Northern Garrett Baseball Looking to Repeat Postseason Success

Exciting things are happening on the baseball diamond at Northern Garrett High School.

A year removed from finishing 15-7 and reaching the MPSSAA 1A West regional final, where the team lost 6-3 to eventual state champion Brunswick, the Huskies are at it again. Northern Garrett is 10-3 this season, including a 6-1 record against MPSSAA opponents.

"We have five starters back from a year ago, but only two other players from last year. Remainder of the roster is new players, and we are starting two sophomores," head coach Phil Carr said. "Reaching the 1A West finals was key to giving this year's returning players some confidence and drive to get back there again."

Behind a strong pitching staff, Northern Garrett appears to be well on their way to repeating last season's success.

The Huskies have allowed more than two runs in just three games this season. The team has put together four shutouts, and has allowed an opponent to score double digit runs just once.

Senior Calyb King has been the leader of the staff. King is 3-0, with a 1.87 ERA. He's racked up 48 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Joining King at the top of Northern Garrett's rotation is senior Logan Yommer. While Yommer has a losing record at 2-3, he's still pitched effectively with a 2.10 ERA. He's struck out 28 batters in 20 innings.

Rounding out the key arms for the Huskies is sophomore Peyton Carr. Carr hasn't allowed an earned run in eight innings of work, striking out 17 batters in the process.

"Our kids really take pride in their defense and we preach not to beat ourselves. Same with pitching, throw strikes and not give the opponents free base runners," Carr said. "In our two of our three losses defense has let us down, but it's been solid in the 10 wins and the 2-1 loss to Petersburg."

The key pitchers, along with senior right fielder Cayleb Broadwater, have been crucial cogs in Northern Garrett's offense as well. Yommer is hitting .444 with five doubles, 17 RBI's and 13 runs scored, while Carr is at .412 with two doubles, 16 runs scored and 11 RBI's. Carr has an impressive 16 walks already, and has also stolen five bases.

King is hitting .385 with two home runs, five doubles, 16 runs and six RBI's, while Broadwater is at .342 with one home run, four doubles, 16 RBI's and 10 runs. It's a productive group, but one that their head coach believes can do even better.

"Our hitting has been sporadic, but I think the bad weather this Spring has been a part of that- many practices have been inside," Carr said. "We like to play small ball when we can, take runs we can and be aggressive on the bases."

Looking ahead, Carr is excited to see his side face Fort Hill tomorrow, a group that has drastically improved since the start of the season. The Huskies are also looking forward to facing their Garrett County rival, Southern Garrett, in the team's regular season finale on May 8.

The latter stages of the season should provide some stern tests for a group that has big postseason dreams.

"Like every year our goal is to win our league, region and state championship, as well as to get better each and every day," Carr said.