Road test: Post 295 starts with a power

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Gaithersburg Post 295 captured its fourth straight Montgomery County American Legion Tournament title Sunday. Its reward? A first-round matchup with Chaney Enterprises, which Post 295 manager Rick Price believes will be the team to beat when the Maryland State American Legion Tournament begins Friday at McCurdy Field in Frederick. The teams face off at 4 p.m.

‘‘With 104 gone, Chaney is the best team left,” Price said shortly after his squad dispatched Gaithersburg Post 104 (20-12) with Sunday’s 10-9 championship victory at Damascus Regional Park.

Chaney, which won the Frank Riley League and is based in Waldorf, had its way with the Montgomery County League this summer, defeating all six of the teams it faced. Chaney last won a state title in 1996, the third of three straight crowns.

‘‘We played them pretty close for the most part,” said Post 295 pitcher Brett Fox, who brings a 5-2 record and a 3.00 earned run average into the state tournament. ‘‘Hopefully, I’ll get the start. I’m ready. I want to pitch against them. It will be a good game for us. If we can get through that, that will be a big game for us.”

Post 295 (23-11) has been the team to beat in recent years, capturing state titles in 2003 and 2004 before falling to eventual champion Funkstown Post 211 last year, when the normal double-elimination format was changed to single-elimination because of heavy rains.

In 2003, Post 295 upset then defending champion Greenbelt Post 136, the prohibitive favorite to win again that year because of its impressive pitching staff that included current University of Maryland pitcher Brett Cecil.

Gaithersburg defended its title in 2004, defeating Wicomico Post 64 to become the last team since Chaney in the mid-1990s to win back-to-back titles. Funkstown ended the bid for a three-peat with a five-run eighth inning a year ago.

‘‘It’s a nine-inning game. Anything can happen,” said Gaithersburg first baseman⁄pitcher Mike Celenza, who remained perfect on the mound with Sunday’s relief appearance against Post 104. ‘‘They could wind up with 100 errors, and we could wind up winning. They’re a good team, but I think we can take them.”

Gaithersburg’s previous state-level teams were loaded with some of the best players to come out of Montgomery County in recent years, including last year’s veteran contingent that had numerous players from the Quince Orchard High state championship squad of 2005. This year’s team has 11 new faces and lost one of its best all-around players in center fielder Kevin Collins, who recently underwent shoulder surgery. He was the team’s No. 3 batter and a defensive stalwart.

The old blood that does remain includes Celenza (.433, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 7-0, 1.48 ERA) and outfielder⁄pitcher Matt O’Keefe (.216, 13 RBI). Joe Weaver (.301, 16 RBI), who smacked a home run among three hits against Post 104 Sunday, Kyle Judson (.337, 19 RBI) and Seth Pearman (.327, 10 RBI) are team’s top newcomers. Judson scored twice against Post 104, and Pearman had two runs batted in.

Other key players are Matt Filderman (.373, 26 RBI), Kevin Johnson (.346, 12 RBI), Eric Weller (.268, 10 RBI), Charlie Cononie (3-3, 2.15 ERA) and John Brauch (3-1, 3.86 ERA).

‘‘I’m thrilled,” said Weaver, who honed his skills in France in recent years and hopes to walk-on at Maryland this fall. ‘‘This is my first year. I can’t wait to see the competition. I’m just going to give it my all, give it 100 percent.”

Besides Post 295 and Chaney, the rest of the state tournament includes Pasadena Post 277 (26-18), the four-time Anne Arundel County champions; Mt. Airy Post 191, the Western Division champion; Frederick Post 11 (21-11), the host team; Cecil County Post 15⁄135⁄194, the North Central District champion; Garrett County Post 71⁄214, the Mountain District champion; and Cambridge Post 91 (24-5), the Eastern Shore District champion.

The double-elimination tournament will run through Tuesday with the champion heading to the Mid-Atlantic Region 2 tournament.