Each week, the Carroll County Times highlights a Team of the Week, five standout players and top statistical performances.
Team of the Week
Francis Scott Key softball
The reigning Carroll County champion Eagles have been on fire lately. They are 8-1 and are riding a seven-game winning streak. During the streak, they are averaging nine runs per game and allowing just over two.
They are 4-0 in county play after three wins this week over Century, Westminster and Manchester Valley. In Friday’s win over the Mavericks, FSK found itself in an unfamiliar place: trailing in the late innings. However, a three-run bottom of the sixth turned the tide and the Eagles won, 5-4.
Honorable mentions
Century baseball: The Knights are on a five-game winning streak, averaging over 12.2 runs a game during the stretch. They earned wins over Francis Scott Key, Manchester Valley and Westminster.
Liberty boys tennis: The Lions are unbeaten so far this season at 5-0 overall and 4-0 in conference. They have yet to lose any singles or doubles match this year and only have lost two total sets.
South Carroll girls tennis: The Cavaliers are unbeaten (5-0 overall and 4-0 in the county) after beating Liberty on Friday. Their top two doubles teams — Audrey Lillycrop and Caroline Aliftiras, and Callie Chesney and Brooklyn Weitzel — are both undefeated.
5-star players
Nate Martin, Liberty, baseball: Martin has been a key piece for the 7-1 Lions. In four games last week, Martin went 5-for-10 with 10 RBIs and five runs scored. He hit two home runs, including a grand slam, last Monday against Winters Mill.
Bella Filippi, Century, girls tennis: The Knights’ No. 1 singles player as a freshman, Filippi is 5-0 this season. Outside of a 6-1, 6-1 victory this week against Manchester Valley, her other four matches have all been 6-0, 6-0 sweeps.
Emma Reaves, Westminster, girls track and field: Reaves set a meet record at the Chuck Zonis Invitational in the discus, winning with a throw of 141 feet, 7 inches. She won the competition by 45 feet. She also took first in the shot put, winning by 7 feet.
Connor McNamara, Westminster, boys lacrosse: The Owls goalie made 12 saves in an 8-6 win over Manchester Valley on Friday. That came on the heels of McNamara and the defense only giving up one goal last Monday to Liberty. On the season, he’s made 82 saves for a .656 save percentage.
Natalie Opatovsky, Century, girls lacrosse: Opatovsky was consistent in three county wins last week. She scored five, four and five goals, respectively, in wins over Winters Mill, Francis Scott Key and South Carroll. She also handed out five assists this week.
Top performances
Boys lacrosse
Most goals in a game
6 — Grant Miller, Manchester Valley, April 9 vs. South Carroll
4 — Gavin Reid, Manchester Valley, April 9 vs. South Carroll
4 — Camden Deming, Winters Mill, April 9 vs. Century
4 — Reed Postlethwait, Winters Mill, April 9 vs. Century
Girls lacrosse
Most goals in a game
7 — Emma Penczek, Manchester Valley, April 9 vs. South Carroll
6 — Annika Wray, Liberty, April 11 vs. Winters Mill
5 — Natalie Opatovsky, Century, April 9 vs. Winters Mill
5 — Natalie Opatovsky, Century, April 12 vs. South Carroll
5 — Addison Meyer, Manchester Valley, April 11 vs. Westminster
5 — Emma Penczek, Manchester Valley, April 11 vs. Westminster
Baseball
Most hits in a game
4 — Chase Speiden, Century, April 10 vs. Manchester Valley
3 — 8 players tied
Most RBIs in a game
5 — Austin Schulze, Century, April 10 vs. Manchester Valley
4 — Mason Hendricks, Century, April 8 vs. Francis Scott Key
4 — Nate Martin, Liberty, April 8 vs. Winters Mill
4 — Nate Martin, Liberty, April 11 vs. Franklin
Most strikeouts in a game pitching
10 — Gene Magin, Manchester Valley, April 8 vs. Westminster
9 — Braden Cordrey, South Carroll, April 9 vs. Linganore
9 — Rocco Dietz, Liberty, April 12 vs. South Carroll
Softball
Most hits in a game
3 — 10 players tied
Most RBIs in a game
4 — Allison Bald, Liberty, April 8 vs. Winters Mill
4 — Maddie Wright, South Carroll, April 10 vs. Winters Mill
4 — Brooke Sims, Manchester Valley, April 12 vs. Francis Scott Key
Most strikeouts in a game pitching
17 — Hailey Facchine, Manchester Valley, April 8 vs. Westminster
16 — Jasmine Kline, Francis Scott Key, April 8 vs. Century
11 — Jordan Currie, Century April 13 vs. Bel Air
Stats and performances are compiled from game reports submitted nightly by county coaches. Coaches are encouraged to submit results after all games to mdscores@baltsun.com, sports editor Anthony Maluso and county beat reporter Tim Dashiell.
