Friday, March 31, 2006
Girls' Lacrosse: Lady Bengals control Patriots
The Lady Bengals returned to their winning ways with a convincing 11-6 victory over the visiting Lady Patriots of Wootton. Helped by a very quick start, the Lady Bengals roared out to an 8-0 halftime lead.
The Lady Bengals relied on a simple formula: draw controls = scoring opportunities. By the time Wootton made the necessary adjustments, Blake was in command. Through the first half, the Lady Patriots were limited to 5 shots on goal, while the Lady Bengals scored on 8 of 15 shots.
Blake was led by Sammy Allen's 5 goals and 3 assists. Rachel Schenxnayder pitched in 3 goals and 2 assists, while Molly Wannen contributed 3 scores to the team's solid offensive effort.
The Lady Bengals returned to their winning ways with a convincing 11-6 victory over the visiting Lady Patriots of Wootton. Helped by a very quick start, the Lady Bengals roared out to an 8-0 halftime lead.
The Lady Bengals relied on a simple formula: draw controls = scoring opportunities. By the time Wootton made the necessary adjustments, Blake was in command. Through the first half, the Lady Patriots were limited to 5 shots on goal, while the Lady Bengals scored on 8 of 15 shots.
Blake was led by Sammy Allen's 5 goals and 3 assists. Rachel Schenxnayder pitched in 3 goals and 2 assists, while Molly Wannen contributed 3 scores to the team's solid offensive effort.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Lax teams look to regain the winning touch
After opening their seasons with wins, Blake's boys' and girls' lacrosse teams are looking to recover from tough losses last Friday. On March 22, the boys opened with a thrilling overtime victory over Seneca Valley, while the Lady Bengals won easily over the Lady Screaming Eagles.
Friday's games were a sharp contrast, with both teams losing to Quince Orchard. On Tuesday, Wootton visits Blake. The boys face off at 5:15 PM. The girls' game follows at approximately 7 PM.
After opening their seasons with wins, Blake's boys' and girls' lacrosse teams are looking to recover from tough losses last Friday. On March 22, the boys opened with a thrilling overtime victory over Seneca Valley, while the Lady Bengals won easily over the Lady Screaming Eagles.
Friday's games were a sharp contrast, with both teams losing to Quince Orchard. On Tuesday, Wootton visits Blake. The boys face off at 5:15 PM. The girls' game follows at approximately 7 PM.
Schrader's blasts are becoming legendary
Blake senior's monster shots longest in Montgomery history
Of the millions of fans who watch baseball today, there are only a handful that could say they were eyewitness to some of Babe Ruth's monster homer runs that helped coin the phrase "Ruthian Blast".
But if you watch baseball in Montgomery County, you may get a feel for what Babe Ruth did 514 times in his big league career.
Blake's Matt Schrader has 12 career homers for the Bengals. And every one of them is a towering blow that usually has the outfielder turning and running after the ball on impact. Although there are no official records on the distance of homers in Montgomery history, several witnesses to Schrader's home runs have claimed they were the longest ever seen hit at the fields where Schrader has struck his mighty blows.
This past Saturday, Schrader clubbed another landmark home run. His blast to center field landed 391 feet from home plate and rolled to a gully in front of a fence next to Randolph Road a total of 523 feet away.
"It was a typical Schrader homer. It's gone the minute it leaves the bat," said Blake coach Steve Murfin who purchased a 300-foot tape measure over the winter so he could measure Schrader's home runs.
After the game, Murfin and an eyewitness went back to Wheaton and marked the spot where the ball landed in front of new sod placed deep in the outfield.
"We then measured the distance with the tape measure from home plate. I couldn't believe he did it again," he added. The ball then hit the hard pan in front of the sod and rolled towards Randolph Road. Only the new sod and a gully prevented it from reaching the fence next to the road.
The ball he hit at Wheaton may not have been the longest of his career. Last year at Richard Montgomery, Schrader hit a homer to left center that ended up on the track next to the football field at about the 20 yard line. With the roll, the ball was measured at 552 feet from home. Schrader scored standing up and was in the dugout drinking water before the ball was returned by the center fielder.
