Welcome to the website for the varsity baseball team at Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Md., part of the Montgomery County Public Schools. The Gladiators participate in the 3A Division of MCPS Athletics. The varsity baseball team is coached by Jerry Ricucci.
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Former All-Met Baseball Player
Named Northwood JV Coach
Timothy P. Pritchard, a three-time all-county shortstop and pitcher at Watkins Mill HS, has joined the Northwood High School baseball staff as junior varsity coach for 2010.
In his senior season (1996), Pritchard was named to The Washington Post's All-Met team. He made the Crown All-Star team for the state's finest scholastic players at Camden Yards and represented Team Maryland in the Sunbelt Classic in Oklahoma. He went on to Montgomery College Germantown, one of the nation's best junior college baseball programs, for two seasons. He was honored as a 1st team All-American twice as a pitcher and 3rd baseman before completing his collegiate career as the starting 3rd baseman at Towson University, an NCAA Division I program.
His baseball experience since graduating with a teaching degree includes serving as an assistant coach at the Park School in Parkville, Md. He also served as an assistant coach at his high school alma mater and worked as a volunteer coach with his former American Legion team (Gaithersburg Post 295, a perennial power) and at Montgomery College Germantown.
Pritchard is in his first year as a health and physical education teacher at Northwood. He served as assistant coach for the Gladiators' varsity football team during the fall.
"I am very excited about the upcoming season and I look forward to working with the Northwood baseball players," said Pritchard. "I think with the right attitude and hard work, Northwood could see success."
He will join head skipper Jerry Ricucci in running tryouts for the varsity and JV baseball squads beginning March 1. -- posted by jay p. goldman, 1/12/10
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Varsity Baseballers Eye Expanded Slate
in Higher Division in Spring 2010
The Northwood varsity baseball team will play a 17-game schedule in 2010, its most regular-season contests since the school reopened in 2004-05. It also will be the Gladiators' first year as a Class 3A side, meaning tougher competition on the diamond.
The spring slate, which was announced in early August by the Montgomery County Public Schools, will open with a home game against Quince Orchard, a perennial power, on Monday, March 22.
The 2010 schedule includes home-and-away series with neighboring schools Kennedy and Einstein and two games at Seneca Valley HS. One of the latter games is scheduled for the middle of spring break (March 29-April 6), the first time Northwood has asked to play during the vacation period, a custom of the area�s stronger baseball programs in recent years.
Conspicuously missing from the schedule -- for the third consecutive spring -- is a regular-season matchup against rival Montgomery Blair HS. However, it's likely that Northwood Coach Jerry Ricucci will arrange at least one pre-season scrimmage against Blair, his alma mater.
Northwood's move from Class 2A to Class 3A this fall was dictated by a statewide reconfiguration of the four-class structure that takes place every two years based on each high school's student enrollment in grades 9-11 during the previous school year. The Gladiators have competed against the area's smaller schools in Class 2A since resuming varsity play in spring 2007, but because the school's enrollment cleared the 1400-student mark, the Gladiators were forced to move up a notch..
As a Class 3A school, Northwood will play some of the county's larger schools, including Quince Orchard, Damascus, Churchill, Blake and Wootton, next spring. Quince Orchard finished 2009 with a 13-2 regular season and placed two players on the Gazette's all-star first-team in Montgomery County.
The complete 2010 schedule appears at the top left corner of this team website. -- updated by jay p. goldman, 9/11/09
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With '09 Season Complete, Baseball Honors
Flow to Hessler, Weidman, Goldman
13 varsity, JV players named Scholar Athletes for stellar academics
While the team�s successes were limited during the 2009 campaign, Northwood baseball still found individual performances worthy of post-season accolades. These included recognition for outstanding academic work.
Coach Jerry Ricucci, completing his first year as the Gladiators� coach, used the occasion of Northwood�s Spring Sports Awards Night on May 21 to call out his players deserving of attention.
Ricucci honored junior co-captain Jimmy Hessler as the team�s most valuable player. The talented southpaw played three positions � pitcher, centerfield and first base. "He did a great job at all three," Ricucci said from the auditorium stage. "He�ll be our driving force behind next year�s team."
The coach�s Leadership Award was presented to senior Adam Weidman, a part-time outfielder and backup catcher "who exemplified what team play is all about. � He�s the kind of player every coach would love to have."
Ricucci said Weidman, who will enter American University this fall, was always one of the first volunteers to work on raking the base paths and handling other supportive tasks. Pointing to the honoree�s quiet, mild-mannered nature, the coach said: "All season long I�ve been mispronouncing his name and he never corrected me!"
Also honored was Seth Goldman, a senior co-captain who was selected by the varsity baseball coaches in Montgomery County to play in the annual seniors all-star game at Blake High School on May 27. Goldman, who is bound for Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., was the only senior selected from the Downcounty Consortium for the all-star game. A lefty, he split his time between first base and the mound.
Northwood baseball also honored 13 boys as Scholar Athletes, meaning they attained at least a 3.25 GPA during the spring season. This total was second only to girls lacrosse for the highest representation of scholars among spring sports at Northwood.
The honorees from the varsity team were Sam Allen, Seth Goldman, Tim Hardin, Jimmy Hessler, Ian Leach, Joe Leibmann, Adrick Sharpe and Chad Williams. The latter was singled out for maintaining a 4.0 average. Those honored from the JV side were Spencer Bodian, Luis Gutierrez, Cary Koenig, Andrew Soncrant and Carter Stinson.
Ricucci filled in for JV Coach Doug Remer during his presentation. Remer, in a prepared statement, referred to a letter from an opposing coach who praised the Gladiator JV team members for their positive attitudes and energy. Remer named freshman Andrew Soncrant the team�s MVP.
In briefly recapping the one-win varsity season, Ricucci applauded his troops for shouldering "a tremendous burden," including the unexpected death of Head Coach Ed Pikor at age 56 last September and his late January appointment as successor. "They had a lot on their shoulders, and it obviously affected performance. At no time did they hang their heads and quit."
Already looking toward next spring, Ricucci said he was excited by the possibilities. He said the first Northwood-only team to enter the summer league of the Montgomery County Baseball Association was one promising development, and he indicated he planned to provide winter training opportunities that would include coaching from players at Columbia Union College, where his son Mike is the head coach.
"This year, we dedicated the season to Coach Pikor," Ricucci said. "Next year, we�re dedicating it to the seniors of 2009." � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 5/21/09, 10:25 p.m.
For action photos of 10 Northwood games during 2009 (taken by Alex Moschkin and Susan Shaffer), click
here.
South Hagerstown 11, Gladiators 1
In 2009 finale, disappointment reigns from a familiar concoction
In what would be their final outing of the 2009 season on Friday afternoon (May 8), Northwood�s varsity baseballers showed off the same mix of factors that made this such a disappointing campaign from the start: uneven pitching, untimely fielding breakdowns and missed chances on the base paths.
