by Roman Khrizman ‘27 and Charlie Weigand ‘27

Sherwood baseball finished their incredible last season retaking the state championship title after an early-round exit the year before. Now the team looks to go back-to-back and take home their fifth title in six years. The team lost some key seniors to graduation,  but this year they have a great senior class with notable players including captains Carter Sweeney and Calum Jagannathan, as well as pitcher Ryan Zanni, who is looking like the team’s ace for the season.

In their home opener Sherwood played against a tough Whitman team who is second in wins in the last ten years in Montgomery County. On the offensive side senior Jake Berger had a solid game, getting two key hits. Senior Cam Calandro had a clutch hit that gave Sherwood the lead late in the game. Senior pitcher Lee Gisriel had a strong outing, giving up only three earned runs. Senior Charlie Crismond came into the game and gave up zero earned runs for the save in a game Sherwood won 6-4.

The offense really came out and produced against BCC. Sherwood added two runs in the first inning and did not look back from there. Through the first three innings Sherwood had a dominant 7-0 lead. Zanni shut them down for the 4 innings he pitched. The team was then able to put on 7 more runs in the fourth inning, giving them a 14-0 lead. The game finished after the fifth inning due to mercy rule. If the offense continues to show up like this, Sherwood could make a deep run in this year’s playoffs.

The Warriors came up short in a close game against a tough Damascus team, losing 3-2. Despite giving up three earned runs, Zanni had a solid six full innings. However, Sherwood’s offense was unable to get past Damascus’ two pitchers who dominated the entire game.

Overall, the Warriors are looking good heading into the second half of the season with them facing easier competition against Paint Branch, Gaithersburg and Springbrook.

“The Sherwood pitching staff has really stepped it up, giving up an average of 2.3 runs per game,” Jagannathan noted. The tougher competition at the start of the season, along with a great pitching staff, should propel them into a successful second half and a good spot to make a run for back-to-back state championships.