ACCo. PLAYERS SHINE AT BROOKS ROBINSON GAME

by Aaron Gray
agray@digitalsports.com

(See videos below)

He’s not a adrenaline junkie but Severn School senior pitcher Sander Beck does like to pitch in close games.

Unfortunately for him, some of his South All-Star teammates already did enough damage and by the time he entered in the seventh inning, it was a comfortable closing situation for the hard-throwing right-hander.

"When I heard that I was closing, I was hoping for a close game," said Beck, who allowed no runs in the last inning of the South's 10-5 win over the North in the 27th annual Brooks Robinson Senior All-Star game at Camden Yards on Sunday.

"There were a lot of good players in this game. I would have liked to pitch two inning but closing is always fun."

The trip to Camden Yards was a prep swan song for Beck, who will pitch next year at the University of Maryland. After starting his senior year on fire -- he no-hit Severna Park in a preseason tournament -- an injury to his pitching shoulder sidelined him for a majority of the season.

"We knew we had a lot of young guys so it was a rebuilding year for us," said Beck, whose team finished 7-12 in the MIAA B Conference this past year. "The underclassmen got a lot of experience and found out what high school baseball is about."

Other Anne Arundel County representatives in the game included Old Mill pitcher Brady Feigl, Severna Park infielder Cory Jensen and St. Mary's coach Dave Lanham.

Feigl took over for South starter Kevin Brady (Gaithersburg) and came with the heat early as he struck out the side in the third.

"Playing in this game was a dream come true," said Feigl, whose older brother, Jeff, played in the same game four years ago. "I was feeling it the whole way through and it was just unbelievable. I couldn't believe I did it."

Feigl, the county's leader in strikeouts, led the Patriots to a 15-7 record and an appearance in the Class 4A East Region quarterfinals. He went 5-2 as a starter with 84 strikeouts and will take his game to Mount St. Mary's next year.

Jensen was one of the best hitters in the county but showed some versatility Sunday. His sac fly scored a run in the second inning and he beat out a throw to first for an in-field single in fifth. He would later score during the South's three-run frame. The Falcons' standout shortstop played first and second base Sunday.

The time spent with the other players in the locker room and dugout is what stuck out for Jensen, who is headed to Hillsborough CC in Florida.

"The atmosphere before the game was just unbelievable," said Jensen, who batted .537 this past year with six home runs and 24 RBIs. "Sitting there knowing that you're about to play in a major league ballpark was amazing."

Lanham got a taste of the All-Star game when he was a player at Glen Burnie in 1992. He was an alternate for the game and never got to take the field at Camden Yards.

"I never thought I would be here," said Lanham, who also played football at Glen Burnie before his four-year baseball career at Pfeiffer College in Charlotte, N.C.

"To be here for the press conference and take a picture with Brooks Robinson certainly was an honor."

The road from player to coach to athletic director -- Lanham will take over at Meade next year -- has been a successful one. He was the baseball coach at Archbishop Spalding for six years and just wrapped his six-year run with the Saints, where he won MIAA B Conference titles in 2004 and 2007.

"It's definitely the perspective you want as a coach," Lanham said. "It brings me back to the days as a player. Same thing with the environment today. To be around the best players in the state, hang around in the dugout and to play at this stadium has been a thrill."

(More video interviews and action clips below)