The result was predictably similar to many that have preceded over the past seven weeks -- an 11-1 loss to the South Hagerstown HS Rebels (6-10) in the first-round of the Class 2A West regional tournament. The post-season contest, shortened to five innings by the mercy margin, was played in the comfort of 70-degree, cloudy conditions (without a drop of rain!) on the ballfield of the Washington County high school.
The Gladiators, who finished the year at 1-13, tallied their lone run in the top of the final inning when trailing 8-0. Sophomore Chad Williams, playing with greater confidence in each outing, opened with a single just beyond third base. He was forced out at second during Anatoly Moschkin�s fielder�s choice, and senior Joe Liebmann followed with a single, moving his mate to third. Co-captain Jimmy Hessler�s deep flyout to center brought home Moschkin but Liebmann was tagged out a step before reaching thirdm ending the inning.
Hessler, a junior and Northwood�s top pitcher, hurled four complete innings and experienced trouble in only one, the second inning. Unfortunately, after getting two outs he lost the mastery of his pitches, surrendering four walks, and his teammates failed to bolster him, committing errors at shortstop and left field. The speedy Rebels took full advantage of the lapses, crossing the plate seven times.
Coach Jerry Ricucci gave his other co-captain, senior Seth Goldman, a final outing on the mound in hopes of extending the game to the seventh inning -- something the Gladiators managed to do only once in their previous eight games. Goldman, a southpaw, got two quick outs among the first three batters he faced, but then walked three and gave up a bases-loaded double, which brought the game to a quick end because of the 10-run margin.
For one of the few times this season, the Gladiators had base runners in every inning, but a pickoff at 1st base in the second inning and a runner thrown out advancing in the third squelched any potential run production.
The contest in South Hagerstown featured one other common element: A small but faithful, traveling band of Northwood parents rooted heartily from the sidelines as the clocked ticked down on the remnants of the spring season. This was the last game in a Northwood baseball uniform for five senior starters: Goldman, Liebmann, catcher Sam Allen and outfielders Mike Lafferty and Adam Weidman. The team will honor them at a post-season party (on May 17) since their Seniors Day, along with a second game, was washed out by rain earlier in the week and could not be rescheduled.
Ricucci, a veteran baseball coach (and former Montgomery Blair standout) who completed his first year at the helm of the Gladiators, will have a solid core returning in 2010, led by Hessler, who is also the starting signal caller for the Northwood football team, and Moschkin, a fleet-footed junior shortstop who demonstrated an uncanny ability to find his way on base. Moschkin, a wide receiver in football, scratched and clawed his way on base an astonishing 33 times in 48 plate appearances and reached first 11 times during his first at-bat in Northwood�s 14 games.
The Gladiators also will benefit from the return of junior righthander Devin Tracey, outfielders Malik Sapp and Ian Leach and Williams, a third baseman who also provided some relief on the mound. Reserves Tim Hardin, Adrick Sharpe, Bryan Smalls and Gary Williams will be asked to fill in the pieces, along with a rising corps of JV performers.
Further helping the cause, a team consisting solely of Northwood varsity and junior varsity players will enter this summer for the first time in the high school division of the Montgomery County Baseball Association. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 5/9/09, 8:35 a.m.
Gladiators Visit South Hagerstown Rebels in Playoff Game Friday
Having had its final two regular-season games washed out early this week, Northwood�s varsity baseball team has learned where it will begin the post-season tournament � at South Hagerstown HS in Washington County, Md.
The playoff game versus the Rebels will begin at 4:30 p.m. Friday. (If rained out, the game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday, though the game time could be moved up -- to accommodate Northwood's prom on Saturday evening -- if both sides agree.)
In Friday�s post-season contest, the Gladiators will face a team that ranked as one of the state's best a year ago when the Rebels advanced to the semifinals of the state's Class 2A tournament and finished at 17-4. Having lost the team's top two pitchers to graduation (who combined for a 14-0 record with ERAs both under 1.85), South Hagerstown this year will enter the playoffs with a more modest 5-10 won-loss record.
Here's how Tim Koelble, a sports writer for the Hagerstown daily newspaper, sizes up South Hagerstown on the baseball field in 2009: "The Rebels have been an underachieving team. ... They've also been a very erratic team defensively. One of their best players last season -- Tyeler Presgraves -- hit 11 home runs and has just produced one this year. ... Centerfielder Adrian Adams is hitting only .240 and was counted on for some power. Pitching has not come around as hoped. They've had some quality wins and just when ou think they are going to turn it around they revert to playing bad baseball."
The game is considered a first-round matchup in the state�s West Region Class 2A tournament � which includes 11 medium-sized high schools in four counties (Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll and Washington). Five of the teams, including Rockville HS, received byes in Friday�s first round.
South Hagerstown is the West Region's 6th seed, while Northwood (1-12) is No. 11. The winner of the Northwood-South Hagerstown game plays on Monday at No. 3 seed Walkersville HS in Carroll County.
The playoffs represent Northwood's final competition in Class 2A. Because of enrollment growth, all Gladiator sports teams will compete against larger high schools in Class 3A starting in the fall. ... � updated by Jay P. Goldman, 5/7/09, 1:05 p.m.
Springbrook 22, Gladiators 3
Blue Devils take out frustrations early and often in lopsided affair
The Springbrook Blue Devils looked like world beaters Friday afternoon (May 1), mashing the baseball all over their wet grounds behind their high school on the team�s Seniors Day. Unfortunately, it was the Northwood Gladiators who were on the opposite side.
The margin of Northwood�s 12th defeat in 13 contests was the second biggest of the 2009 season. The hosts opened the game with consecutive triples and piled up the runs from there, with eight in the first, eight in the second and six in the third.
Northwood tallied all three runs in the top of the third. Designated hitter Bryan Smalls and right fielder Gary Williams stroked consecutive singles before shortstop Anatoly Moschkin brought both home with a double. Second sacker Joe Liebman�s sacrifice fly sent Moschkin in.
The Gladiators sent just 18 batters to the plate in the 5-inning game that almost didn�t take place as a steady drizzle drenched the field for 45 minutes before the opening pitch.
The Blue Devils, who had lost 12 of 15 games entering this contest, had been shut out four times this season so the explosive offense came as a mild surprise.
Perhaps the only encouraging performance for Northwood came from junior right-hander Devin Tracey, who surrendered no runs during his inning and a third of relief work on the mound.
The Gladiators close out the home season on Monday, Seniors Day (see story below), and the regular season on Tuesday at Seneca Valley. On Friday, they will play against an unnamed foe in the first round of the West Region 2A playoff. -- posted by Jay P. Goldman, 5/1/09, 6:10 p.m.
Northwood Bades Farewell to 5 Seniors
Brief ceremony to precede Monday's home finale
Northwood varsity baseball will honor its five seniors immediately prior to the varsity�s final home game of 2009 on Monday afternoon. First pitch against Poolesville HS is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. (following the JV game against Seneca Valley, which starts at 3:30 p.m.)
