Varsity Baseball: Knights face tough trip to Oakdale on Opening Day

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

                       

The Middletown High School Knights Varsity Baseball team has a tough challenge coming towards them but you couldn’t tell it from the player’s comments just hours before first pitch.

Middletown will be going up against county, regional, and sectional rival – the Oakdale High School Bears at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23^rd in Ijamsville, Maryland to start off their 2015 campaign.

Not only are the Bears the county, regional, and sectional rival of not just the baseball program but what seems to be every program that        both Middletown and Oakdale share in their athletic departments.

Oh, and the Knights also dashed the Bears state playoff dreams last year, with the Knights knocking off Oakdale 5-1 in the sectional semifinal round of the 2014 Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (M.P.S.S.A.A.) 2A Baseball Tournament.

The Knights faced current Oakdale senior Nick Stegman and got to him early in the 1^st inning putting across the runs they needed to get the win. If this game needed any more drama to add to the anticipation, it appears that Stegman will get the start for the Bears, who lost not one, not two, but three heartbreakers falling to Middletown by one run twice during the regular season and then taking the aforementioned loss in the playoffs.

All of these factors together should make it an intense game for both teams and an early test for both teams as both the Bears and Knights would like to start off their season with a division win against a rival.

For Middletown, the biggest challenge will be hitting Stegman, a pitcher who has been the ace of the Oakdale staff for the past three years and has gotten Division 1 looks from scouts with a fastball that can reach the upper 80’s and a curveball which can keep hitters off balance.

The Knights are taking it all in stride though as they are trying to keep the scenario that is ahead of them in perspective.

“We are prepared for any challenge. Teams like Oakdale are good teams with great players like Stegman,” said Middletown senior outfielder and pitcher Tyler Hickey who is one of 12 seniors on the Knights. “We are going to play our game against any team no matter who it is.”

Still the facts remain that the Knights are a team that has only faced live pitching in a competitive scenario once this season and for a 2^nd time around there may not be a tougher challenge than Stegman to face.

Middletown will look to improve offensively on a performance in their only scrimmage against Central High School from Martinsburg, Pennsylvania in which they only scored three runs and appeared to be out of answers at the plate for most of the game.

The Knights though have seen a good deal of batting practice since that scrimmage and according to the players there is a general feeling that they will be sharper at the dish against the Bears.

“Each teammate has a job and I believe we will be able to succeed as a team when we individually accomplish our goals,” said Hickey who will most likely get the starting center field nod for the Knights, who are down at least one man due to injuries. “As a team, our plan is to play our game, see as many pitches as possible and make the other team beat us rather than beating ourselves.

On the other side of the ball it seems likely that Knights senior right-handed pitcher Colson Kirchner will get the Opening Day start for the Knights as all indications lead to the tall, lanky senior getting another shot at an Oakdale squad who he handled with ease in the 5-1 playoff win over the Bears last year.

Kirchner seemed excited at the idea of getting the start and was prepared for what the Bears were going to throw at him.

“I just need to go out, throw strikes and let my team work behind me,” said Kirchner who garnered a spot on the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches (MSABC) Pre-Season All State team and has also been scouted at a Division 1 level. “I don’t feel like I should be trying to overpower a team my first time back on the mound.”

It has been an up and down pre-season for Middletown (and for a large number of teams in the state) as due to the February and March snow many teams have been forced to not practice on their fields leaving them confined to turf fields that had been cleaned or gymnasiums that were not in use at the time.

That means that both the Knights and Bears are ready to get outside and get game action as both teams have been stuck inside.

With all of these factors combine it looks the Opening Day matchup between the Bears and Knights will be a good one, albeit if it is a tough trip for the Knights.