"That was the longest homer I have ever seen," said home plate umpire Jonas Singer a year later. Singer, who was working a scrimmage between B-CC and Blake last week.
At Springbrook, as a sophomore, Schrader hit a ball that landed in the second set of tennis courts on the fly. It almost hit a player who was getting a tennis lesson.
"That was the longest home run I have ever seen hit here," said Springbrook AD Ron Lane at the time.
Schrader also has hit two of the only three home runs hit at dead center field at Blake. He did both in one game vs. Northwest last year, a year in which he hit nine home runs to become the single-season home run champion at Blake.
He has 12 career home runs and a career batting average of .476 with 46 RBI in 33 career games through Saturday. Schrader holds 11 Blake hitting records. He has struck out only 13 times in his career with 10 of those coming in his first season.
Last season he tied a Maryland State record with two home runs in one inning and had three home runs for the game including a grand slam and 10 RBI against Kennedy.
"Matt Schrader is simply one of the best hitters in Montgomery County history," said Murfin who has been involved in a variety of capacities in County athletics since 1970. "He is a unique power hitter with a big swing and a great command of the strike zone."
Blake senior's monster shots longest in Montgomery history
Of the millions of fans who watch baseball today, there are only a handful that could say they were eyewitness to some of Babe Ruth's monster homer runs that helped coin the phrase "Ruthian Blast".
But if you watch baseball in Montgomery County, you may get a feel for what Babe Ruth did 514 times in his big league career.
Blake's Matt Schrader has 12 career homers for the Bengals. And every one of them is a towering blow that usually has the outfielder turning and running after the ball on impact. Although there are no official records on the distance of homers in Montgomery history, several witnesses to Schrader's home runs have claimed they were the longest ever seen hit at the fields where Schrader has struck his mighty blows.
This past Saturday, Schrader clubbed another landmark home run. His blast to center field landed 391 feet from home plate and rolled to a gully in front of a fence next to Randolph Road a total of 523 feet away.
"It was a typical Schrader homer. It's gone the minute it leaves the bat," said Blake coach Steve Murfin who purchased a 300-foot tape measure over the winter so he could measure Schrader's home runs.
After the game, Murfin and an eyewitness went back to Wheaton and marked the spot where the ball landed in front of new sod placed deep in the outfield.
"We then measured the distance with the tape measure from home plate. I couldn't believe he did it again," he added. The ball then hit the hard pan in front of the sod and rolled towards Randolph Road. Only the new sod and a gully prevented it from reaching the fence next to the road.
The ball he hit at Wheaton may not have been the longest of his career. Last year at Richard Montgomery, Schrader hit a homer to left center that ended up on the track next to the football field at about the 20 yard line. With the roll, the ball was measured at 552 feet from home. Schrader scored standing up and was in the dugout drinking water before the ball was returned by the center fielder.
"That was the longest homer I have ever seen," said home plate umpire Jonas Singer a year later. Singer, who was working a scrimmage between B-CC and Blake last week.
At Springbrook, as a sophomore, Schrader hit a ball that landed in the second set of tennis courts on the fly. It almost hit a player who was getting a tennis lesson.
"That was the longest home run I have ever seen hit here," said Springbrook AD Ron Lane at the time.
Schrader also has hit two of the only three home runs hit at dead center field at Blake. He did both in one game vs. Northwest last year, a year in which he hit nine home runs to become the single-season home run champion at Blake.
He has 12 career home runs and a career batting average of .476 with 46 RBI in 33 career games through Saturday. Schrader holds 11 Blake hitting records. He has struck out only 13 times in his career with 10 of those coming in his first season.
Last season he tied a Maryland State record with two home runs in one inning and had three home runs for the game including a grand slam and 10 RBI against Kennedy.
"Matt Schrader is simply one of the best hitters in Montgomery County history," said Murfin who has been involved in a variety of capacities in County athletics since 1970. "He is a unique power hitter with a big swing and a great command of the strike zone."