Coach Jerry Ricucci will briefly introduce each senior -- Sam Allen (bound for Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.) Seth Goldman (also Guilford), Mike Lafferty (Keene State College, Keene, N.H.), Joe Liebman (Temple University, Philadelphia) and Adam Weidman (American University, Washington, D.C.) � along with any attending parents.
Please come out to root for Northwood�s varsity baseball team one final time and congratulate our seniors.
Clarksburg 13, Gladiators 3
Northwood jumps in front, but Coyotes show off their firepower for redundant result
For one of the few times in recent weeks, Northwood�s baseballers grabbed the upper hand in the first frame, but it wasn�t long before host Clarksburg HS showed why it operates one of the more explosive offensives in county baseball.
Although the Gladiators played decently in most phases of the game, the result was a frustratingly common 13-3 loss on Thursday afternoon (April 30). It�s the third straight loss by the same tally and fourth defeat in 2009 by that score.
Gladiator co-captains Jimmy Hessler and Seth Goldman collected two hits each and shared duties on the mound during the five-inning game.
Left fielder Malik Sapp�s 1st-inning infield single drove in Joe Liebman to stake Northwood to a 1-0 edge before the Coyotes roared back, tallying three in their half of the opening frame, another three in the 2nd and two more in the 3rd. Clarksburg (6-7), which honored three graduating seniors in a pre-game ceremony, have been manufacturing more than 13 runs a game over the past half dozen contests despite playing with six sophomore starters.
The Gladiators (1-11) closed within 6-3 with two runs in the 3rd. Shortstop Anatoly Moschkin, continuing with a torrid on-base average this spring, opened by reaching on a second-base error. One out later, Hessler�s long double to center sent him to third. Goldman ripped a shot to center, bringing home one run. Sapp�s fielder�s choice sent Hessler home with the last run.
Also collecting base hits for Northwood were catcher Sam Allen, center fielder Mike Lafferty and Moschkin.
Northwood returns to action on Friday at Springbrook HS in a rain makeup that carries an earlier than usual start time � 3 p.m. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/30/09, 9:20 p.m.
Watkins Mill 13, Gladiators 3
Where�s the passion? Not on the ballfield in loss to another lowly side
Northwood�s baseballers faced one of their best remaining chances to add to their victory total on Tuesday afternoon, facing a Watkins Mill side that had lost all but two of its games in 2009 and dropped four games since spring break by a combined run total of 63-1.
But the Gladiators, playing at home in comfortable mid-80s sunshine in front of a supportive crowd, enabled the Wolverines to play by far their best contest of the season, a 13-3 victory in a six-inning game cut short by the mercy rule.
This was a result no one expected, including Watkins Mill, which racked up 13 base on balls against the three Northwood hurlers, starter Devin Tracey, Chad Williams and Jimmy Hessler. Improving their record to 3-9, the visitors also took advantage of a balk, a hit batter, two wild pitches and four fielding errors by Northwood, including a costly two-base throwing miscue from left field with the bases full in the 4th.
Northwood, which fell to 1-10 and hasn�t won in almost a full month (March 30 versus Kennedy HS), kept the game close in the early running, closing to within 5-2 in the 3rd. In that frame, outfielder Adam Weidman took first on a one-out walk before being sacrificed to second by shortstop Anatoly Moschkin. Second-sacker Joe Liebmann walked and Hessler, the starting center fielder, singled to load the bases. First baseman Seth Goldman rammed a shot to left field, driving in Weidman and Leibmann.
Trailing 8-2, the Gladiators tallied their final run in the 5th. Moschkin reached base on an infield error, took second on a balk and third on a passed ball. Liebmann�s flyball to left brought in the runner.
Northwood plays on the road Thursday at Clarksburg (3:30 p.m.) and Friday at Springbrook (3 p.m.) before returning home one last time in 2009 � next Monday on seniors day for a 5:15 p.m. return encounter against Poolesville. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/28/09, 8:15 p.m.
Digital photog Susan Schafer has captured some of the Northwood-Watkins Mill action. Click here.
Rockville 13, Gladiators 3
Rams expect to make quick work but Northwood doesn�t fully cooperate
The Rockville Rams travelled to Northwood for a noon start Saturday, expecting to vanquish the home side in quick order. After all, the visitors had asked to schedule a second game to be played at 3:30 p.m. the same day.
But the Gladiators didn�t fully cooperate, extending Rockville to six innings before succumbing 13-3. The contest, played in unseasonable 90-degree heat, took two hours and 45 minutes to complete, forcing the Rams (5-6) to rush off to their home field for their nightcap, a makeup of rained-out game against Wheaton HS.
The Gladiators (1-9) got all their scoring early. In the first inning, leadoff batter Anatoly Moschkin accepted the first of his three walks before moving to third on a double by senior Joe Liebmann. One out later, senior Seth Goldman lashed a double to left field, scoring both mates and drawing his side close at 3-2.
The home team tallied its final run in the third. Liebmann and junior Jimmy Hessler opened with walks before Goldman�s sacrifice move them to second and third. Junior Malik Sapp�s infield sacrifice brought Liebmann home.
Northwood threatened again in the fifth when Hessler and Goldman, the two co-captains, opened with base hits. But the next three batters went down in order, though pinch hitter Bryan Smalls did advance the pair with a sacrifice.
Unfortunately, Rockville roughed up Goldman, the lefty starter, for seven runs in the first two frames. Unable to consistently find the strike zone, he passed out 10 walks, keeping base paths crowded.
In his third varsity pitching appearance, sophomore Chad Williams pitched the final 4 1/3 innings of relief, yielding two runs in each of the final three frames.
Northwood has five remaining regular season games, two of them at home, followed by a post-season game in the state tournament that automatically involves all high schools. That game will likely be played on the road on Friday, May 8, and one of the teams that the Gladiators might draw in the Region 2A West is Rockville. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/29/09, 4:35 p.m.
View the action of Northwood-Rockville baseball under the hot sun. Click here for Alex Moschkin's photo work.
Einstein 9, Gladiators 8
A wild 7th inning leaves home side one tantalizing run short; Tracey fans 7
Northwood�s varsity baseballers watched a five-run lead over Einstein HS fritter away before enduring one of the wildest finishes in recent memory. With the bases full in the bottom of the final inning, the Gladiators could only bring one runner home, leaving them a tally short in a frustrating 9-8 setback to the visiting Titans on Thursday (April 23).
The Gladiators trailed 9-7 entering the final frame, but leadoff hitter Anatoly Moschkin took first on his third walk of the day and second sacker Joe Liebmann reached base on a dropped fly in right. Co-captain Jimmy Hessler lashed a single to left, driving in Moschkin to close the gap to one.
Then with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, senior Seth Goldman worked to a full count before hitting a screamer back at the mound, directly into the mitt of the Einstein pitcher for the first out. The Titans intentionally walked Malik Sapp to load the bases.
Northwood Coach Jerry Ricucci directed Sam Allen to lay down a suicide squeeze bunt to bring in Liebmann with the game-tying run, but the opening pitch took a bounce in the dirt, a foot in front of home plate, leaving Allen little chance to put bat on ball. The Einstein found the loose ball in time to block the plate and barely nab the racing Liebmann for the second out.
