Baseball notes: Verbanic settling in at Flint Hill

Having coached in the Virginia AAA Northern Region for more than 25 years, Tom Verbanic always knew where he was going when he climbed on a bus to head to a game.

Now in his first season coaching baseball at Oakton private school Flint Hill, Verbanic is learning the locations — and sometimes, names — of a whole new batch of schools.

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Brian DiRosario, a senior at Hayfield, is off to a fast start at the plate this season. Through seven games he has eight home runs and 24 RBI, helping the Hawks to a 7-0 start. Next year the third baseman will be playing at Shepherd.

Early Monday afternoon, he was wondering which direction he and the Huskies (9-3) would be heading to get to John Paul the Great in Dumfries for a game that day.

“It’s been very different meeting coaches I’ve never played against before and playing at different places and schools I’ve never even heard of,” Verbanic said. “It’s different, but it’s fun.”

Best known for starting the Westfield football program in 2000, Verbanic led the Bulldogs to a 90-19 record the past nine seasons, with undefeated marks and Division 6 state championships in 2003 and 2007.

He last served as a head baseball coach at Fairfax, from 1985 until 2000, and was a baseball assistant at Westfield. He will complete the school year working at Westfield before becoming director of athletic operations at Flint Hill this summer.

The Huskies have won the past three Mid-Atlantic Conference titles, and pitcher Jared Knoll (a Marshall signee), junior shortstop David Belt and senior catcher Bhendari Moore could make it four straight.

“They’ve done very well in the past, but they’re getting used to me and I’m getting used to them,” Verbanic said. “We’re learning each other and having fun doing it. So it’s been good so far.”

Verbanic inherited two assistants and also brought on Ron Tugwell, who led West Springfield to two state titles and six region crowns during a 27-year tenure that ended in 2000.

Gonzaga makes a move

Add one more team to the mix in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. In a league that is becoming increasingly more jumbled, Gonzaga had as fine a week as anyone, winning road games at Good Counsel and St. John’s to move toward the top of the conference standings.

Jack Miossi’s double off the wall sparked a three-run first inning and Dillon Rudnicki homered as the Eagles beat Good Counsel, 6-3. Then Mark Williams threw a two-hitter on 85 pitches as Gonzaga beat ninth-ranked St. John’s, 3-0,Thursday, another game in which the Eagles took the lead in the first inning.

“There have been some games this year where the other team jumps out to a lead and it puts your offense in a spot and you have to take a conservative approach,” said Gonzaga Coach Andy Bradley, explaining how important he thought it was that the Eagles scored in the top of the first inning in both games.

Gonzaga then led Paul VI Catholic, 4-1, on Saturday morning, when the game was called because of rain. It is unclear when that game will be completed, but the Eagles (8-6, 4-2 WCAC) have plenty to think about this week, with five games in six days, including Tuesday against seventh-ranked DeMatha.

“Our guys have tried to figure out, what’s our identity?” Bradley said. “Are we a hitting team? Are we a speed team. Good on the mound with good defense? It’s been a big learning experience for us up to this point. I think our guys have started to realize we can do it all. … Our guys are really starting to believe we have a chance to make a run at this thing come the conference tournament in May.”