Those members of the Leonardtown High School baseball team who garnered the 4A state title last month and also compete for the St. Mary’s Legion Post 255 squad this summer have been receiving numerous accolades including trips to a pair of major league parks.
Earlier this month the Raiders were rewarded for their state crown by being honored by the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, and then earlier this week they also enjoyed a celebration courtesy of the Washington Nationals downtown at Nationals Park. For the players and coaches who were part of both the Leonardtown title run and now members of the Post 255 squad that will host the American Legion Eastern Region tournament this summer and next, the memories are endless.
“It’s always an honor anytime you get recognized by the major league teams,” said Jason Bean, coach of the St. Mary’s 255 team and an assistant coach at Leonardtown. “The kids who play on this team who played for Leonardtown had an amazing run to end the season. Now they have a chance to get recognized by major league teams and get to walk down on a major league field.”
Recent Leonardtown graduate and current Post 255 player Nolan Layman, who intends to play the next two seasons at the College of Southern Maryland, enjoyed being part of the Raiders’ improbable run to the state championship this spring. Leonardtown was 8-8 at one point before ending their season with playoff victories against Broadneck, Urbana and eventually edging Walt Whitman 2-0 for the state title at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf.
“When we went to face Broadneck [in the 4A East Region tournament] no one thought we had a chance,” Layman said. “They beat us 12-0 earlier in the season. So, they probably thought they had us again. But we fought hard to win that game. Then we beat Urbana, another really good team and then when we got to the state championship game we were confident. We had a great warm-up prior to the game and we made all the plays on defense.”
Senior left-handed pitcher Will Buckler tossed a two-hit shutout against Whitman and the Raiders took advantage of two Vikings’ errors to score single runs in the fourth and sixth innings for the 2-0 victory. Their run, fittingly, was reminiscent of the one the Washington Nationals enjoyed en route to defeating the Houston Astros in seven games in the 2019 World Series, one in which every game was won by the visiting team.
“It’s amazing to think that we have the chance to walk across two major league fields,” said recent Leonardtown graduate Hunter Lee, who also plays for Post 255. “I’ve always been a Nats’ fan. To be able to watch them win games six and seven in Houston was incredible. Then to be able to win a state title my senior year with a great group of guys was something that I will never forget.”
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