A few pitches later, Northwood�s catcher grounded out to third, ending the game and sending the home side to its 8th defeat in nine outings.
The Gladiators had jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead on Hessler�s RBI triple and Goldman�s RBI double. They added two more in the second on RBIs by Chad Williams and Moschkin. Northwood increased its upper hand to 7-2 in the 4th, highlighted by consecutive singles by Ian Leach, Mike Lafferty and Williams.
Einstein bounced back in the 5th, plating six runs to take a 9-7 lead, and setting the stage for the wild last half-inning.
The end-of-game excitement overshadowed a stellar pitching performance by junior Devin Tracey. In his third start of 2009, he pitched into the 5th, striking out seven and walking just two. Hessler pitched the final three frames, closing down the Tigers in a 1-2-3 top half of the 7th that included a pair of strikeouts.
Einstein raised its record to 3-6, which includes two wins over the Gladiators. Last spring, Northwood swept the home-and-home series with the Kensington side. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/23/09, 10:15 p.m.
See 96 action shots of the Northwood-Einstein game. Click here for the digital photos of Susan Shaffer.
Weather Postpones Springbrook Contests, Changes Saturday Game Time
For the second successive day, persistent rain along with the addition of hail on Wednesday morning has forced the postponement of the varsity and JV baseball games slated between Northwood and Springbrook.
The varsity game will now be played next week -- at 3 p.m. (a special early start time) on Friday, May 1 at Springbrook HS.
The JV game between the two schools is now rescheduled for this week � at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Northwood.
In addition, the weather has forced a change in start time for the Northwood varsity�s home game on Saturday against Rockville. The game has been moved up to noon (from 1:30 p.m.) to allow Rockville to make up a rained-out game later in the day. -- posted 4/22/09, 8:45 p.m.
BCC 13, Gladiators 3
Northwood partisans move on from loss to pay tribute to their late coach
This was the sort of day Ed Pikor lived for � beautiful spring conditions, a newly groomed dirt infield and two high school sides ready to battle it out with their bats, their mitts and their arms and legs on a baseball diamond.
However, Pikor, who was Northwood�s varsity coach for the past three seasons, wasn�t on the sidelines of the Gladiators� 13-3 setback to Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS on Saturday afternoon (April 18). Yet he was very much on the minds of the 100-plus Northwood partisans who packed the bleachers.
Pikor died unexpectedly in his sleep last September at the age of 56 while working out his personal plans for returning to the helm of Northwood baseball for a fourth season.
In a short, post-game ceremony planned by Northwood parents to celebrate his memory and his contributions to their sons' young lives, Pikor�s two sisters, Pamela Vose of Falmouth, Mass., and Penny Losi of Wallingford, Conn., addressed the gathering in moving terms, saying their brother so relished the last coaching stint he held, and they felt very much at home among the Northwood faithful.
Then Gladiator co-captains Jimmy Hessler and Seth Goldman presented Vose, Losi and Wendy Breskin of Rockville, Pikor�s significant other, with framed photos of the 2008 varsity and new baseballs signed by members of his final team.
Unfortunately, the on-field activities that preceded the tribute and reception on the infield grass were much less satisfying as Northwood dropped its seventh game in eight outings in a game that lasted just five innings because of the mercy rule. Northwood collected only one hit against two BCC pitchers � Hessler�s two-out double deep to center in the first inning.
Trailing 7-0, the Gladiators tallied all three runs in the third by Anatoly Moschkin, Joe Liebmann and Hessler.
In his second start of the spring, Goldman issued seven walks in three innings of work, but he surrendered a sterling chance to help his own cause by striking out with the bases full in the third. Fellow senior Sam Allen relieved in the final two frames.
With the first half of the 2009 season now behind them, the Northwood players hope to start anew during the next week with an away game at Springbrook and home games versus Einstein and Rockville. The Gladiators� new coach, Jerry Ricucci, hopes the positive vibes conveyed at the tribute in honor of his predecessor will take hold on the playing field. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/18/09, 7:15 p.m.
Check out more than 100 action shots of the BCC-Northwood game by clicking here. Digital photographer: Alex Moschkin
Paint Branch 25, Gladiators 3
Golden Panthers maul the visitors in a brutal beating ended mercifully early
One of Paint Branch�s assistant coaches, Ray Gemmill, approached Northwood Coach Jerry Ricucci at the end of Friday�s game, saying "Never heard you so quiet, coach.".
The Gladiators� first-year skipper, who had coached Gemmill as a player years ago in a wooden-bat summer league, had little reason to be vocal as his forces suffered one of the worst defeats in the varsity team�s three-year existence. The 25-3 drubbing to the host Golden Panthers was over almost as soon as the umpires called "play ball" on Friday afternoon (April 17).
Northwood sent only 19 batters to the plate during the five-inning affair, which ended mercifully early by the mercy rule (10-run margin in the 5th inning). But still the Gladiator partisans had to suffer for 2 hours and five minutes through the team�s sixth loss in seven outings this spring. Paint Branch improved to 6-3.
Northwood got its only runs in the 3rd frame. Senior Mike Lafferty, in just his second game since regaining eligiblity, reached first on an infield single. Then Anatoly Moschkin reached on a shortsop error and Joe Liebmann took first on a field�s choice with Lafferty thrown out at third. A triple deep to center by junior Jimmy Hessler plated two runs before co-captain Seth Goldman�s liner through shortstop brought home his teammate.
In his first start since pitching his side to victory on March 30, Hessler had a rough three and one-third innings on the mound that started with his infield mates committing errors on the first two Paint Branch batters he faced. The southpaw walked nine and hit two batters before yielding to Chad Williams in relief. Paint Branch sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning and another 13 in the fourth.
The weather conditions were seemingly ideal with a clear, blue sky and a comfortable 72 degrees. But the host team took advantage of the bright sun just above the horizon behind home plate. It blinded Northwood outfielders during the endless fourth inning when the Golden Panthers shelled Williams, a sophomore in just his second outing, for nine hits, most of them flyballs straight away to center field.
Northwood has surrendered 20 or more runs in a game only three times previously, all during the school�s first varsity season in 2007. The worst beating was a 28-0 loss at Clarksburg that spring. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/17/09, 6:35 p.m.
Einstein 11, Gladiators 2
As players return from two-week spring break, their lifeless bats head South
Two weeks since they last took the field for a contest, Northwood�s varsity baseballers showed up at Einstein HS on Thursday afternoon (April 16) minus one key ingredient � their bats.
The Gladiators also seemed a little short, in the view of Coach Jerry Ricucci, on spirit, dropping a lopsided 11-2 contest to the only team they�ll face this spring with a less flattering won-loss record. The host Titans entered with a 1-5 mark compared to the visitors� 1-4 record at game�s start. In 2008, the Gladiators snatched took two victories over Einstein.
