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Emmitsburg Baseball Celebrates 60th Anniversary  

Deb Spalding

60th Anniversary EBSLIn 1955, Articles of Incorporation for the Emmitsburg Little League stated the objective of the league to be, “to implant firmly in the boys of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and reverence so that they may be finer, stronger, and happier boys and will grow to be good, clean, healthy men.” The objectives were to have been achieved by providing supervised competitive baseball games. Since 1955, thousands of boys, and now girls, too, have been impacted in a positive way by this league.

According to a January 28, 1955 Emmitsburg Chronicle article, Paul Claypool was the organizing chairman of the project and the Emmitsburg Lions Club was the first sponsor of the league. Coaches slated that first season included James McKeon, Carlos Englar, Dr. John J. Dillon, Jr., and Prof. Paul Conway. Organizational contributors included Herbert W. Roger, George L. Wilhide, and John J. Hollinger. Additional team sponsors soon came forward.

Organizational officers were slated in June and included Guy R. McGlaughlin, president; Robert Daugherty, vice president; John J. Dillon, Jr., secretary; and J. Edward Houck, treasurer.

Opening day was held Tuesday, June 22, 1955 with Leonard Zimmerman’s Cards beating Jack Rosensteel’s Yankees 4-0. Emmitsburg’s Burgess,Thornton Rodgers tossed out the first ball.

The concession stand was built in 1975 and named Sayler’s Stand for former league president, Bob Sayler, who served food from the concession stand for thirty years. Sayler passed away in 1997 at the age of seventy-five.

The first girls to play in the league started to appear in the 1960s and 1970s. They were mixed in as members of the boys’ teams. Today, there are several girl’s teams ranging in age from 8-16. They play in the Frederick County Girls Softball League.

Former league president and long-time league volunteer, Mary Topper, said, “In 2004, the league decided to join a new league, the Mason Dixon League, which included Taneytown, Littlestown, and Charles Carroll. The reason for the change was the lack of boys teams in Emmitsburg. The officers thought it was good for the players from nine to twelve years to experience new competition. Our teams were very successful in this league.”

A few years later, the Emmitsburg Little League changed from little league to being independent and officially became the Emmitsburg Baseball and Softball League. At this time, teams went on to play in Pony league. Since 2009, teams have been playing in the Cal Ripken League because this league plays by rules used in major league and high school baseball.

Older boys, aged 13-19, currently play in the Frederick County Babe Ruth League. EBSL currently has two teams in the 13-15 league and one team in the 16-19 league.

EBSL has hosted the Frederick County Babe Ruth 13-15 year end-of-year tournament for the past two years under the leadership of Doug Wivell. Also, EBSL has hosted the State Tournament for Cal Ripken for the past three years, and the Emmitsburg 12U All Stars have won the Maryland state title three years in a row under the coaching of Dave Wantz III, Jimmy Click, and John Malachowski. They advanced to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania for the Regional Championships the first year and to New York the second year, then returned to Waynesboro again this year. The 12U Redsox were undefeated during this season.

Emmitsburg’s 12U girls softball team won first place in the silver division. The 15U girls came in second in their division. With success of the Mason-Dixon League, Emmitsburg will continue to play against other teams in Fairfield, Gettysburg, and Taneytown.

Past presidents include Guy McGlaughlin, Dr. William Cadle, Thomas Bollinger, Richard McCullough, Thomas “Tip” Harbaugh, Robert Sayler, Thomas Ryan, Roy Wivell, William Wivell, Lisa Krom, Dean Torgenson, Mary Topper, Brian Holt, Jeff Little, Brian Devilbiss, Jeff topper, and Tom Kelly.

The league would like to thank the town and the sponsors for their support. To volunteer on the board, serve as a coach, or become a sponsor, please email mltopper@msn.com.

CHS Sports Boosters to Hold Re-Dedication Ceremony

The Catoctin High School (CHS) Sports Boosters will hold a re-dedication ceremony of the memorials to former Catoctin athletes and fallen military heroes, 1Lt. Robert A. Seidel, III and LCpl. James Willard Higgins, Jr. prior to the Homecoming football game at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25, 2015, in Cougar Stadium. The memorials have been completely restored in memory of Jeff Wivell, who was instrumental in the initial creation of the monument area.

Emmitsburg Walks Off With Three-Peat

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Davy Wantz IV                                                        

Emmitsburg hosted the Cal Ripken 12U 46/60 state tournament from July 2nd to July 7th, for the third consecutive year. Emmitsburg was coming off of back-to-back state titles entering the tournament, and was returning eight players from last year’s championship winning team. With these players and the addition of some new talent, Emmitsburg was optimistic to win its third straight championship in front of the home crowd.

On July 2nd, Emmitsburg opened up pool play against UMAC. Emmitsburg had a slow first inning, but Johnny Glass led off the second inning with one of his two homeruns for the game. Glass also dominated on the mound, pitching four innings and allowing just one run on one hit. Bryson Caballero finished the game with two strong innings. Garrett Malachowski cleared the bases on a three-run homerun in the 5th inning, scoring Logan Harrington, Brendan Ott and himself. Lucas Royce, Evan Ott, Johnny Hoffman, and Jayson Howard all had hits as well. Emmitsburg tallied 16 total hits in the opening game, winning 10-1 over UMAC.

