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Less than two months remain before the start of the 2018  high school baseball season. We will spotlight teams from around the state as we near the start of our high school preseason and season coverage.

Team Spotlight: Damascus Swarming Hornets

Head Coach: Scott Frye (1st Year)
Classification: 2A West
Conference: Montgomery Co.
2017 Record: 16-5
2017 Post Season: 2nd Round
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 5

Returners with Post Season Honors
Tyler Retherford (Pictured)

Key Returners (2017 Stats)
Tyler Retherford 1B/P 2018 (.424 BA, .547 OBP, 28 RBI, 22 R, 15 IP, 2.80 ERA)
Connor Manion SS/RHP 2018 (.356 BA, 17 RBI, 17 R, 2.29 ERA, 41K)
Ethan Wentzlaff OF/RHP 2018 (.349 BA, 19 RBI, 22 R)
Mark Kline OF/C 2019 (.382 BA, .514 OBP, 14 RBI, 18 R)
Mitchell Kline 2B 2018 (.357 BA, .457 OBP, 21 R)

Key Losses
Eric Lansinger

Key Newcomer(s)
Bryan Jamison 2018
Nick Marley IF/RHP 2020
Aidan Rannals RHP/3B 2020

Outlook
2018 marks an interesting year for the Swarming Hornets, who return the bulk of their roster back and should be one of the top teams this year in Montogmery County. This year Damascus moves down to the 2A west and find themselves in possibly the toughest Section in all of the MPSSAA. Offensively Damascus have a group of seniors who will lead the way. That group is headed up by 1B/P Tyler Retherford (Montgomery JC) who put up one of the top seasons around the state last year, hitting over .400 with near 30 RBI. Junior Mark Kline emerged as a top player in 2017 and looks to build off last season in which he reached based at a .514 clip. Ethan Wentzlaff (UMBC) is one of the top athletes in the county and should again pace the lineup as well. Mitchell Kline is another who should build off a successful season in 2017 where he hit .357. Look for Bryan Jamison to see a bigger role this year after a nice 2017 season where he hit .333 in 30 at-bats.  Connor Manion (Pictured, St. Mary's College of MD) was a team MVP candidate last season being one of their top starters on the mound while hitting over .350 at the top of the order. Manion had a 2.29 ERA while leading the team with 33.2 innings in eight starts. The road to a 2A championship will be a tough one for Damascus, but the should be considered one of the contenders.

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