Unfortunately, for those who see omens in unusual acts, this mellow drama opened with a very downbeat harbinger. For the initial time in 2009, Northwood�s leadoff hitter Anatoly Moschkin failed to reach base during his first at-bat. In fact, the fleet shortstop -- who has reached base nearly 75 percent of the time he�s come to the plate in the previous five games -- didn�t get on the damp basepaths at all in four tries.
In their first action since a loss 14 days ago at Poolesville, the Gladiators managed only three hits on the day, two of them by junior co-captain Jimmy Hessler, and the team didn�t erase the zeroes on the scoreboard until the top of the 6th when they already trailed 8-0.
Senior Joe Liebmann, the second sacker, led off that frame with a double down the left field line, and two outs later he came home on an infield error. Sam Allen, the senior catcher, raced home with the other run on a second infield miscue.
Righty Devin Tracey started for the Gladiators. He struck out eight Titans but walked six and didn�t get a boost from two right field errors that opened the gate to six Einstein runs, most unearned, in the 2nd inning. Liebmann made his first appearance on the mound with an inning of relief, but he gave way to co-captain Seth Goldman in the 6th with two men on and Einstein anxious in their dugout to end the game by the mercy rule (10-run margin.). Goldman, who�ll be called on by Coach Ricucci to start Saturday�s home game in front of an expected big crowd, struck out the first three batters he faced in short order to extend the contest.
But the Gladiators wasted a walk to pinch hitter to Adam Weidman in the 7th, allowing Einstein starter Charles Anderson, consistently throwing strikes all afternoon, to close out a complete game win on the beautiful, spring day. The Gladiators will get a second shot at the Titans, a home contest on April 23. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/16/09, 10:05 p.m.
View Alex Moschkin's photos of the Northwood-Einstein game by clicking here.
Gladiators to Remember Their Late Coach
Following Saturday's Home Contest
Northwood baseball players, parents and coaching colleagues will hold a remembrance event for the team's late coach, Ed Pikor, immediately following the varsity game on Saturday (April 18).
Pikor�s two sisters, Pamela Vose and Penny Losi, will travel to Northwood from their homes in New England for the 1:30 p.m. game versus Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Also on hand will be Pikor�s close friend Wendy Breskin of Rockville, Md.
In an informal ceremony at the Northwood bleachers, Pikor�s sisters will share a few words of appreciation for the support provided by the Northwood community to the Pikor family following the unexpected death last September of Northwood�s three-year varsity coach at the age of 56.
Light refreshments will be available on the infield while the Pikor sisters greet Northwood team members and parents. In the event of inclement weather, the remembrance event will take place in the Northwood HS gymnasium. ... posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/12/09
Poolesville 12, Gladiators 8
Moschkin�s plate rampage continues, but his mates squander optimum chances
With its roster depleted and the players� emotions still a bit raw from a disheartening defeat less than 24 hours earlier, Northwood battled host Poolesville HS down to its final at-bat with the game on the line.
But the Gladiators (1-4) just could not muster the timely hit with the bases full in the seventh inning and fell to the Falcons, 12-8, in an intermittent drizzle on Thursday afternoon (April 2). One inning earlier, Northwood left runners stranded at 2nd and 3rd.
The missed chances overshadowed another superb performance at the plate by infielder Anatoly Moschkin. The fleet-footed 6-foot-2 junior, who bats leadoff, reached base all five times, the first four on base hits. He stole two bases and scored twice. In 19 at-bats through five games, Moschkin has reached base on all but four.
He also turned in the game�s defensive gem, stabbing a hot-liner down the 3rd-base line in the 5th inning, then scrambling to his feet to throw out the runner by a step at 1st.
First-year Northwood Coach Jerry Ricucci, a longtime collegiate pitching coach, knew in inheriting the managerial reins that he would be dealing with a precious shortage of arms this spring, and that was borne out even more so on this day with three varsity members in Myrtle Beach, S.C., competing with their high school�s band and chorus. One of those missing was junior co-captain Jimmy Hessler, who likely would have gotten the starting nod on the mound.
So instead, Ricucci called on his other co-captain, senior Seth Goldman, to shoulder the heavy lifting. Goldman accumulated 114 pitches in his four long innings of work, the most of any Northwood pitcher this season. He left with his side trailing 8-5. Sophomore Chad Williams, in his first varsity pitching performance, mopped up in the last two frames.
Williams kept the game in reach, leading to some hopeful moments in the top of the 7th. Adam Weidman opened with a base on balls and Chris Dayhoff joined him on the basepaths after being hit by a pitch. One out later, junior Bryan Smalls stroked his first varsity hit to left, bringing home Weidman. Moschkin then made it to first on an infield error, scoring a second run. But with the heart of the batting order coming to the plate, the Gladiators did nothing to close the gap further.
This week has been a hard one for both sides. The Gladiators dropped a disconcerting one-run decision the day before at Wheaton HS with the latter tallying the winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning. But Poolesville could also lay claim to a harsh run of competition. The Falcons had played three varsity contests already this week and dropped each one. Its victory against Northwood raised its season mark to 3-3.
With the spring break, the Gladiators have time to renew their spirits (especially over a team dinner at Lucia�s Restaurant) before resuming game action almost two weeks later, on April 15 at Einstein HS. The latter school accounted for two of Northwood's three victories in 2008. � posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/2/09, 8:55 p.m.
Wheaton 8, Gladiators 7
Valient comeback slips away in final-inning disappointment
Northwood's varsity baseballers played the object of a cruel April fool on Wednesday (April 1).
The Gladiators clawed their way back from a 5-1 deficit, only to see their own lead dissolve quickly in the increasingly persistent drizzle at Wheaton HS. And worst of all, they allowed the host Knights to grab the win in the botton of the 7th inning of the nip-and-tuck battle without them really swinging the bat.
Looking for a second straight victory following Monday's mercy-rule triumph over Kennedy HS, the Gladiators instead dropped to 1-3, while Wheaton, a team that last week suffered a humiliating 30-2 defeat, raised its mark to 2-3.
Northwood's leadoff hitter Anatoly Moschkin, his team's most consistent performer so far this spring, reached base all four times he came to the plate and tallied three runs, including the go-ahead score.
The Gladiators' most productive inning of the young season was the 4th when they scored five times and jumped out in front 6-5. That temporarily put junior Devin Tracey in a position to gain the pitching win in his first start. He overcame a rocky first inning and settled down nicely. But after Tracey got two outs in the 5th, reliever Seth Goldman couldn't find the plate, unleashing two wild pitches that enabled Wheaton to regain the lead at 7-6.
But Goldman, a senior co-captain, redeemed himself in the top half of the sixth, sending a two-out shot to right that brought home Moschkin to knot the contest at 7-all.
Senior Sam Allen pitched a sparkling sixth inning, striking out two. But with the rain falling harder by the frame, he struggled on the slippery mound with rain-drenched balls in the 7th. Wheaton's first batter reached base on catcher's interference before advancing around to home with the decisive run on three consecutive walks.
