Baseball: Eagles Soar, Spartans Fall in Cedar Run Championships

Freedom baseball celebrates another banner to raise
(yes that does look like an ear of corn mascot in the photo!)

By Jeff Schneider
Special to Viva Loudoun
South Riding (May 23, 2012) - Freedom High School junior Ryan Adams threw a 1-hitter and junior Collin Dean drove in a run and scored a run to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 win over Osbourn in the AAA Cedar Run District tournament finals Tuesday. Broad Run saw its season end with a 4-3 loss to Patriot in the consolation game.

Freedom (16-6 record), which also claimed the Cedar Run regular season title, will host the winner of Patrick Henry-Roanoke vs. Stafford in a Northwest Region quarterfinal game on Memorial Day, Monday May 28.

Cedar Run Finals: Freedom 2, Osbourn 0
Adams allowed just three Osbourn hitters to get on base (one reached on a walk and the other on an error) and the only hit he gave up came in the first inning to the third Patriot batter of he day. He finished with five strikeouts.


Despite the stellar performance Adams was very modest about his role in the victory: “Defense was key. They locked down big plays with two double plays."


Freedom took advantage of early Osbourn wildness on the mound and a big hit as Eagle leadoff hitter senior Dylan Teal reached first on a walk and then took second base on a wild pitch. After sophomore Kyle Wrighte grounded out to the shortstop, Dean blasted a long double that brought Teal home.

In the second inning Freedom senior Dylan Chapman was able to get on base with one out. He then showed off his speed as he stole second base. Despite getting into scoring position, Chapman was stranded at second.

The Eagles made up for leaving Chapman at second by scoring a run in the third. Dean got on base by bunting the ball towards the left side of the infield. The Osbourn pitcher fielded the ball, but overthrew first base; allowing Dean to reach second base.

With Dean on second base senior Matt Malacane blasted a deep shot to center field. At first, the ball appeared to clear the fence; however it landed just shy of the wall. The well-hit ball drove in the insurance run for the Eagles and despite four more innings to play, that would be the final run of the game.

Even though the Eagles only produced two runs, their offense was anything but quiet with seven of the nine batters in the line-up reaching first base at least once in the game and the team put at least one man on base in every inning except the sixth.

With the way the Freedom played, they could have beaten Osbourn on a neutral field, but due to uncontrollable circumstances the championship game was a home game for Freedom after Patriot High School's fields were unplayable due to heavy rains in Prince William County earlier in the week.

“Home field advantage is big,” Adams said, “We have a great record at home this season and the crowd always pumps us up.”

Next for Freedom, moving up to AAA level this season from AA because of increasing school enrollment, is the regional tournament that features teams the Eagles have never faced before.

“We have been very aggressive this season,” said Freedom head coach Jason Treon. “We need to know when to keep the throttle on the gas and when to back off, so we don’t burn out. There are times we need to keep up the intensity, but the goal is to find that balance.”

Cedar Run Consolation Final: Patriot 4, Broad Run 3

In the consolation game, the Broad Run Spartans fell 4-3 to the Patriot Patriots. Broad Run came into the game as the lower seed and showed some promise to get out to an early lead.

Spartan senior Andrew Siegel got Broad Run off to a quick start, but was left stranded on third base as Patriot starter Matt Bergquist was able to retire the next three batters.

The Patriots did all the damage they needed to do in the first four hitters of the bottom of the first inning. Following a leadoff walk, Josh Morrison was able to get into scoring position as he stole second base. The next two batters singled with Mason Diotte, the No. 3 man, able to drive in Morrison. With two men on Nick Moore went the distance with a blast over the centerfield wall for a 4-0 Patriot lead.

Despite the rough start for Broad Run pitcher senior Kyle McCormack,he rebounded nicely and kept the Patriots off the scoreboard the rest of the game.

“I started throwing off-speed and changing speed more,” McCormack said. “[As the game went on] I was hitting my spots more.”

Broad Run finally was able to score a run in the top of the third when sophomore Michael Martinez was driven in on a ground ball by McCormack.

While the Spartans rallied in the middle of the game,  they were never able to overcome their first inning woes.

“We put ourselves in a hole early,” said Spartans head coach Pat Cassidy. “We were able to chip away [at the lead], but couldn’t get enough runners in.”

Broad Run junior catcher Joseph Delahaba led off in the fourth with a single. Junior Thomas O’Brien was brought in to pitch run for Delahaba. Despite not facing a pitch, O’Brien played a big role in the Broad Run offense as he was able to advance all the way to home on three consecutive wild pitches.

Following the three wild pitches junior Matthew McCluskey swung away on a 3-0 count and reached on a single. He then advance to second on yet another wild pitch. With McCluskey now on second base senior Blake Duncan played great situational baseball as he hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field. The next Spartan up, Martinez,  lined out to the infield, which kept McCluskey anchored on third.

Even though there were two outs in the inning the next Broad Run hitter, junior Michael Kennedy, laid down a bunt which was mishandled, allowing McCluskey to score to make it 4-3 Patriot.

The Spartans kept their offense going throughout the remainder of the game but were unable to bring home the tying run.

“We started playing small ball,” Cassidy said. “We had men on base in six of the seven innings, we just couldn’t get them home.”

Broad Run, also in a first year since moving up from AA, finished the season at 11-12.