Baltimore's Norris and Orioles ready to defend title
July 13, 2011 - After losing in the Altoona Regional in his first year as manager, Tim Norris led Youse's Maryland Orioles to their 27th AAABA National Championship last year in Johnstown. Norris took over the reigns of the storied club from Dean Albany, who led the O's to an unprecedented 6-consecutive championships from 2003-2008. Last year's performance by the Orioles was even more dominating that many of Albany's teams.
"What I learned is that if the pitcher only gives us a handful of runs, we've got a good chance of winning again," joked Norris. "Pitching was outstanding last year. If anybody can duplicate what our pitchers did last year, they're going to win it up there; no doubt."
The Orioles outscores opponents 41-6 in 6 games last year. Four of the runs scored by their opponents came in a game against New Orleans. The only other team to score against Baltimore was Maryland State during an 11-1 mercy-rule on Monday. The Orioles allowed only 29 hits during the week. It was the lowest runs-allowed total in the 66-year tournament history. The previous record was Baltimore's 9-run performance in 1980 and also their 10-run performance in 2008.
With such a dominating performance in the tournaments, it may surprise some local fans to see that the Orioles are currently third in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League with an 18-11 record. They trail first-place Bethesda Big Train (the 2004 Washington representative) by 6-1/2 games. But the stiff competition in the Ripken League is part of what makes the Orioles such a formidable opponent in Johnstown. According to Norris, "We have Johnstown-like games every night. We're used to it. We face that caliber of competition night in and night out."
To qualify for Johnstown, however, the Orioles must win the 20-and-under Baltimore City League. The Orioles are 8-1 in the 4-team league and need only 1 more win to advance. Most fans expect to see the Orioles advance every year, and with a roster full of MLB draft picks, it's easy to see why. This year, the Orioles expect to bring 4 new draft picks to Johnstown: Kevin "KJ" Hockaday (14th), Sander Beck (33rd), Pat Merkling (44th), and Brendan Butler (50th). All four were drafted this year by the Baltimore Orioles of the American League.
Hockaday returns to Johnstown after going 4-for-16 with 2 runs in 5 games for Baltimore in last year's tournament. This season, he is hitting 0.253 for the O's and is 2nd on the team with 14 RBIs, but also has 18 strike outs and is tied for the team lead with 5 errors. If he does not sign, Hockaday will attend the University of Maryland as a freshman this fall.
Beck is currently 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA for the Orioles. He had allowed 5 runs on 13 hits and has 27 strike outs. He currently attends the University of Maryland, and had an ERA of 5.59 and a record of 2-5 in 13 appearances for the Terps.
Merkling is a left-handed pitcher from Georgia. In his one game with the Orioles this season, he allowed 3 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings, but had 5 strike outs and no runs against. He led Etowah High School during his senior year with a 1.84 ERA and 84 strikeouts and was 11-1 for Chattanooga State Community College this past summer. He will be attending Lee University in Tennessee if not signed.
Butler attended the John Carroll High School along with Hockaday and hit 0.481 with 9 home runs this summer. With the Orioles, he is hitting 0.200 in 21 games with 12 hits, 7 runs and 10 walks. He will attend Towson University if not signed.
Richland High School graduate and former Delweld player Austin Urban has made three starts for the Orioles this season but is 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA. In his first game, Urban allowed only 1 run on 5 hits in 5 innings, but the Orioles lost to the Redbirds 1-0. The Johnstown native started for Delweld in last year’s tournament in their 7-0 lost to Baltimore.
The Orioles have won 6 of their past 8 games, including 2 against leader Bethesda. They have 11 games remaining in their Ripken League schedule.
"We were banged up a little early and had a lot of guys out," said Norris. "Now, we're just starting to get guys back and we're starting to play a lot better. We're hoping to get healthy the last couple weeks and keep everybody healthy and come up there [to Johnstown] and play some good ball. Everybody's looking forward to it."
Reference: Cherokee Tribune, Carlton D. White, 06-09-11.
Reference: Varsity Sports Network, Staff, 06-09-11