With a firm focus, ace Anthony Felitti and Gaithersburg baseball are rolling
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Version 0 of 1. Anthony Felitti had just struck out 10 batters in four innings of work for Gaithersburg’s baseball team Tuesday in yet another dominant performance on the mound for the All-Met senior, but in the game’s aftermath, he was cautious not to overestimate its importance. Nevermind that the 15-6 win against Churchill marked Gaithersburg’s 13th straight victory dating back to last year’s run to the Maryland 4A state title. And don’t look too much into the Trojans’ 35-5 scoring margin through three games this season. For Felitti and the No. 2 Trojans, the key to maintaining their success is to remain unimpressed; never too high and never too low. “We knew we had a really good team last year and even though Coach (Jeff) Rabberman would try to remind us that we hadn’t won anything yet, it’s hard to get that through to a bunch of 17- and 18-year-old kids,” said Felitti, a George Mason recruit. “But after winning last year, I think we’ve matured a lot and we understand it’s important to keep our heads right and not get too far ahead of ourselves.” That won’t do much to curb the repeat championship chatter from others; not with the names and numbers bursting from Gaithersburg’s resume this season. A year after going 10-0 with two saves and a 0.85 ERA, Felitti has struck out 16 batters in two wins. Fellow senior Nick Pantos clubbed his second home run of the year in Tuesday’s rout, five days after allowing just one hit and striking out six in five innings against Northwest. The shutout victory served as perhaps the lone exception in the Trojans’ even-keeled approach. A year after struggling with arm issues and with only two months of throwing under his belt after a lengthy physical therapy process, Pantos provides Gaithersburg with another dependable arm. “In some ways, it was a good thing to be off that long, because once I did start back throwing, I didn’t have any bad habits that sometimes come over time,” Pantos said. “I could focus on implementing a lot of new things to my delivery and keep progressing.” Fellow senior captains Zack DeCarlo (.667 batting average) and Bradley Sawyer (.571 with six RBIs) are providing another jolt of leadership and offensive punch to one of the area’s most balanced teams. Just don’t tell that to the Trojans, whose narrow focus dictates that they not look too far back or ahead. “I don’t want to say we forget about last year, but now that this season has started, we try not to think about it too much so we can keep up our intensity and hunger,” Pantos said. “We can’t ever be content. Madison went 3-2 against tough national competition at the Sarasota Classic in Florida. The Warhawks have outscored local teams 34-1 in three games. . . . Paul VI knocked off then-No. 2 Spalding on Tuesday to remain unbeaten. . . . West Springfield won all five of its games at the Mingo Bay Classic in South Carolina, including a victory against then-No. 5 Battlefield. . . . Lake Braddock enters the rankings after rallying to beat then-No. 4 St. John’s last Wednesday. 1. Madison (6-2) LW: 1 2. Gaithersburg (3-0) LW: 3 3. Paul VI (8-0) LW: 8 4. Spalding (9-2) LW: 2 5. Riverdale Baptist (14-2) LW: 5 6. Loudoun Valley (1-0) LW: 7 7. West Springfield (6-0) LW: NR 8. Lake Braddock (4-1) LW: NR 9. Chantilly (4-1) LW: 10 10. Sherwood (4-0) LW: NR Dropped out: No. 4 St. John’s (4-3), No. 5 Battlefield (5-2) On The bubble: Battlefield, Stone Bridge (5-1) Records through Tuesday. |