Future stars captured as faces along the fence

Faces along the fence - I saw a face along the fence during the first half of the May 9 girls’ lacrosse game featuring Beacon versus Mariner middle schools. The stands were packed with partisans; most are new to the sport and many do not understand it beyond putting the ball into the cage. I spotted two little sisters of somebody, and before I could focus my lens, the two became four. I spun back toward the field to capture game action. During halftime as I introduced myself to people I already knew, the girls came up to me and asked, “Is our picture going to be in the Cape Gazette?” I wondered out loud how they knew I was from the Cape Gazette. “Maybe because it’s written on the back of your hoodie,” a parent pointed out. Well, debit my Venmo account, I just never thought of that. 

Atlantic Lacrosse Club - There are no accommodations for a rickety grandparent carrying a big camera and barstool trudging across clumpy grass at Hudson Fields to a faraway pitch to watch a pair of games where rules are followed and scores are kept. I’m thinking of a song, “Take a Walker on the Wild Side.” Would a cart service be too much to ask? Atlantic Lacrosse is part of the Eastern Shore Lacrosse Association of Maryland and Southern Delaware. There are 5-year-old starter teams for boys and girls all the way to under-15-year-old teams. Atlantic plays home games at Hudson Fields and away games at seven different club locations. This weekend begins the playoffs at DE Turf featuring the top four teams in each age group organized by year of high school graduation. There are some sixth-graders who look like they drove a half-ton pickup to the game. The exuberant fans watching the boys’ game I was covering were a cross between cray-cray and cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs. The Atlantic Lacrosse fifth- and sixth-grade team beat Dorchester 9-7 but must play them again Saturday, May 18. The Atlantic girls’ seventh- and eighth-grade team topped previously unbeaten Talbot County and will play them again Saturday in the opening round of the playoffs. 

Getting crazy - Go your own way like Fleetwood Mac to the DIAA website to discover brackets for the spring state tournaments about to commence at a venue near you. The girls’ lacrosse tournament begins Tuesday, May 14, and so does the boys’ volleyball tournament. Cape has the top seed for girls’ lacrosse, while the Vikings boys’ volleyball team holds the third-seed spot. The state track championships are at Dover High School Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18. Brackets for baseball, softball, boys’ lacrosse and soccer are yet to be published.

Thanks, Turf Tanks - The main stadium at Caesar Rodney will be the venue for the state championship of girls’ lacrosse. But first, the self-powered Turf Tank operating on a precise GPS system must line the field. Space-age stuff. Gone are the outside custodians walking behind lime liners, which rhymes with Weimaraners.   

Power Rankings - MLB.com’s latest power rankings have the Orioles at No.1 and the Phillies at No. 2, followed by the Dodgers, Braves and Yankees. The Phillies lost to the 30th-ranked Marlins May 13 with Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto and Johan Rojas all out of the lineup. The Orioles lost to the No. 17 Diamondbacks on Mother’s Day 9-2, proving what we already know, that every day is bobblehead and bark at the park day in Major League Baseball. 

Enduring line - The 2012 Cape girls’ lacrosse team powered to a state championship with a perfect 18-0 record. After a 21-16 win at Saint Mark’s, a player from the boys’ team said to Anna Frederick, “Yeah, but you guys don’t have to play Sallies,” to which Anna replied, "We are Sallies.” The Cape boys would beat Sallies in the 2014 state title game 9-7 behind five goals from “Little Big Man” Blake Mann and the goaltending of Grant Gillan. Salesianum (Sallies) will be in Legends Stadium at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, to close out the regular season against Cape. 

Snippets - From Five Points west past the Georgetown Circle is the power alley of high school baseball this spring with Sussex Tech at 14-2, Sussex Central 15-2 and Cape Henlopen 15-2. Sussex Tech is the lead dog, having beaten Cape 3-1 and Sussex Central 7-0 in the regular season. The single-elimination postseason tournament brings pitching depth to the surface. One bad inning and it’s full-time beach life for the boys of summer, which isn’t all that bad. Suddenly it’s summer for senior collegiate athletes who are out of eligibility but still super fit with sharp skills who are ready to dominate the rec league scene. Go on now, git!