Riverdale Baptist Beats Pallotti in Baseball Game

About 10 days ago, the Riverdale Baptist baseball team returned from a southern swing after playing five games in Vero Beach, Fla.

On Wednesday, the baseball team at St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel will head to South Carolina, where the Panthers have gone the past few years to play in a tournament that begins Thursday in Rock Hill.

The two Prince George's County private schools crossed paths at Riverdale Baptist on Monday night, and the Crusaders came away with a walk-off victory.

Exactly one week after losing to DeMatha, another Catholic school in the county, Riverdale Baptist scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and took a 3-0 lead against Pallotti. "Once they got the three runs we settled down," said Pat Courtemanche, the Pallotti head coach.

The Panthers scored two runs in the top of the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Riverdale Baptist scored one run in the last of the sixth to tie the game and then scored a run with one out in the last of the seventh for a 5-4 victory. It was the first time in 10 years under Courtemanche that Pallotti had faced Riverdale Baptist.

"It was a great game to be a part of," Courtemanche told Patch.

The Crusaders improved to 14-9 this season while Pallotti fell to 10-6 overall. Riverdale Baptist benefitted from patience and pitch selection at the plate, as the Crusaders drew eight walks from two Pallotti pitchers. "We have to eliminate the walks against a great team like that," Courtemanche said.

Jackson Souder started on the mound for Pallotti and allowed six walks, three runs and two hits in three innings. He gave way to Corey Dirks, who was charged with the loss after he allowed two walks, two runs and three hits in 3.1 innings of work.

Johnny Maloney had two hits for Pallotti and Matt DeFrank and Steve Martin each drove in two runs for the Panthers. Martin, a senior, is a former player at Riverdale Baptist.

Douglass downs Largo

The Douglass baseball team had an easy time on Friday, beating Largo, 38-5.

Local player honored

Javorn Farrell, a former basketball player at Riverdale Baptist, was honored with the Julius Erving Scoring Award at the University of Massachusetts men's basketball banquet on April 13. Erving, a former ABA and NBA star, played in college at UMass. Farrell was a sophomore guard/forward this season for UMass.

Passing of Schaefer has sports ties

The death of William Donald Schaefer on Monday has ties to the world of sports. Schaefer was the mayor of Baltimore the last time the Orioles won the World Series, in 1983. Schaefer, a big Orioles fan, was the mayor from 1971-87. The Orioles lost in the 1971 and 1979 World Series, both times in seven games to Pittsburgh. The Birds won in five games over the Phillies in 1983.