The Gladiators play at Poolesville Thursday afternoon, the team's final contest before taking nearly a two-week break from action. -- posted by Jay P. Goldman, 4/1/09, 8:10 p.m.
See 65 action photos of the Northwood-Wheaton contest by clicking here. Photo credit: Alex Moschkin.
Gladiators 12, Kennedy 2
Hessler�s knockout 12-kayo showing and Moschkin�s monster mash key 1st victory
Whether it was a senior starter�s return from three weeks on the disabled list or the extra batting practice in a high-speed cage on Sunday afternoon, Northwood�s varsity baseballers looked dominant in all phases, earning a 12-2 victory over visiting Kennedy HS on Monday afternoon (March 30).
The win was the Gladiators� first in three outings in 2009 and exacted revenge on the same Cavaliers team (1-3) that hammered them, 11-1, just five days earlier in the opener of the home-and-home derby.
The difference this time out was the masterful two-hit pitching performance of junior co-captain Jimmy Hessler. The junior southpaw scattered two hits, struck out 12, walked three and struck out the Kennedy side in the third, fourth and fifth frames while surrendering just a single earned run. The 83-pitch victory, which ended early because of the 10-run mercy rule, represented Hessler's first in a varsity uniform. It also marked the first high school coaching win for Northwood's new coach, Jerry Ricucci, a veteran collegiate coach.
The Gladiators, running the bases with abandon from the start, ended the affair by sending only two batters to the plate in the fifth inning to restore a 10-run margin. Second sacker Joe Liebmann, leading off for Northwood, reached first on an infield error, stole second and raced home on a catching miscue.
Shortstop Anatoly Moschkin reached base three times, but it was his two-out four-bagger in the second inning that rolled to the far edge of the soggy grass in right field that staked his side to a 4-1 edge it never relinquished.
The Gladiators (1-2) swung their bats well, perhaps owing to a couple of hours of batting practice the day before against an 80-mph pitching machine at the Maryland Baseball Academy in Gaithersburg. Nine varsity members spent time in the cage.
The game also marked the return to action of starting outfielder Chris Dayhoff. Three weeks earlier, the three-sport senior had spent four days hospitalized with a wrestling-related injury. In his first game in uniform, he started in center field and collected two walks in three at-bats.
Liebmann and Hessler, batting 2-3 in the order, each crossed the plate three times for Northwood, which returns to action at Wheaton HS on Wednesday afternoon in a rain makeup. Sam Allen or Devin Tracey is expected to get the start on the mound with lefty Seth Goldman slated for starting duty on Thursday at Poolesville HS. -- posted by Jay P. Goldman, 8:40 p.m., 3/30/09
Click here for photos of the Northwood win. Photography by Alex Moschkin.
Wheaton Game PostponedNorthwood's game at Wheaton on Saturday afternoon (3/28) has been postponed to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1 at Wheaton.
This means the Gladiators will play three games in four days prior to the spring break, though the team will practice several days over the break period.
Kennedy 11, Gladiators 1
A fast start on the basepaths, but surrender arrives in a blink
It was an oh-so-promising start that quickly faded to just another uh-oh.
Northwood�s leadoff batter, Anatoly Moschkin, reached base and a couple of minutes later came around to score to stake his team to a 1-0 first-inning advantage on Wednesday (March 25). But then the Gladiators� gloves decomposed in front of their partisans� eyes and the bats went silent into the cold of the breezy afternoon, allowing previously winless Kennedy HS to walk off in celebration with a 11-1 trouncing. The Cavaliers (1-2) scored three of their own in the bottom of the first and ended the contest in the 6th inning by the 10-run mercy rule.
Kennedy played perfect hosts at the top of the opening frame, walking Moschkin, the agile Northwood shortstop, and letting him advance home on a pair of stolen bases and a wild pitch. But the Gladiator offense did nothing to push its case from that point forward, only once sending more than four batters to the plate in an inning and collecting just two base hits, both by junior Malik Sapp, the designated hitter.
In his first start as a varsity performer, senior Sam Allen bravely pitched into the fourth inning, running up a 96-pitch count that included six walks. The defense let him and reliever Devin Tracey, who walked four more, down badly, committing at least one error in every inning and allowing regular base movement on passed balls.
The Gladiators had expected a competitive contest against the Cavaliers, who had suffered a late-game collapse just two days prior when a 5-5 ballgame heading in the fifth degenerated into a 15-5 defeat to Springbrook HS one inning later.
Northwood (0-2) gets another shot at Kennedy, its Silver Spring neighbor, in just a few days, completing the annual home-and-home series at 3:30 p.m. on Monday on the Northwood field. Before then, the Gladiators hope to patch their gloves and add some vitamins to their bats in time for Saturday�s 1:30 p.m. opening pitch at Wheaton HS. The latter school was one of Northwood�s three victims a year ago during the Gladiators� 3-13 season. -- posted by Jay P. Goldman, 3/25/09, 7:55 p.m..
Check out Alex Moschkin's photo coverage of Northwood's Game 1 (Walter Johnson) and Game 2 (Kennedy HS). Click here for the photo gallery.
Walter Johnson 8, Gladiators 3
Disappointment reigns during a chilly 2009 season opener
If you want to use Northwood�s season-opener against Walter Johnson HS on Monday as a litmus test for what�s to come this spring, you probably left with a slightly acidic after-taste.
The visiting Wildcats (1-1) soured the experience early on, thumping the Gladiators, 8-3, on a day of bright sky but an un-springlike chilly breeze that had parent and student fans grabbing for blankets and other warm bundles.
Using the opening game against Walter Johnson as a measuring stick, Northwood had shown some real progress a year ago in what was Northwood�s second varsity season since reopening as a high school. The Gladiators put up a real scare on the scoreboard at Shirley Povich Field, finally succumbing 5-2 to WJ in the promising 2008 season lidlifter.
Those signs of development now are on temporary hold. Northwood Coach Jerry Ricucci, making his debut as a high school skipper after years in the intercollegiate ranks, wasn�t the least bit pleased to find his scholastic side down 5-0 by the end of the second inning. And when the Wildcats went up 8-0 in the 4th, the hometowners looked likely to end the afternoon affair prematurely under the 5-inning mercy rule.
But the Gladiators nibbled away, getting a run-scoring sacrifice by senior Seth Goldman in the 4th, an RBI triple deep into left field by classmate Joe Liebmann in the 5th and a run-scoring single by junior Ian Leach in the 7th and final frame. Liebmann collected a pair of hits on the day, but his mates fanned 13 times against two Walter Johnson pitchers.
Co-captain Jimmy Hessler pitched four innings, striking out six, including two in the first. Goldman, a fellow lefty, stopped further damage, shutting down Walter Johnson without a run while fanning two in relief over the last three frames. He got a nice boost when Liebman and Hessler pulled off a final-inning double play at 1st base.
Ricucci expressed disappointment in his team�s showing, but indicated he "saw a lot of improvement over our two scrimmages (against Montgomery Blair HS). � We still have a long way to go." A positive, he said, is that "the mistakes we made are all correctable, they�re all fixable."
