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Greenbelt/College Park American Legion pitcher Bobby Browning was ready to make his summer league debut on Saturday against Cissel Saxon at Laurel High School.

But there was one thing missing as game time approached: the umpires. After waiting an hour, the coaches agreed to postpone the game and play a five-inning scrimmage.

Greenbelt/College Park and Cissel Saxon will make the game up later in the season. Browning still threw two innings on Saturday and allowed just one hit against the seven batters he faced.

And so Browning, who will be a junior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School this fall, made his actual summer debut on Sunday against Gaithersburg Post 295. He pitched all six innings as Greenbelt/College Park lost, 7-0. Laurel High's David Carmen had the only hit for Greenbelt/College Park with a fifth-inning single.

"I just kind of used Saturday as a bullpen session before my next start," Browning said. "I was really bummed because the same thing happened to me a couple of times during the season with Roosevelt."

Browning missed two starts during the regular season with the Raiders because the other team didn't have enough players to play the game. He also missed a start in the 4A South Region tournament after he injured his back warming up during a game late in the regular season against Bowie.

He was able to recover quickly enough to pitch in relief against the Bulldogs in the 4A South Region title game, and again in the Class 4A state semifinals, where Roosevelt lost to eventual state champion Sherwood.

"It was a nice experience to help me get ready for next season," Browning said of his playoff appearances. "I really wasn't nervous [for American Legion games] because I remember how nervous I was at states. I just feel real comfortable on the mound."

Greenbelt/College Park opened the season with a 5-3 victory against Calvert on June 2. Roosevelt's Matt Chernesky pitched a complete game for the victory, which gave the squad as many wins as it had all of last year.

But Greenbelt/College Park couldn't keep the momentum going as it lost to Chaney, 10-1, on Friday. Laurel's Zach Kapanoske pitched that game, but was hurt by errors, as only three of Chaney's 10 runs were earned.

Greenbelt/College Park coach Bryan Harris said Saturday's scrimmage gave him a chance to work out some pitchers who hadn't thrown during the first two games. It also gave him a chance to rest some players, as the squad has a stretch of five games this week.

"Not playing wasn't the worst thing in the world for us because we got some players some work and we were all over the place with graduations and SAT testing," Harris said. "I would have liked to play and it was a shame we didn't, but it wasn't the worst thing."

Greenbelt/College Park was scheduled to face Clinton on Wednesday after The Gazette went to press. It hosts Bowie today and LaPlata on Friday before finishing the weekend with games against Wheaton and Damascus.

E-mail Joshua Hudson at

jhudson@gazette.net.