Jackson Hongtong ‘21

The Sherwood varsity baseball team has earned their ticket to play in the 4A State Championship game against Old Mill after beating the Eleanor Roosevelt Raiders 11-1 in the semi-final on Tuesday.
The Warriors built a commanding lead after scoring six runs in just the opening two innings. Sherwood continued to pad their lead by adding another three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth to rout the Raiders and move on. Junior Ian Brady got the win on the mound, with sophomore Jake Becker, senior Michael Bouma, and senior Ben Vok all having a multi-hit day.
“I feel really good about our team going into the states,” said Bouma. “With Ben Vok on the mound, good hitting, and good defensive plays, I believe we should have no problem taking the championship home.”
Tonight’s championship game is at 7:30 at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. Old Mill, from Arundel County, reached the finals after a 4-3 walkoff win against Whitman in the other 4A semi-final. Old Mill has a 16-8 record but comes into the matchup against Sherwood riding a 11-game winning streak.
The Warriors’ only loss of the season came April 17 in a 3-2 defeat against B-CC. They are appearing in the championship game for the first time since 2014 when they lost to Chesapeake. Sherwood baseball last won a state title in 2010.
“I’m extremely confident in my team, and I think top to bottom we have one of the best lineups in the state. Playing our brand of baseball has been a huge part of our success and overall just maintaining a high energy level no matter what the score is,” said senior infielder and pitcher Bradshaw Steeley.
The Warriors faced the Dulaney Lions for the regional championship on May 17. The game was quite intense and filled with many great defensive plays by both teams. After seven competitive innings, both teams were held scoreless and headed into extra innings. After getting a runner on third base in the bottom of the eighth, junior outfielder Joey Bowers hit a sacrifice fly-out for the runner to score and win the game 1-0.
“We work on a lot of detail oriented stuff going into the playoffs because we know that one little play can change the outcome of the game, so we do a lot of defense, pickoffs, and base-running work to be prepared for stressful situations,” said senior infielder JP Yore.