Lake Braddock outfielder Nathan Parker is one of seven seniors on the Bruins' roster this spring.
The wins have just kept on coming over the first half of the season for the Lake Braddock Secondary baseball team, which is competing locally in Northern Virginia over this week's spring break week.
But the Bruins, a traditional power in the Northern Region, realize that their season will ultimately be successful based on how they do in the postseason. That's how it always is for the region's top tier teams, especially in the ultra tough Patriot District where some of Virginia's traditionally best high school teams, such as Lake Braddock, West Springfield, and defending region champion South County, dwell.
"I hope to finish in the top two in the district regular season so we can get a buy into the regional tournament," said Bruins head coach Jody Rutherford, of his club.
While baseball, even the relatively short Northern Region high school spring season, is considered a marathon with the best teams ultimately rising up to or near the top by season's end, Rutherford, fully realizing there is still a long way to go, has to love the way his squad has played over the first six weeks going into spring break.
Lake Braddock, behind solid mound work thus far from pitchers Michael Church and Thomas Rogers, who were both 3-0 going into this week, and strong hitting from Alex Gransback and others, had a perfect 9-0 record following a spring break tournament win over Oakton on Monday, April 2.
The Lake Braddock versus Oakton meeting brought together two of the top three teams in the Northern Region Top 10 Coach's Baseball Poll, which had the Bruins sitting at No. 1 and Oakton at No. 3 behind No. 2 Madison.
In Lake Braddock's first spring break tournament game last Saturday, March 31, Rutherford's squad handed Marshall High (Liberty District) an 8-4 loss. The Bruins were scheduled to play their third and final spring break game against another one of the region's top clubs, McLean, on Tuesday, April 3 of this week.
LAKE BRADDOCK, on March 13, opened the regular season with a 5-3 road game win over private school opponent St. John's of Washington, D.C. before going up against a couple more metropolitan private school teams at the Paul VI Preseason Invitational (March 16-17), hosted by Paul VI (Fairfax City), which is a member of the talent-rich Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC).
There, on the first day of action, the Bruins defeated Georgetown Prep, a member of the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC), by a 10-0 score. In its second and final game of the Invitational, Lake Braddock defeated the home team Panthers, who have developed into a dominant Virginia prep school power over the years under longtime head coach Billy Emerson, by an 8-1 score.
Emerson, who earlier in his head coaching career led the traditionally-weak T.C. Williams High team to a trip to the Northern Region semifinals, recently announced that this season, his 10th at the helm of Paul VI baseball, will be his final season as the Panthers' head coach. He did not rule out one day coaching again but is quite busy with his duties as the Paul VI athletic director. Emerson, during his previous nine years as the Panthers' baseball skipper, has led the program to three state private school titles and two WCAC crowns.
Following the three straight games against private school teams to begin the season, Lake Braddock, in its fourth game, opened up Patriot District play with a lopsided 19-1 road win at Lee High School on March 21. The Lancers, under new head coach John Dowling, are rebuilding following some tough seasons of late, including a two-win season last spring. Lee, earlier this spring, won a game over Edison High, 5-2, at the Langley High Ice-Breaker on March 16.
The game with Lee was the first of four straight in the district for Lake Braddock, which followed the uneven victory over the Lancers with district home wins over T.C. Williams, 5-2, on March 23; struggling West Springfield, 11-1, on March 27; and W.T. Woodson, 4-2, on March 29.
Following this week's spring break, Lake Braddock will resume district play next week with a road game at Annandale High on Wednesday night, April 11 followed by a Friday night home game versus West Potomac on April 13. Both district games are scheduled to begin at 6:30.
Lake Braddock is coming off a 2011 season in which it went 21-5. During last year's postseason, the Bruins lost to South County, 5-3, in the district tournament finals. But they came back strong at the 16-team regional playoffs with wins over Langley, Oakton, and Stone Bridge, the latter semifinals win over the Bulldogs automatically qualifying the Bruins for states. In the region finals, Lake Braddock fell to South County, 9-5.
MEMBERS of this year's 2012 Lake Braddock roster are: junior pitcher/outfielder Thomas Rogers; senior infielder Dylan O'Connor; freshman infielder/pitcher Matt Supko; sophomore infielder Jack Owens; senior infielder Matt Spruill; junior pitcher Nick Balenger; sophomore outfielder Ryan Henderson; junior infielder Alex Lewis; senior outfielder Chris Granito; junior outfielder Alex Gransback; sophomore infielder/pitcher Joe Darcy; junior infielder Mitch Spille; junior pitcher/infielder JP Anthony; senior pitcher Daniel Napier; senior pitcher Michael Church; junior catcher Garett Driscoll; senior outfielder Chuck Feola; senior outfielder Nathan Parker; and sophomore catcher Ian Reilly.