Senior Dave Byroade (Team Toyota) pitched effectively for 5-1/3 innings, scattering five hits, walking one, and fanning seven.  The Gophers scored their first run on back-to-back hits up the middle in the fourth inning.  Byroade regrouped and yielded only one more hit in the bottom of the sixth after the leadoff hitter reached base on an error -- but was thrown out by the right fielder when trying to score on a single.  Junior Gavin Floyd (MD Orioles) then came in to relieve but the base runner advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third base on a passed ball and eventuall scored on a second passed ball by the Freshman catcher (MD Orioles).

Offensively, it seems the Gaels left their bats back in Florida, managing only three hits and four walks while fanning 15 times.  SS Allen Strick (MD Orioles) is the only Gael that hit the ball hard and he did it twice -- once to deep left center for a double and the second a long fly ball to center that would have cleared the fences in many HS ballparks.  Glen Burnie's starter, southpaw [#7name], struck out 10 over 5 innings with the Gophers' righty relief ace [#6], picking up the win by striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced in finishing the last two innings.  The Gaels were not helped by baserunning blunders in the 2nd and 3rd innings when runners were picked-off and caught stealing.

Junior Gavin Floyd (MD Orioles) easily dominated the Thomas Johnson lineup with a fastball running in at 90 to 92 mph and mixing in a curve and other assorted looks.  He scattered two hits while hurling seven strikeouts and only one walk.  The defense turned a double play to end the game.

Offensively, the Gaels slowly brought their bats back to life after a listless game 2 days earlier against Glen Burnie (ranked #4 in the Washington Post's preseason poll).  In the third inning, designated hitter Alex Rodgers (Columbia Cougars/MD Mets), batting ninth, stroked a line drive single into left field for the Gaels' first hit, stole second base, reached third on a passed ball.  Zach Kuehne walked and one batter later Allen Strick (MD Orioles) was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Rodgers then scored when Gavin Floyd was hit by a pitch.  On two outs and TJ pitching from the windup, all the MSJ runners were taking off on the delivery as Sophmore Joe Peeler (MD Orioles) hit a soft single past the SS and bringing two runners in.  In the 4th inning, singles by junior 1B Matt Moynihan and senior CF Zack Kuehne were followed by a towering HR to right-center by junior second baseman Joey Sargent (Columbia Reds).  Kuehne and Moynihan (MD Mets) each had two hits and senior pinch runner Rusty Potee stole two bases.

Senior Dave Byroade easily cruised to his first victory of the season in the Gaels' first MIAA contest.  Byroade worked 6 innings, yielding 4 singles and 2 walks, hit two batters, and fanned six.  Junior Dan McGinty (Yankee Rebels 16U) faced the minimum 3 batters in the 7th, in relief of Byroade.  Siler scored the Patriots' lone run in the bottom of the 4th inning on a single by Matt Corbett.  The John Carroll starting pitcher, Jordan Stubblefield, yielded 7 runs (6 ER) and 9 hits, including 3 home runs, over 6-1/3 innings.  He also walked three, struck out 6, was charged with 3 wild pitches, and picked off one base runner (another was caught stealing).

The Gaels carried some big sticks into today's game, clobbering three home runs and one double, and stole 3 bases.  Zach Kuehne, Joey Sargent, and Joe Peeler had multihit games and Sargent has now hit HRs in back-to-back games.  The Gaels jumped out to an early lead by scoring three runs in the top of the first on a leadoff single by Kuehne, an RBI double by Sargent and a home run over the CF fence by Peeler (Sargent scored on a wild pitch).  The Patriots' pitcher then settled down in yielding only an unearned run in the 5th inning until tiring in the 6th and giving up a leadoff single, a third strike bunt out, and two homers.  The relief pitcher, third baseman Siler, walked the first batter he faced, Gavin Floyd.  Alex Rodgers came in as a pinch runner for Floyd, stole 2nd base, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch for the Gaels' 8th and final run.