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Tarner stifles Blair with eight strikeouts in Opener
Bengals win 7-4
Zack Tarner battled a shaky start by pitching his sixth career complete game and the Bengals overcame deficits twice to defeat Blair 7-4 at Blake in the season opener.
Tarner, heading to Hartford on a pitching scholarship next year, faced 14 batters and threw over half of his total pitches for the game in the first two innings as Blair took a 3-2 lead. He finished the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
Tarner then helped himself by starting the bottom of the second with a single and scored on fellow senior Matt Schrader's first RBI of the season. Schrader, set the Bengal record for most RBI in a season last year with 30.
The Bengals then went ahead for good in the third. Junior second baseman Taylor Schallhorn singled to open the inning. He scored on a Ryan Rehman (So. RF) triple for a 4-3 Blake lead. Catcher Jose Flores, who went 2-2 in the game, knocked in Rehman with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Bengals took a 7-3 lead after six on singles by Flores and Tarner and a double by Schrader.
Tarner, finished strong, retiring nine in a row at one point and 12 of the final 16 batters he faced.
Three home runs carry Bengals past Wheaton
Bengals score 10 straight runs in 11-3 win
Blake completed its undefeated opening week with a dominating 11-3 win over Wheaton.
The Bengals senior dynamic duo of Matt Schrader and Zack Tarner homered to help power the Bengals. But it was the clutch hitting of Taylor Schallhorn, who also hit a four-bagger, that gave Blake the punch it needed to pull away from Wheaton.
Ryan Rehman spread seven hits around and was never in serious trouble after giving up a run in the first inning. His seven-strikeout performance featured only 84 pitches through six innings including 68% strikes. He was relieved in the seventh by Zack Tarner who retired the three batters he faced in order including the first two on strikeouts.
Schallhorn (Jr. 2b) punched a single in the hole to right field to send TJ Deane home with the tieing run in the third. With two outs later in the inning, designated hitter Ben Holgash drilled a single to centerfield, his first hit of the season, to break open the game 3-1.
Blake took a 6-1 lead after four on some aggressive base running and sloppy fielding by Wheaton. Schallhorn had another RBI in the inning.
The onslaught commenced in the fifth. Schrader hit a 0-1 pitch deep over the Center fielder's head. The ball finally landed 391 feet from home plate and rolled down a gully and to the fence next to Randolph Road, another 132 feet from home plate. The ball traveled a total distance of 523 feet. Two batters later, Schallhorn smacked a 2-run shot onto the track beyond the left-centerfield fence for a 10-1 Bengal lead.
Then Tarner led off the fifth with a blast to left field to finish the scoring for Blake with an 11-2 margin.
BENGAL NOTES:
Blake is 2-0 for the first time since 2002
Blake has won 11 of its last 13 regular season games
Key Blake hitting statistics: BA .435; OBP: .529; SLG: .717
Key Blake pitching statistics: ERA: 3.50; K average: 1.22 per inning; throwing 62% strikes
Key Blake defensive statistic: .946 fielding percentage (3 errors)
Schrader's Ruthian HR blasts are now legendary. He has hit some legendary blasts: Springbrook (over the 2ND tennis court in LF), Richard Montgomery (onto the football field in RCF); Wheaton (all the way to the fence on Randolph Road on the roll); Blake (two of only three HR ever hit to straight away CF).
BENGAL LEADERS
Hitting:
Average: Schallhorn .667; Schrader .625; Tarner .600; Deane .600
Runs: Schallhorn 5; Tarner 4; Schrader 3
Hits: Schrader 5, Schallhorn 4
RBI: Schallhorn 5, Schrader 4; Flores 4
Slugging: Schrader 1.375; Tarner 1.200; Schallhorn 1.167
OBP%: Schallhorn .750; Tarner .714; Deane .714; Schrader .667
Pitching
Wins: Tarner 1; Rehman 1
ERA: Tarner 3.50; Rehman 3.50
Strikeouts: Tarner 10; Rehman 7
BENGAL QUOTES
"It is great to be off to a hot start for a change," said Blake Coach Steve Murfin. "But in reality, the hot start is a continuation of how we finished last year. The seniors never forgot how hot we were and prepared all winter for a good start to this year."