Northwood will visit Kennedy HS, which defeated the Gladiators twice by 10-run margins over a four-day stretch in 2008, at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 25). Senior Sam Allen will get the nod for the first pitching start of his scholastic career. -- posted by Jay P. Goldman, 3/23/09, 8:50 p.m.
Co-Captains Named for 2009 Campaign
Northwood Baseball Coach Jerry Ricucci has named Jimmy Hessler and Seth Goldman the co-captains of the 2009 varsity baeeball team.
Hessler, a junior, is the Gladiators' top pitcher and a three-year member of the varsity. He also is one of Northwood's top athletes. Hessler is the starting quarterback on the school's football team and a versatile performer on the swimming and diving team. He also is a member of Northwood's National Honor Society.
Goldman, a senior, has been a starter for Northwood baseball since his freshman campaign, holding down the 1st base job. He also has been a regular on the mound as both a starter and in long relief. He was elected to the school's National Honor Society in his sophomore year. Goldman will enter Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., in the fall.
Hopes Renewed for Baseballers
After Frenetic Off-Season
Northwood�s varsity baseball team will take to the field this spring with an ample dose of enthusiasm after enduring an off-season that touched on a full spectrum of emotions.
The 2009 Gladiator nine has a small but solid core of returning regulars directed by what may very well be the most experienced high school coaching tandem in Montgomery County.
Jerry Ricucci and Doug Remer have assumed the reins of the Northwood varsity and junior varsity, respectively.
Ricucci moves to the Northwood manager�s berth from a lengthy career in the collegiate coaching ranks, most recently at Columbia Union College, where he spent the past three seasons as the pitching coach. A native of Silver Spring and a 1962 alumnus of Montgomery Blair HS, Ricucci spent two years as a left-handed pitcher in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. (See related story below about Coach Ricucci.)
Remer has managed several collegiate teams in summer baseball leagues, including the D.C. Grays in the Clark Griffith League in 2008. He is former head baseball coach at Einstein HS, where he was an All-Met shortstop in his senior year of high school. Remer, a special education aide at Northwood, has served as a volunteer coach at the school during the last two years.
Ricucci and Remer hope to maintain Northwood�s progress on the baseball diamond. The Gladiators went winless in 2007, their first year of varsity play since the school shut down after the 1985 season for declining enrollment. In 2008, the team won three games and played competitively in a handful of others.
The two new coaches came on board midway through January, nearly four months after team members and their parents were devastated by the sudden and unexpected death of their coach of the past three years, Ed Pikor, at age 56. (See related story about Coach Pikor below.) Meanwhile, Northwood�s JV coach, Carlos Montalvan, accepted a middle school coaching spot this spring in girls soccer, his principal sport.
Returning varsity members have expressed a desire to dedicate the 2009 season to their late coach.
The cast of returning members is led by three-sport athlete Jimmy Hessler, the ace of the pitching staff, and fellow southpaw pitcher and 1st baseman Seth Goldman, a four-year starter. Other varsity vets back for 2009 are Sam Allen (C/RHP), Chris Dayhoff (RF/LHP), Joe Liebmann (2B/RHP) and Adam Weidman (C). Juniors Anatoly Moschkin (SS) and Malik Sapp (3B) also are back, now as starting infielders.
Top newcomers moving up from the junior varsity are juniors Wesley Buchette (1B), Ian Leach (OF) and Devin Tracey (OF/RHP) and sophomores Tim Hardin (SS) and Chad Williams (IF/RHP).
But Ricucci is discovering his varsity roster is a thin one on experience behind his starters. Northwood lost two four-year performers to graduation in co-captains Jesse Allen and Andrew Stillerman. Another starter from last fall opted to return to his native New Hampshire for his senior year, while the most promising freshman on the JV side in �08 transferred to Good Counsel HS. Another player who figured to be a regular at catcher is academically ineligible. As a result, Ricucci said he expects to call up leading performers from the Northwood JV team from time to time.
A core of Northwood players spent much of the winter in organized baseball training. Eight pitchers, including most of the varsity hurlers, took weekly lessons from early December through mid-February at the Maryland Baseball Academy in Gaithersburg from Michael O�Connor, a left-handed pitcher under contract to the Washington Nationals.
This season will mark Northwood�s final year in Class 2A, where the scheduled opponents are mostly low-enrollment schools. This fall, all Northwood sports will compete in Class 3A as the school�s official enrollment (grades 9-11) reached 1,033 students last fall, forcing the move up against bigger schools. Northwood's enrollment now exceeds Wheaton HS by 20 students, meaning Wheaton drops to Class 2A with the Gladiators' rise to 3A.
The 2009 schedule has several notable dates:
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Coach Ed Pikor Remembrance Day, April 18, 1:30 p.m., a game that will be attended by the late coach�s two sisters from New England and his long-time Rockville friend. Wendy Breskin;
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Senior Day, Monday, May 4, 5:15 p.m.;
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1st round of post-season playoffs, Friday, May 8; and
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Derby matchups (home and away contests) with Einstein, Kennedy and Poolesville high schools.
-- story posted by Jay P. Goldman, 3/14/09
Pitching With a Major League ProWashington Nationals pitcher Mike O�Connor (left) provided weekly lessons throughout the winter to Northwood players likely to shoulder much of the pitching duties for the varsity and junior varsity teams this spring. Shown with O�Connor just two days before he reported to spring training with the Major League club in Viera, Fla., are, from left, Devin Tracey, Seth Goldman, Sam Allen, Carter Stinson and Neil Epstein. Also receiving pitching advice from the pro were Jimmy Hessler, Joe Liebmann and Chad Williams.
Gladiators Name Baseball Veteran to Top Coaching Post
Jerry Ricucci, whose lifetime of baseball includes two years as a player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization and coaching stints at various colleges and high schools throughout the Washington area, has been named the new varsity baseball coach at Northwood High School.
He has assumed the reins of the Gladiators only about two months ahead of the 2009 season opener against Walter Johnson HS on the Northwood grounds on March 23. Ricucci is eager to get started on preparations for a successful campaign and said he plans to observe Northwood players who are participating in formal off-season training programs for hitting, fielding and pitching.
Northwood Athletic Director Marco Fugitti called the veteran baseballer�s hiring, "The right guy at the right time." Fugitti asked three returning members of this year�s varsity side to participate in the candidate�s final interview.
A native of Silver Spring, Ricucci graduated in 1962 from Montgomery Blair High School, where he was a standout performer on the school nine, a three-year starter and co-captain and co-MVP his senior season. He went on to play for three seasons at George Washington University, where he was co-MVP his final season.
Ricucci, a left-handed pitcher, spent two summers as a professional, playing for the Philadelphia Phillies� Class A team in Batavia, N.Y., and Class AA team in Spartanburg, S.C.
On the scholastic level, he has served as an assistant baseball coach for six years at Blair, two years at Frederick HS and one year at Walt Whitman. On the collegiate level, he has coached at Bowie State, Howard University and for the past four seasons as pitching coach at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park. His son, Mike Ricucci, is the head coach at the latter school, which won a national baseball championship in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association in 2008.
