Centennial Just Cracks Itself Up

Centennial senior Scott Swinson confesses he sometimes needs to step off the rubber and take a little walk around the mound to collect himself. But the pitcher's problem isn't pressure or fraying nerves -- rather, he's trying to keep from blurting out laughing at the latest comedic offering from Howard County's liveliest dugout.

The Eagles, two years removed from a Maryland 3A crown, are back to their championship form both in results and chatter, as they showed yesterday afternoon in a 5-0 win over visiting Atholton.

Like most teams, No. 9 Centennial (7-0, 7-0 Howard County) starts each game with a huddle. But it could be described more accurately as a pregame groove session, as the players hum a tune in harmony, with a few sound effects -- a cat's purr, for example -- mixed in rhythmically.

After Swinson finished his warmup before his two-hit shutout yesterday, junior catcher Ryan Miller ran out to the mound, grabbed the wrist of the Eagles' ace and wiggled his arm up and down to help stretch it, eliciting a variety of catcalls and hollers of "Wiggle it good!" from the bench.

The histrionics, which Coach Denis Ahearn says were missed dearly during a disappointing season last year, continued throughout: There was the "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time" song, sung when they have a hitter at the plate and a runner on base; the constant use of nicknames like "Baba Ganoush" and "Axe"; and a dead-on impression of a wailing siren when sophomore No. 9 hitter Ben Winter homered in the second inning.

An inning later, George Washington recruit Swinson (eight strikeouts) singled and made it all the way to third on an error by Atholton (3-5, 2-5). When he got to the dugout after giving way to a courtesy runner, a teammate crouched down and pretended to snap pictures, while Swinson struck a series of model poses.

"Last year, it was like a bunch of individuals playing for themselves. This year, it's a bunch of good friends who are playing baseball together. We all get along really well and hang out after school and stuff like that," Swinson said. "It helps a lot."

Ahearn added: "Two years ago when we won the state championship, the guys were really lively. And then last year it dropped off. One of our focuses this year was to get back that spirit."

Judging by yesterday's performance, both the spirit and the ability are back. Swinson used a hard fastball and sharp command of his curveball and changeup to face the minimum 21 batters on an economical 71 pitches. Meanwhile, junior outfielders Alex Bechta and Matt Hein combined to go 5 for 6 with three RBI in another easy win for the Eagles, who have outscored opponents, 74-8.

No. 9 Centennial 5, Atholton 0 Almost Perfect: Centennial senior pitcher Scott Swinson allowed just two Atholton base runners, on a pair of singles, and both were erased by double plays.