really proud of our kids," Fortman said. "The first day we came back to school, some of our students protested, and some of them came together to pray at a Youth for Christ meeting. The point is, they did it the right way: peacefully. As a city, I think this is a positive we can build on, and it will help our city get better."