Sports
Pikesville Baseball Got the Hits, Needed Pitching and Defense to Match
Panthers won one playoff game, finished 8-11.
The Pikesville baseball team got plenty of hitting this season. They just needed some more defense and pitching.
Pikesville had an impressive team batting average of .354, and the Panthers averaged 5.5 runs per game—also strong numbers. But the other problems caused too much trouble, and Pikesville finished with an 8-11 record this year.
“Offensively, we had a great season,” said Pikesville coach Joe Kramer. “Our defense and pitching haunted us all year.”
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The Panthers had great performances at the plate from several players. Tete Obot hit .426 with 20 RBIs. Mitch Goldstein (.500, 19 RBIs), Brad Garfield (.346, 10 RBIs, 20 runs scored) and Doug Lavin (.348, 16 RBIs, 18 runs scored) all helped Pikesville bring a powerful offense to the plate in every game.
Obot was a first-team all-division shortstop, and Goldstein earned first-team all-division and all-county first base honors.
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Garfield got picked for second-team all-division at catcher, and will play in the Battle of the Counties all-star game on June 4.
Lavin was a second-team pick for the all-division team as an outfielder. He and Tyler Kennedy were the team’s two most effective pitchers this season.
Kennedy won four games and earned second-team all-division honors with a 4.24 ERA along with 34 strikeouts and 24 walks. Lavin also helped, with two wins, an impressive 3.11 ERA plus 33 strikeouts and 17 walks.
In addition, Lavin threw a strong game as Pikesville beat Sparrows Point, 7-2, in the first round of the regional playoffs. Lavin went the distance and tossed a two-hitter in his best effort of the season.
But the Panthers simply weren’t able to combine good hitting, pitching and defense often enough to do the job.
“At the start of the year, we had high hopes for our season,” Kramer said. “However, as in all sports, you have to go out and play the games, and this year we often beat ourselves.”
The Panthers will lose eight seniors to graduation—stars Lavin, Kennedy and Garfield, along with Zach Brandes, Dan Shear, Steve Buxbaum, Ross Hyatt and Kion Wright.