A Senior Sendoff for Broadneck Baseball

On Friday night, Broadneck High School’s Varsity Baseball team was hoping to clip the wings of their longtime rivals, the Severna Park Falcons. The weather was perfect, the Bruins were on a winning streak and it was the seniors’ last regular season home game.

The Bruins quickly took the lead, finishing the first inning 2-1 after Joe DiPaola earned two RBIs. The second inning went scoreless as Broadneck held Severna Park to a no-run gain after pitcher Chris Wicker made the third out, striking out Severna Park’s fourth at bat.

Unfortunately, the third inning belonged to the Falcons and they were able to put eight runs on the scoreboard. Even with a large gap to fill, the Bruins didn’t lose their drive. Daniel Russo singled in the sixth inning and was able to steal his way home for the Bruin’s third run. But the Falcon’s kept the lead, winning the game 13-3.

Even though the game turned in the Falcon’s favor, the excitement on the field and in the stands never subsided.

Senior Michael Storey’s mother, Anne, said, “It’s not all about wins and losses; these guys have a lot of spirit.”

Parent Bernadette Bolte agreed. “The boys are friends on and off the field and the parents are really into supporting the group. They all hang out together and it gives the parents a chance to know the other players and makes the games a lot more interesting and fun after getting to know them all.”

After the game, the seniors and their parents were brought out onto the field. As volunteer Gil Strader announced each family’s name, the player handed his mother a white rose and a hug. Then they shook hands with the coaches, including head coach Jason Wholfarth and assistant coaches Weidman and Sullivan.

“The coaches told the players that what they do in the classroom is more important than what they do on the field,” said Strader. The players obviously took that guidance seriously with an average GPA of 3.5.

Coach Wholfarth has been at Broadneck for nine years and coaching varsity for the last five.

“We graduated most of last season’s top producing offense players which left a large number of newcomers this year,” he observed about this season.

Quite a few of this year’s seniors will continue to play ball in college. Flanagan and Russo are looking forward to playing for the AACC Pioneers, and Nickerson (pitcher) has been recruited to Division 1 baseball at Mount St. Mary’s.