The younger Ricucci tipped off his dad about the Northwood coaching vacancy after he learned about it from a Northwood parent.
The Northwood varsity job actually represents Ricucci's first head coaching position.
He succeeds Ed Pikor as varsity baseball coach. Pikor, 56, died unexpectedly in late September of a ruptured artery in his sleep. He had coached the Gladiators the past three seasons, guiding Northwood to its first varsity victories in the sport last spring since reopening as a high school in 2004. The team finished 3-12 in 2008.
-- story posted on 1/15/09 by jay p. goldman
Read the Gazette's story about Coach Ricucci's appointment.
Dozens Pay Tribute to Coach Pikor at Local Memorial Affair
Nearly 50 Northwood High School players, parents and fellow sports coaches recently turned out to share fond remembrances in public of Ed Pikor, the school�s much-admired varsity baseball skipper who passed away unexpectedly in late September.
The memorial tribute took place Nov. 5 at Vicino�s Restaurant in downtown Silver Spring, where just a few months earlier Pikor had held court as his varsity and JV teams celebrated the conclusion of their spring seasons over pizzas and sodas.
This time it was the 56-year-old veteran of a lifetime of baseball on the youth, amateur and professional levels who was the focus of attention as a series of tributes touted his roles as coach, teacher, friend, mentor and standout athlete.
Among those delivering remarks were two returning members of the Northwood nine, Jimmy Hessler and Chris Dayhoff. They were joined in their public reminiscences by Ray Trail, assistant athletic director; Dennis Harris, head football coach; Carlos Montalvan, junior varsity baseball coach; and Doug Remer, a volunteer baseball coach. John Laffety offered a parent perspective. The event organizer was Jay P. Goldman.
One of the coach�s sisters, Penny Pikor Losi of Wallingford, Conn., shipped a delivery of laminated baseball cards showing Pikor in the uniform of the New York Mets, for whom he served as a batting practice coach.
Pikor was hired as Northwood High School varsity baseball coach on the opening day of spring tryouts in March 2006 (when the returning coach accepted a job promotion at the municipal agency where he worked) and ran the school�s baseball program for the past three years, including the team�s first two seasons of varsity play. He directed the Gladiators in April 2008 to their first three varsity victories (all one-run margins) in the sport since Northwood reopened as a public high school in 2004 following a two-decade hiatus because of declining enrollment in Silver Spring. He also worked as a phys-ed teacher and special education aide at Northwood and Einstein high schools.
He died of an apparent burst artery in his sleep on Sept. 24, 2008. He was 56 years old. � jay goldman.
Northwood Baseball Coach Pikor Brought Enthusiasm to the Program
By Alan Goldenbach and Carl Little
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 28, 2008; D07
Northwood baseball coach Ed Pikor died suddenly in his sleep last Wednesday. According to Northwood assistant athletic director Ray Trail, the cause of death may have been a brain aneurysm, though autopsy results are still pending. Pikor was 56.
In 2005, a year after Northwood re-opened after being closed for 19 years, Pikor took over the baseball program. The Gladiators returned to the varsity level in 2006-07.
Pikor, though, was working in his native Connecticut at the time of his death after budget cuts left him without a teaching job at a Montgomery County school this school year. Trail said Pikor was hoping to find a position as a full-time substitute, but had made plans to return to the area before the start of baseball season.
"He had really invigorated this program," said Jay Goldman, whose son, Seth, is a senior and played for Pikor the past three seasons. "He was such an enthusiastic guy and it was quite contagious among the players. You could tell, as a parent, that he really knew his baseball, and he really related to his players."
Goldman said there is a caravan of more than a dozen players and parents driving up to Fairfield, Conn., for today's viewing and tomorrow's funeral.
Post-Season Accolades to Stillerman and Hessler; 15 Baseballers Cited as Scholar Athletes
Senior co-captain Andrew Stillerman was named Most Valuable Player and sophomore pitching ace Jimmy Hessler was given the "Go-To Guy Award" as baseball team honorees during Northwood High School�s 2008 spring athletic awards program on May 22.
Freshman Chad Williams picked up the MVP trophy as the top member of the Northwood junior varsity baseball team.
In addition, seven members of the varsity side and eight JV members were publicly honored with certificates as Northwood Scholar Athletes for maintaining a 3.25 grade point average or higher during the season of competition.
Coach Ed Pikor, in announcing the post-season baseball honors from the auditorium stage, said the choice of Stillerman, a four-year member of Northwood�s baseball program, as MVP was "a real easy one this year." He was the starting catcher, and he demonstrated his strong arm throughout the season. He also played shortstop, his preferred spot.
At the plate, Stillerman hit .435 on the season, which his coach said put him among the top half dozen hitters in Montgomery County. "He was the very strongest guy at every position we put him in," Pikor said, adding Stillerman will be Northwood's representative on a county all-star team next week.
The coach said Hessler, an excellent student, deserved the "Go-to Guy Award" because of his steady play, especially as the team�s No. 1 pitcher. He also played a confident left field and saw spot duty at 1st base.
Carlos Montalvan, the JV coach, called Williams "the bedrock of our team," someone who performed well "in any position we wanted him to play."
The JV team won four games in 2008, which Montalvan labelled "a 400 percent improvement" over the previous year.
The varsity, which recorded its first victories in the sport since the high school reopened after 20 years of dormancy, finished 3-13. Pikor will be counting on Williams and a handful of other skilled sophomores and freshmen to make immediate contributions to the 2009 varsity team, which loses Stillerman and co-captain Jesse Allen, a standout pitcher and 3rd baseman. Allen leaves this summer for the College of Wooster, where he hopes to play both soccer and baseball for the Division III college.
Also graduating next month from Northwood are reserves Kevin Francis, Melvin Membreno, Ryan Rankin, Jordan Rigby, Brian Sukhu, Andrew Toone and Jake Verduin.
Northwood�s two baseball teams were among the best represented on the Scholar Athlete honor rolls for the spring season. Named from the varsity were Jesse Allen, Sam Allen, Seth Goldman, Jimmy Hessler, Joe Liebmann, Ryan Rankin and Andrew Toone.
The JV honorees were Manuel Amaya, Shane Arechiga, Wil Jackson, Mike Lafferty, Andy Luck, Ian Leach, Adam Weidman and Chad Williams.
During a post-ceremony meeting with his team, Pikor offered a special thanks to parents who contributed richly to the baseball program � through off-season training, a spring break training trip to Aberdeen, Md., a baseball team web site and a post-season pizza party, among other things.
"I�m very excited about next season," the coach said in wrapping up his remarks. "I see us raising the bar. I see us No. 1 among the downcounty schools. It�s what I expect.." � jay p. goldman
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Alex Moschkin's action photos document the entirety of the 2008 Northwood varsity season, starting with spring training at the Ripken Baseball Complex. Relive the season by clicking here. Also view Jim Hessler's video clips.
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