Some three dozen baseball players from local high-school teams played in the Potomac College League this summer at Capital One Park in Tysons.
The Chili Dogs, led by Madison High head coach Mark Gjormand, had the most local players, with a dozen. The Gators had another eight local players, and the Hot Wings had five.
There was at least one local player on each of the league's seven teams.
Three of those local players were chosen to the season-ending All-Potomac League team: brothers Josh and Trevor Gjormand of the Chili Dogs and infielder Ryan Bhojwani, also of the Chili Dogs.
Josh Gjormand was chosen as a two-way player. With the bat, the first baseman hit .262. On the mound, the lefty fanned 16 in 17 2/3 innings. Trevor Gjormand, also an infielder, batted .343 with three doubles. Bhojwani hit .340 with three doubles and 10 RBI.
Josh Gjormand plays at the University of Lynchburg and Trevor Gjormand at Eastern Mennonite University. Bhojwani played at the College of William and Mary in 2023. The Gjormands played in high school at Madison and Bhojwani at Bishop O'Connell and Yorktown.
Other local players for the Chili Dogs were Connor Moore (Madison, Lynchburg), Jason Cassidy (Madison, York College), Marcus Burrell (Potomac School, Williams College), Chris Polymeropoulos (Madison, Eastern Mennonite), Cooper Charneco (Madison, Washington & Lee University), Anthony Farmakides (McLean High, Randolph Macon College), Michael Allen (Madison, Eastern Mennonite), Alex Crudder (Oakton High, Lynchburg), Connor Barry (Madison, Christopher Newport University).
The Chili Dogs finished with a 11-9-1 record, losing in the playoff semifinals to the eventual champion Brewers.
Locals playing for the Gators (8-11 record) were Keegan Mahoney (Wakefield High, Richard Bland College), Nicholas Nortan (McLean, Christopher Newport), Luke Harnishfeger (Washington-Liberty High, University of Mary Washington), Peyton Kijek (Bishop O'Connell, Patrick & Henry Community College), Andy Fronczek (Bishop O'Connell, College of William and Mary), Michael Duncan (Wakefield, Richard Bland) and Ketz Murray (Yorktown, Mary Washington).
The Hot Wings, coached by Madison graduate Morgan Spencer, had local players Jaden Kritsky (Madison, Montgomery College), Ethan Jones (Oakton, Shepherd University), Jack Sague (Bishop O'Connell, DeSales University), Henry Boehm (Potomac School, Hamilton College) and Zach Danielczyk (Oakton, University of Tampa). Danielczyk had three wins during the summer season and Jones had 15 RBI and a homer. Both stats were among the league leaders.
The Hot Wings finished 16-4 and lost in the championship game to the Brewers.
Locals Alex Freel (Flint Hill, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology), Jason Mendler (Flint Hill, Christopher Newport), Mark Blazejowski (Flint Hill, Worchester Polytechnic Institute) and Tommy Kanakos (Bishop O'Connell, Elizabethtown College) played for the Rough Riders (4-14-1), coached by Flint Hill head coach and graduate of the school Mitch Mendler.
The Red Foxes (6-14) also had four local players. They were Ben Jones (Marshall High, Bloomsburg University), Vince Salvo (Marshall, Towson University), William Thomas (Marshall, Eastern Michigan University) and Eli Novario (Madison, Christopher Newport).
The champion Brewers (16-4) had locals Ben Cogar (Bishop O'Connell, Moravian University) and Trevor McAndrews (Yorktown, Emory University).
The Brewers defeated the Hot Wings, 9-5, in the title game and were coached by Carson Carroll. The Brewers were 2-0 in the playoffs, blanking the Chili Dogs, 2-0, in the semifinals.
The Bunt Cakes (8-13) had a local player in Charlie Grove (Wakefield, Mary Washington).
Cogar, Novario and Harnishfeger also played for American Legion baseball teams during the summer season.
