The Arundel High baseball team has worked its way onto the short list of the top area teams.
They have a hard-hitting lineup, solid pitching and a fine defense.
The visiting Wildcats put all of those assets to use in a relatively easy 7-2 win over host Annapolis on Monday afternoon.
Outfielder Jason Daniels had a single, double and a run batted in and junior pitcher Shawn Pleffner (1-0) got the tough outs when needed.
Arundel improved to 14-3 and 12-1 in Anne Arundel play; Annapolis fell to 4-11 and 2-10 in the league. Two of the Annapolis losses this season have come against the Wildcats.
“Shawn threw some pretty good pitches, and we played well enough to win,” said Arundel coach Bernie Walter, who is slated to be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association?s Hall of Fame for his 35-year career.
The Wildcats went right to work against junior pitcher Tom Van-Horn with two runs in the first inning. Pleffner lined a one-out single to score Daniels and third baseman Tyler Hibbs crossed the plate after a sacrifice fly to right from Sean Urbany.
Three more runs came across in the third, with Daniels again providing a big hit, a double to left center to score a run that gave the Wildcats a 5-0 lead.
Pleffner finished with nine strikeouts and allowed six hits as the Wildcats stranded two runners in the fourth. Outfielder Cody Daniels made a shoestring catch to get the final out in the first, and the Wildcats turned the conventional 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the third to keep the Panthers at bay.
“I was coming off a right arm strain and I was pretty happy with the way I threw the ball today,” Pleffner said. “To hold any team to just two runs is a pretty big deal.”
Annapolis infielder Andrew Patterson had a two-run double to left and scored the Panthers? only two runs, driving in Steve Hodney and Van-Horn.
“We?ve made a lot of mistakes and we haven?t played enough baseball to compete with the top teams in the county,” fifth-year Annapolis coach Kevin Schiavone said. “We haven?t had the best feeder program, but the kids are working hard to turn things around.”
A SEASONED PROGRAM
» Arundel coach Bernie Walter has coached the Wildcats baseball program since 1971, while maintaining his duties as the school?s athletic director.
» The Wildcats have won 15 Anne Arundel County, 14 regional and nine Maryland state championships during his tenure.
» Entering Monday?s game, Annapolis senior infielder Andrew Patterson was hitting .390 with two home runs. Van-Horn (batting .350), John Vandendriessche (batting .300) and John Cordle (batting .290) also contribute to a Panthers squad that lost seven seniors to graduation.
