High School Sports: Laurel Prep Roundup

It has been a long road back for Travis Stewart, who is from Laurel and played baseball at St. Vincent Pallotti High. After a standout season at a junior college in Alabama in 2008, the right-handed pitcher sat out the 2009 season with an injury at the Division I College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Last year, still trying to come back from the injury, he made just two appearances out of the bullpen for a total of three innings for the College of Charleston. He allowed four runs, two earned, and three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

This season has started much the same way. In his first two games, both out of the bullpen, the Laurel native allowed four earned runs in 2.1 innings and had an ERA of 15.43 in games through Tuesday.

Stewart, who turned 23 on March 18, helped Pallotti win back-to-back titles in the MIAA in 2005 and 2006 for head coach Pat Courtemanche, who said he has been impressed with the dedication of Stewart.

The 2005 Pallotti team, which included Stewart, was 24-0. Stewart then went to Northwest Shoals, a junior college program that has produced several future minor league players.

The College of Charleston began the season 16-9 and 3-3 in the Southern Conference.

Big win for Laurel High softball

How big is the gap between good and bad teams in softball in Prince George's County? It is pretty wide, after Laurel beat Bladensburg, 34-3, on Tuesday as the Spartans improved to 2-2.

Casey LiCausi, a senior, had a homer and scored three runs for Laurel. Senior Sarah Allsop scored three runs and had a triple, Rebecca Jayne, another senior, scored twice and had a triple and junior Kevia Walker-Humphries had three hits, including a double.

Laurel lost, 15-5, to Roosevelt on March 25 in a game in which the Spartans were without three starters due to illness and college visits. Laurel improved to 2-2 overall with the win over Bladensburg.

"This is the best team I have had," said Laurel coach Julie Provino, in her third season. "We are very fast. Hitting will be a strong point. There is no reason we should not be in the top four in the county."

The top Laurel pitcher is junior Candice Williams, a first-year varsity player. The designated hitter is Bria Wallace, a freshman. Laurel beat Oxon Hill, 28-3, on March 26.

 Laurel High baseball bounces back

The Laurel High baseball team, after a 12-1 loss March 25 to county power Roosevelt, came back to beat Oxon Hill, 14-11, the next day.

Pallotti baseball gets strong pitching

The Pallotti High baseball team beat St. Anselms, 11-1, on Tuesday as pitcher Jackson Souder went all five innings and allowed just one hit and no earned runs.  Raffi Correa, Matt DeFrank and Eddie Johnson each scored two runs for Pallotti and Steve Martin drove in two runs.

Corey Dirks was the winning pitcher on Monday as Pallotti beat St. Frances, 16-2. Ryan Basile drove in four runs and DeFrank scored three times.

An ugly win for Pallotti

And for this Pallotti droped down to the B level in the IAAM for softball? On March 25, against Chapelgate of Howard County, the Panthers won, 36-12, in five innings on a cold day in which the final score and the weather was more suited for football.

Junior catcher Shannon Palmateer got on base all seven times with four walks and three hits, with seven RBIs. Senior transfer Jordyn Crockett had three hits and played solid in left field.

Sophomores Julianna Romaniuk and Danielle Michon each had two hits and combined to drive in seven runs. Sophomore pitcher Lyndsey Llewellyn pitched five innings and fanned three with four walks.

The Panthers had just one hit on Wednesday in a 14-0 loss to Catholic. Pallotti had seven errors back of pitcher Llewellyn. "We are asking her to put the ball in the strike zone and let our fielders make the play," said Laura Horstkamp, the first-year head coach for the Panthers.

This year Pallotti dropped down from the A level to the B level in the IAAM. "I could not see our team competing with teams like Spalding," said Horstkamp.

Two of the top players for Pallotti last year are now with college teams. Former catcher Kelly Trimble is with the Terps at Maryland while Karlyn Buker, the pitcher in 2010, is with Division II Tampa in Florida as a pitcher/infielder. Buker was hitless in her first three at bats and had pitched one inning in games through Wednesday.

Pallotti girls lacrosse gets a win

The Pallotti High girls lacrosse team won, 15-3, on Tuesday over Beth Tfiloh. The boys team lost, 9-4, on Tuesday to Sts. Peter and Paul.

Shelby Lyles, a standout last year for Pallotti as a senior, played in three of the first 10 games this season as a freshman on the women's lacrosse team at Mount St. Mary's. She is a midfielder.