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Gaithersburg Post 295 has worn the moniker of "county's best" often enough over the past decade of American Legion baseball seasons.

Last summer, they captured both the Montgomery Division and Maryland State American Legion championships. With the return of numerous key players from last year's squad, Post 295 looks like the team to beat once again.

"We have a lot of starting position players back, but we lost a lot of pitchers because they aged out," said Gaithersburg manager Rick Price, who has won three state titles and eight county crowns since 1990. "We're going to have a good team, but Damascus will be very good and Sandy Spring and [Gaithersburg Post] 104 should be good."

Although Post 295 (40-5 in 2008, 25-1 Montgomery Division) did see some quality pitchers depart, Price returns right-handers Tyler Klitsch, Brian Black and Dominique Vattuone and left-hander Mike Ryan, all of whom had standout high school seasons.

Klitsch went 7-2 with three saves and a 3.27 earned-run average for Seneca Valley. His teammate on both squads, Black, went 3-0 with a save and a 2.86 ERA. Vattuone won all seven of his decisions for Northwest while Ryan helped guide Quince Orchard to the Class 4A state championship game, earning the start in the final.

Outfielder Matt Civetti and third baseman Nick Loftus return as two of the team's top run producers. Loftus batted .480 with 15 RBI for Northwest, while Civetti helped Montgomery College-Germantown reach the NJCAA World Series final by producing nine home runs and 45 RBI in the regular season.

Damascus Post 171 (22-12), Gaithersburg Post 104 (7-17-1), Sandy Spring Post 68 (13-17), Cissel Saxon Post 41 (13-13) and Wheaton Post 268 (15-14), along with Laurel Post 60 (9-18) look to dethrone Post 295, which has won five of the last six Montgomery Division crowns.

Bethesda Post 105 will not field a team, eight players short of a full roster, according to manager Mike Naas said.

Post 104 was the lone team to break up Post 295's run of championships, in 2007, but injuries and other losses led to a tough 2008 season for coach Joe Stolz. The team looks to rebound with a full roster that includes a mix of college and high school players.

"I think we have healthy pitchers and I think we have a number of good pitchers, which was our weakness last year," Stolz said. "I think we'll be as good as anybody else. It will come down to how well everybody does with the tools they've got. I don't think any one team is going to dominate."

Second baseman Kory Smigocki batted .462 with 12 RBI and 20 runs for Gaithersburg High this past season, while Nick Riley compiled a 5-2 record with a 1.89 ERA for the Trojans. Shortstop Tim Riley was a key member of the MC-Germantown squad. Catcher Ben Silverman compiled a .458 average with 16 RBI for Richard Montgomery.

Post 171 suffered numerous roster hits, including Damascus shortstop Ryan McGuigan (.540, 25 RBI this spring) to Post 295; he has family in both areas. But second-year manager Tommy Davis said, "We're going to be comfortable with the team we put together. We have a mix of youth and we've got a couple of veteran players we'll be counting on as well. We're excited about some of the young kids coming up."

Those seasoned leaders include outfielder-designated hitter Mark Smith, center fielder Shane Boyd, shortstop Lee Hertel and relief pitcher Kyle Schindel. They are joined by up-and-coming players A.J. Bowman, Gary Mullings and Brian Anders, who went 5-1 on the mound for Damascus this spring. Smith batted over .600 with 29 RBI for the Swarming Hornets. Boyd batted .308 in 30 games for Frostburg State.

Cissel Saxon grabbed the final spot in last year's four-team, double-elimination county tournament but used wins against Wheaton and Damascus to reach the final. Third-year manager Scott Dunlap was still putting together his team as of late last week but does return center fielder Charles Brown, first baseman-designated hitter Brandon Grove, first baseman-pitcher Paul Graves, third baseman Ricky LaSota and pitcher Danny Snight. Brown had a huge season for Springbrook this spring, batting .457 with 21 RBI and 16 runs.

"It's all going to come down to our pitching and hitting," Dunlap said. "If those are successful, we'll be very competitive."

Sandy Spring coach Matt Cangas hopes a year experience for his program, started by Magruder coach Matt Avery last summer, will help push Post 68 into the playoffs this year. The squad started 7-2 a year ago but went 6-15 the rest of the way.

"We have added some solid pitchers to our rotation this year," Cangas said. "Our biggest strength this year will be our defense. Our offense last season was OK. We only have three returning players that hit over .300. If our bats come around this season, we have the potential to be a top team." 

Former Bullis catcher Blake Overmiller, who played this spring in Texas, adds an explosive bat. He hit .558 with five home runs and 24 RBI for Post 608 last year. Sandy Spring Friends pitcher Stephen Bonser produced a 3-1 record and 3.88 ERA in 21 2/3 innings for Post 68 last summer.

Wheaton reached the tournament a year ago for the first time in several years before bowing out with two straight losses. Laurel has a handful of college-aged players on the roster but no high school seniors.

-Montgomery Division: Gaithersburg Post 295, Gaithersburg Post 104, Damascus Post 171, Sandy Spring Post 68, Wheaton Post 268, Cissel Saxon Post 41, Laurel Post 40

-2008 Montgomery Division champions: Gaithersburg Post 295 (8th)

-Players to watch: P Stephen Bonser (Post 41), OF Shane Boyd (Post 171), OF Charles Brown (Post 41), OF Matt Civetti (Post 295), 1B-LHP Rob Medoff (Post 40), C Blake Overmiller (Post 68), SS Tim Riley (Post 104), LHP Mike Ryan (Post 295), OF-C-2B Matt Schmauder (Post 40), 2B Kory Smigocki (Post 104), OF-DH Mark Smith (Post 171), P Dominique Vattuone (Post 295)