Before Monday afternoon?s senior game, an eventual 4-0 Eagles win, the Centennial seniors rattled off their most memorable moments in high school.
The runaway winner was Ben Winter?s walk-off home run to beat Fallston in the region final last season.
With two outs and down a run, Winter?s blast to right field is still vibrant in his mother?s memory.
“He hit the home run and the place went dead silent. And then it just erupted,” Nancy Winter said. “It was the most exciting thing.”
Winter is all baseball, all the time. It?s been that way, Nancy said, since Ben was 4 years old.
“He slept with his baseball hat on. He didn?t want to take it off,” she said. “He played in the snow. He would have a catch, take [his father Jeff] out in the snow. He never stopped.”
He still hasn?t.
Winter earned first-team All-Examiner honors as an outfielder last season by batting .480 with five doubles, eight triples, two homers and 25 RBIs. He also sported a 1.33 ERA as a pitcher and didn?t lose until the state final.
This year, he?s taken the role as senior leader for the Eagles, throwing two no-hitters and vaulting No. 4 Centennial to a 14-2 record and, as it is to be announced this morning, a No. 1 seed in the 3A East region.
Centennial coach Denis Ahearn wishes he had eight more players like Winter.
“It?s not just what he gives you in terms of his play,” Ahearn said. “He works hard, and he never seems to tear anybody else down. He?s a great all around person.”
Winter will play at Towson next year, following in a long line of Centennial grads to play for the Tigers. Ahearn thinks Winter may have gotten even more college offers if it weren?t for the left-handed hitting outfielder?s stature.
Winter is 5-foot-10, 160 pounds. But he?s not bitter about his recruiting process.
“Knowing some colleges were passing me up was frustrating,” Winter said. “Getting the offer from Towson right away was good because then I knew I could play college baseball. Now I have the chance to show the other colleges even though I?m small I can play like a big player.”
Winter showed he was up for the big moments as a junior. Now, as a senior, he?s trying to live up to the classes that passed before him ? the ones that helped the Eagles win the 2004 3A state championship.
After losing to Westminster in the state final last year, the 2008 Eagles are a focused group.
“All the guys this year, nobody?s won a state championship,” Winter said. “Most of the guys want to get it done this year before we leave.”