Added Murfin: "However, let's be realistic. It is nice to have this momentum, but you have to play them one at a time. And it is a long season. Our goal is to play well all year and play this way in May."
On the Tri-Captains Tarner, Schrader and Flores: "These guys have played together their whole lives. They are having the best time of their lives playing baseball right now, performing well and, most important, being leaders for our young team."
On the starting four first-year players: "They have proven they can play at this level. Schallhorn (2b) and Lorber (SS) play like they have played together for 15 years - like Lou Whittaker and Alan Trammel in Detroit did in the middle of the infield for over 15 years.
On the upcoming schedule: "We stressed that they needed to get off to a good start because the schedule gets tough from here. The team responded well to the challenge. Now we have to pick it up a notch and show how good we can be."
Bengals win 7-4
Zack Tarner battled a shaky start by pitching his sixth career complete game and the Bengals overcame deficits twice to defeat Blair 7-4 at Blake in the season opener.
Tarner, heading to Hartford on a pitching scholarship next year, faced 14 batters and threw over half of his total pitches for the game in the first two innings as Blair took a 3-2 lead. He finished the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
Tarner then helped himself by starting the bottom of the second with a single and scored on fellow senior Matt Schrader's first RBI of the season. Schrader, set the Bengal record for most RBI in a season last year with 30.
The Bengals then went ahead for good in the third. Junior second baseman Taylor Schallhorn singled to open the inning. He scored on a Ryan Rehman (So. RF) triple for a 4-3 Blake lead. Catcher Jose Flores, who went 2-2 in the game, knocked in Rehman with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Bengals took a 7-3 lead after six on singles by Flores and Tarner and a double by Schrader.
Tarner, finished strong, retiring nine in a row at one point and 12 of the final 16 batters he faced.
Three home runs carry Bengals past Wheaton
Bengals score 10 straight runs in 11-3 win
Blake completed its undefeated opening week with a dominating 11-3 win over Wheaton.
The Bengals senior dynamic duo of Matt Schrader and Zack Tarner homered to help power the Bengals. But it was the clutch hitting of Taylor Schallhorn, who also hit a four-bagger, that gave Blake the punch it needed to pull away from Wheaton.
Ryan Rehman spread seven hits around and was never in serious trouble after giving up a run in the first inning. His seven-strikeout performance featured only 84 pitches through six innings including 68% strikes. He was relieved in the seventh by Zack Tarner who retired the three batters he faced in order including the first two on strikeouts.
Schallhorn (Jr. 2b) punched a single in the hole to right field to send TJ Deane home with the tieing run in the third. With two outs later in the inning, designated hitter Ben Holgash drilled a single to centerfield, his first hit of the season, to break open the game 3-1.
Blake took a 6-1 lead after four on some aggressive base running and sloppy fielding by Wheaton. Schallhorn had another RBI in the inning.
The onslaught commenced in the fifth. Schrader hit a 0-1 pitch deep over the Center fielder's head. The ball finally landed 391 feet from home plate and rolled down a gully and to the fence next to Randolph Road, another 132 feet from home plate. The ball traveled a total distance of 523 feet. Two batters later, Schallhorn smacked a 2-run shot onto the track beyond the left-centerfield fence for a 10-1 Bengal lead.
Then Tarner led off the fifth with a blast to left field to finish the scoring for Blake with an 11-2 margin.
BENGAL NOTES:
Blake is 2-0 for the first time since 2002
Blake has won 11 of its last 13 regular season games
Key Blake hitting statistics: BA .435; OBP: .529; SLG: .717
Key Blake pitching statistics: ERA: 3.50; K average: 1.22 per inning; throwing 62% strikes
Key Blake defensive statistic: .946 fielding percentage (3 errors)
Schrader's Ruthian HR blasts are now legendary. He has hit some legendary blasts: Springbrook (over the 2ND tennis court in LF), Richard Montgomery (onto the football field in RCF); Wheaton (all the way to the fence on Randolph Road on the roll); Blake (two of only three HR ever hit to straight away CF).
