by Roman Khrizman ‘27 and Charlie Weigand ‘27

Sherwood baseball has a wealth of playoff experiences after years of being the best program in the state of Maryland. However, that success still takes preparation and that’s what the Warriors have after wrapping up their season with five consecutive tough matchups that got them ready for playoff-level competition. So far it’s paying off with a 8-0 victory in round 1 of the playoffs against Mount Hebron, followed up by a second round game against Reservoir on May 12.

Sherwood had to go through Good Counsel, Blair, Walter Johnson, Northwest, and Damascus. These five teams will be a preview to the tough competition that will be ahead of them on their journey to back-to-back state championship titles.

In the first two games, pitching was the key for the Warriors. On April 24, the team went up against Good Counsel, a highly anticipated rivalry game at OBGC, to kick off the Olney Days weekend. Senior pitcher Ryan Zanni went the distance in a shutout 13-0 win. “I wanted to have a big impact this year so I worked hard in the off season to get to where I am now,” said Zanni on how his role has changed from last season to this season.

A few days later on April 27 the team kept things rolling from key pitching by junior Colton McCarthy and senior Charlie Crismond who allowed the team to ease into the game and string together a few big innings to get the 7-0 win.

To kick off the start of May, the Warriors were at home for senior night against a competitive Walter Johnson team. It was a big senior night for Jake Berger who was able to walk it off in the late stages of the game to give the team a 4-3 win.

“I’ve really focused on staying disciplined at the plate … trusting my approach, and staying consistent,” said Berger. Sherwood then played the next day, making up their game against Northwest, where senior Lee Gisriel pitched a phenomenal complete game shutting out Northwest in a 7-0 victory. This marks Sherwood’s third shutout of four.

“Our pitching staff has been locked in the entire season. All of the kids on our roster have arm talent,” said head coach Sean Davis. Sherwood ended their season finishing with a record of 17-2 after a huge win against Damascus with senior Connor Flickinger having two home runs propelling Sherwood to a 17-7 victory.