In the second game of pool play, Emmitsburg played Smithsburg, who was last year’s runner-up in the state tournament. Dylan Click had two hits, including a homerun. Caballero blasted a homerun as well. Malachowski hit another homerun to add on to his hot hitting performance. Caballero pitched four innings and Glass pitched two innings, combining to allow no runs on just three hits. Emmitsburg improved to 2-0 in pool play with the 6-0 win.

Frederick was Emmitsburg’s third opponent in pool play. Dylan Click started the game on the mound and pitched two innings of no hit ball. Sean Mazaleski and Garrett Malachowski both pitched two innings as well, each getting four strikeouts. Mason Joy drove in two runs in the 1st inning to put Emmitsburg ahead. Noah Oleszczuk added three more runs in the 2nd inning when he launched a three-run homerun. Malachowski hit a grand-slam homerun in the third inning of the game to make it 9-0. Frederick scored one in the bottom half of the inning to make it 9-1. The score remained 9-1 until the 6th inning when the Ott brothers drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to add two more runs. Emmitsburg won 11-1, and improved to 3-0 in pool play.

In the last game of pool play, Emmitsburg played Severn. The last time the two teams played against each other was in the 2012 state championship game, where Severn beat Emmitsburg. Emmitsburg has not lost a state tournament game since that loss. The game was a pitching duel, with each team throwing one pitcher the entire game. Emmitsburg’s Bryson Caballero allowed only three hits and struck out nine batters. The deciding factor was an early 1st inning homerun by Emmitsburg’s Noah Oleszczuk. Emmitsburg won the game 1-0 and finished pool play 4-0. Emmitsburg advanced to the title game for the fourth straight year with hopes to win its third straight championship.

Severn beat UMAC in the semi-finals to setup a rematch with Emmitsburg. Emmitsburg started Johnny Glass on the mound. Emmitsburg took a one run lead in the 1st inning when Bryson Caballero drove in Dylan Click. Severn scored in the 4th inning on a two-run homerun, which gave Severn the lead 2-1. In the bottom half of the 4th inning, Noah Oleszczuk answered with a two-run shot of his own. This gave Emmitsburg the lead again, 3-2. After a scoreless 5th inning, Severn tied the game on a solo homerun in the top of the 6th. This sent Emmitsburg into the bottom half of the 6th, needing a run to win. Johnny Glass pitched a strong six innings, striking out 12 opposing batters. In the bottom of the 6th, Severn got the first out and needed just two more to force extra innings. As the intensity of the game was building, Emmitsburg’s ninth batter, Logan Harrington stepped up to hit. Harrington is a great base runner with good speed; if he gets on base then Emmitsburg would be in a favorable situation with the top of the order coming up. Harrington, however, made history. He hit a walk-off homerun to send his team to the Middle Atlantic Regional. It was his first homerun of the season, but he saved it for the right moment. Emmitsburg won 4-3 and were state champions for the third consecutive year.

At the Middle Atlantic Regional, Emmitsburg opened up pool play against Cumberland County, PA. Johnny Glass had two hits and an RBI. Bryson Caballero and Mason Joy also had hits. Emmitsburg lost 4-3.

In the second game of pool play, Emmitsburg played Waynesboro. Dylan Click and Johnny Glass had Emmitsburg’s only hits. Emmitsburg lost 10-0 and dropped to 0-2 in pool play.

In day two of regionals, Emmitsburg played Severn, MD in their first game of the day. Dylan Click and Johnny Glass pitched three innings each, holding Severn to just one run. Dylan Click had two hits, including a homerun with two RBIs. Bryson Caballero had four hits with two RBIs. Johnny Glass and Logan Harrington had two RBIs in the game as well. Jayson Howard had a pinch-hit and RBI. Emmitsburg won 10-1 to improve to 1-2 in pool play.

In the final game of pool play Emmitsburg played Marlton, NJ. A win would advance Emmitsburg into the quarterfinals. Solid pitching from Johnny Glass, Dylan Click, and Bryson Caballero backed Emmitsburg, as they didn’t allow a run. The game was decided by a lone run, coming from an RBI single from Evan Ott in the second inning. Emmitsburg won 1-0 and finished pool play 2-2, advancing to the quarterfinals as the three seed from their pool.

In the quarterfinal, Emmitsburg played Delaware Valley, PA; Delaware Valley was the Pennsylvania state champion. Emmitsburg’s Brendan Ott had a hit and Logan Harrington had two hits. Johnny Glass had a two-run homerun in the third, scoring Emmitsburg’s only runs in a 6-2 loss.

Emmitsburg finished a great season, advancing to a regional quarterfinal for the first time in the league’s sixty-year history.

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Pictured in no particular order: Players Jayson Howard, Garrett Malachowski, Johnny Hoffman, Johnny Glass, Bryson Caballero, Noah Oleszczuk, Evan Ott, Mason Joy, Sean Mazaleski, Logan Harrington, Brendan Ott, Lucas Royce and Dylan Click. Coaches: Dave Wantz, Jimmy Click, John Malachowski, and Jacob Fisher.