BENGAL LEADERS
Hitting:
Average: Schallhorn .667; Schrader .625; Tarner .600; Deane .600
Runs: Schallhorn 5; Tarner 4; Schrader 3
Hits: Schrader 5, Schallhorn 4
RBI: Schallhorn 5, Schrader 4; Flores 4
Slugging: Schrader 1.375; Tarner 1.200; Schallhorn 1.167
OBP%: Schallhorn .750; Tarner .714; Deane .714; Schrader .667
Pitching
Wins: Tarner 1; Rehman 1
ERA: Tarner 3.50; Rehman 3.50
Strikeouts: Tarner 10; Rehman 7
BENGAL QUOTES
"It is great to be off to a hot start for a change," said Blake Coach Steve Murfin. "But in reality, the hot start is a continuation of how we finished last year. The seniors never forgot how hot we were and prepared all winter for a good start to this year."
Added Murfin: "However, let's be realistic. It is nice to have this momentum, but you have to play them one at a time. And it is a long season. Our goal is to play well all year and play this way in May."
On the Tri-Captains Tarner, Schrader and Flores: "These guys have played together their whole lives. They are having the best time of their lives playing baseball right now, performing well and, most important, being leaders for our young team."
On the starting four first-year players: "They have proven they can play at this level. Schallhorn (2b) and Lorber (SS) play like they have played together for 15 years - like Lou Whittaker and Alan Trammel in Detroit did in the middle of the infield for over 15 years.
On the upcoming schedule: "We stressed that they needed to get off to a good start because the schedule gets tough from here. The team responded well to the challenge. Now we have to pick it up a notch and show how good we can be."
Mixed Week for Ladies' Lax
Easy win followed by tough loss
After roaring past Seneca Valley by a score of 16-4, the Lady Bengals came up short as Quince Orchard's Lady Cougars won easily by a score of 14-9.
The Lady Screaming Eagles' wings were quickly clipped as the Lady Bengals roared out with a flurry of goals. By halftime, the Lady Bengals were leading 10-2, outshooting Seneca Valley 18-8. The game was halted with some 8 minutes to go, due to an injury. The Lady Bengals ending up scoring 16 goals on 25 shots, led by Sammy Allen's 8 goals on 10 shots.
On March 24, Quince Orchard quickly showed themselves to be a stronger challenge. The Lady Cougers led at halftime by a score of 8-4 and spent much of the second half controlling the pace of the game. The final score was a disappointing 14-9. The Lady Bengals were led by Rachel Schenxnayder's 4 goals and Jessica Stewart's 3 goals.
Easy win followed by tough loss
After roaring past Seneca Valley by a score of 16-4, the Lady Bengals came up short as Quince Orchard's Lady Cougars won easily by a score of 14-9.
The Lady Screaming Eagles' wings were quickly clipped as the Lady Bengals roared out with a flurry of goals. By halftime, the Lady Bengals were leading 10-2, outshooting Seneca Valley 18-8. The game was halted with some 8 minutes to go, due to an injury. The Lady Bengals ending up scoring 16 goals on 25 shots, led by Sammy Allen's 8 goals on 10 shots.
On March 24, Quince Orchard quickly showed themselves to be a stronger challenge. The Lady Cougers led at halftime by a score of 8-4 and spent much of the second half controlling the pace of the game. The final score was a disappointing 14-9. The Lady Bengals were led by Rachel Schenxnayder's 4 goals and Jessica Stewart's 3 goals.
Blake Baseball off to Best Start since 2002
Mix of Seniors and newcomers pace Bengals hot start
The Blake Bengals Baseball team is off to its best start since 2002, the last team to reach the Regional Finals, after sweeping it's two games in the first week of the Maryland 4A season.
