Liberty played for the 3rd and 4th places. Notre Dame and Monticello placed for 5th and 6th place. Oakton was 1st and StoneBride was 2nd.
Baseball Notebook
Ryan Weathers Layoff
By Angela Watts
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 8, 2004; Page LZ16
Stone Bridge junior Sean Ryan couldn't believe it was raining. Again.
And when word came that the Cheers Sports Baseball Invitational, which was supposed to begin Saturday, would be postponed until Monday, he was crushed.
"I was so excited to play, and then so disappointed when it got rained out Saturday," Ryan said. "It has been so tough just watching."
Ryan had been relegated to bystander status since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee midway through Stone Bridge's football season. As his football teammates were charging to the AA Dulles District and Region II championships, Ryan was undergoing arthroscopic surgery and beginning four months of vigorous rehabilitation. The nonstop therapy included strength and conditioning exercises, stretching and back-and-forth trips between ice bags and the whirlpool.
The goal: making it back in time for baseball.
Two weeks ago, Ryan was cleared by doctors to begin play. This past Friday, the high-tech knee brace they had ordered for him was in, and he was ready. He made his debut Monday, going 4 for 6 in the No. 2 spot as the Bulldogs' designated hitter, helping Stone Bridge (3-2) to a 17-4 victory over Robinson.
"I kept asking my coaching staff, 'What's missing?' " Stone Bridge Coach Sam Plank said. "We were struggling a little bit. And then it hit me: Sean Ryan is the missing piece to the puzzle. He was our number two hitter last season and batted over .400 and was all-district. He's a game-breaker. And he's a winner. It means so much to have him back.
"He was in that training room every night, six or seven nights a week, working so he could play baseball this year. It made me want to work harder, to coach harder, too."
Clouds Lift for Liberty
Liberty Coach Ted Currle wasn't sure what to expect from his team against Notre Dame on Tuesday afternoon in the Cheers Invitational at Stone Bridge. The previously undefeated Eagles were coming off a 20-3 loss to Oakton in the first round of tournament play on Monday -- and that put a sizable cloud over his team.
A 3-1 win over Notre Dame, though, did much to clear the haze.
Senior Thurman Winslow threw a complete game for Liberty (5-1), keeping the usually hard-hitting Dragons (10-2) off balance with a well-choreographed mix of pitches. Winslow improved to 2-0 in three starts, yielding one run on two hits, striking out 12 and walking one.
"He didn't have overpowering stuff, but he hits his spots and keeps people off balance," Currle said. "It's the best I've seen him throw this year, and we needed it today. I wasn't sure how we'd respond to that loss [to Oakton], but to come back like we did against a really good Notre Dame team says something."
The Eagles were led offensively by shortstop Jeremy Jenkins, who went 2 for 3 batting in the No. 8 spot with a double, a triple and two RBI. Leadoff batter Buddy Sosnoskie, the Eagles' freshman center fielder, went 3 for 3 with two singles, a double and one RBI. He also reached base in his only other at-bat after being hit by a pitch.
In the two tournament games, Sosnoskie was 6 for 6 at the plate.
"I don't want to jinx him by saying too much," Currle said, laughing. "But that's pretty impressive stuff for a freshman playing against two pretty good baseball programs."
Second Time's the Charm for Rivera
Notre Dame leadoff batter Carlos Rivera, a fifth-year transfer from Stone Bridge, was back on his old home field Tuesday playing against Liberty in the Cheers Invitational. When he fired a hard shot down the first base line in the sixth inning with the Dragons trailing 2-0, everyone thought it was fair.
Everyone, that is, except the one umpire whose judgment mattered most.
Rivera, a second-team All-Met last season, was already heading toward second base by the time the home umpire ruled the ball foul. Clearly frustrated by the call, Rivera took his time trotting back to home plate. He then left nothing to question.
Rivera sent the next pitch he saw deep over the right field fence for a solo home run -- his sixth in 12 games -- and the Dragons' only score of the game. The fans who had protested loudly when Rivera's first shot was called foul suddenly changed their tune.
"I take it back! That was a great call, blue!" one fan yelled as Rivera made his way around the bases, prompting laughs from everyone in the stands and even a quick smile from the umpire.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