Blake defeated Blair 7-4 in the season opener on Wednesday. On Saturday, three home runs, including a bomb by Matt Schrader that traveled 523 feet and a 2-run shot in the same inning by first-year player Taylor Schallhorn paced Blake over Wheaton 11-3.
The red hot Bengals have only been 2-0 one other time in school history. The 2002 Bengals won their first 10 games, the last team to start the season with two wins. Even the 2-A State Finalist team, that ended the season 19-2, started it's 2001 season with a loss.
The hot start is uncharacteristic of the Bengals over the last two years when they have started cold and finished strong with .500 records. In 2004, Blake was 1-4 at the start of the season before ending with an 8-8 regular season record. Last year, the Bengals started 1-6, but ended the season on a 7-2 run going into the playoffs.
Blake has won 11 of its last 13 regular season games.
The staple of the hot streak is based around the basic fundamentals of winning baseball: good hitting, good defense and good pitching.
Over the last nine games last year, Blake batted .390. After two games this season, the Bengals are batting .434. Blake committed only 11 errors in the final 9 games last year. So far this season, only 3 errors have been committed. And last season, the Bengals team ERA was 3.25 over the final weeks of the season. In two games this season, the team ERA is 3.50. Teams are batting .228 against the Bengals pitching.
Newcomer Taylor Schallhorn (Jr. 2b) is batting .667 and has 5 RBIs and has scored 5 runs to lead the Bengals. Power hitter Schrader (Sr. 3b) is batting .625 and slugging 1.375 with 4 RBI in the two games. Zack Tarner (Sr. P/OF), Blake's most versatile player, pitched a complete game with 8 strikeouts against Blair and followed that performance with a home run vs. Wheaton. Tarner is batting .600 and has scored 4 runs.
The true test of the Bengals hot start comes this week as Blake plays two night games at Whitman on Wednesday and home against Quince Orchard on Friday.
Mix of Seniors and newcomers pace Bengals hot start
The Blake Bengals Baseball team is off to its best start since 2002, the last team to reach the Regional Finals, after sweeping it's two games in the first week of the Maryland 4A season.
Blake defeated Blair 7-4 in the season opener on Wednesday. On Saturday, three home runs, including a bomb by Matt Schrader that traveled 523 feet and a 2-run shot in the same inning by first-year player Taylor Schallhorn paced Blake over Wheaton 11-3.
The red hot Bengals have only been 2-0 one other time in school history. The 2002 Bengals won their first 10 games, the last team to start the season with two wins. Even the 2-A State Finalist team, that ended the season 19-2, started it's 2001 season with a loss.
The hot start is uncharacteristic of the Bengals over the last two years when they have started cold and finished strong with .500 records. In 2004, Blake was 1-4 at the start of the season before ending with an 8-8 regular season record. Last year, the Bengals started 1-6, but ended the season on a 7-2 run going into the playoffs.
Blake has won 11 of its last 13 regular season games.
The staple of the hot streak is based around the basic fundamentals of winning baseball: good hitting, good defense and good pitching.
Over the last nine games last year, Blake batted .390. After two games this season, the Bengals are batting .434. Blake committed only 11 errors in the final 9 games last year. So far this season, only 3 errors have been committed. And last season, the Bengals team ERA was 3.25 over the final weeks of the season. In two games this season, the team ERA is 3.50. Teams are batting .228 against the Bengals pitching.
Newcomer Taylor Schallhorn (Jr. 2b) is batting .667 and has 5 RBIs and has scored 5 runs to lead the Bengals. Power hitter Schrader (Sr. 3b) is batting .625 and slugging 1.375 with 4 RBI in the two games. Zack Tarner (Sr. P/OF), Blake's most versatile player, pitched a complete game with 8 strikeouts against Blair and followed that performance with a home run vs. Wheaton. Tarner is batting .600 and has scored 4 runs.
The true test of the Bengals hot start comes this week as Blake plays two night games at Whitman on Wednesday and home against Quince Orchard on Friday.
