The three diocesan baseball teams are turning in excellent results thus far in the "early innings" of the 2003 season.

The O'Connell Knights, Paul VI Panthers and Ireton Cardinals have combined to win 16 games thus far against zero losses.

O’Connell, coached by Gary Rucker, weighs in with a 4-0 record. The Knights have defeated Landon, St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, Naval Academy JV and Episcopal by a combined margin of 37-11.

PVI, coached by Billy Emerson (first season), weighs in with a 7-0 record. Emerson, a former pitcher at George Mason University, is PVI’s fourth head coach in the past 24 months.

The Panthers have defeated T.C. Williams, Washington-Lee, Edison, Flint Hill, Stuart and Averill Park (N.Y.) by a combined margin of 73-26.

PVI has 11 pitchers on its roster, led by senior right-hander Steve Grodek and freshman right-hander Brett Moore, both with 2-0 records. The former has a 2.80 ERA and has struck out 20. The latter has a 2.00 ERA and has struck out 19.

Other pitchers of note include: junior right-hander Mike Geraghty (1-0); junior right-hander Jeff Manthe (1-0); sophomore right-hander Will Naylor (1-0); senior right-hander Pat Gartlan (one save); sophomore right-hander Scott Eastment (one save); senior right-hander Gabe Ralston; junior right-hander T.J. Guinan; sophomore lefthander Brendan O'Sullivan and sophomore right-hander Justus Hogge.

Leading the "Black and Gold" offensively are right fielder Geraghty (.526, six RBI, two doubles, two triples); sophomore leftfielder Trey McMenamin (.500 on-base percentage, six stolen bases); shortstop S. Eastment (.444 on-base percentage); centerfielder T.J. Guinan (.375, eight RBI, eight stolen bases, one home run); second baseman J. Manthe (.375, six RBI); junior leftfielder Dan Cinalli (.364, six stolen bases, four RBI); third baseman Gabe Ralston (.299, five RBI) and senior catcher Aaron Ward (.295, seven RBI).

In addition, sophomore outfielder Chuck Evans and senior infielder Jay Zimmer have recorded five and four stolen bases respectively. PVI has an amazing 41 stolen bases after seven games.

"Coach Emerson really prepared us with the off-season conditioning and weight-lifting. It got us ready for the season both mentally and physically. This team is close-knit. It is a great bunch of guys," said Geraghty.

"The guys have really bought into what we're trying to do. We're trying to make this a serious program, kind of a college prep school in terms of baseball. We've got some definite talent. Our strengths this season will be our pitching, our speed and our depth," said Emerson, who is assisted by Jeff Nolan, Dave Beach, Tad Davidovich and Greg Florkowski.

Last season, PVI went 11-17. The Panthers were scheduled to host Carroll April 1, Gonzaga April 2 and archrival O'Connell in an April 5 doubleheader.

Ireton, coached by Mark Heiser (fourth season), weighs in with a 5-0 record. Heiser, a former Cardinal baseball and football standout, is also the school’s athletic director.

The Cardinals have defeated Yorktown, Emmanuel Christian, Brentsville, Quantico and JEB Stuart by a combined margin of 37-3.

Ireton has only four pitchers on the current roster (two other position players could pitch if necessary) and has only 13 players on its entire varsity roster.

Leading the Cardinal pitching staff is senior right-hander Dan Stankus (2-0, 13 career wins, current ERA of 0.00); junior right-hander Jamie Cowan (1-0, a two-hit complete game, .087 ERA, one save); senior right-hander Mike Strittmatter (1-0, 0.00 ERA, three scoreless innings in relief) and freshman right-hander Tim Sprague (1-0, 0.00 ERA, a one-hit complete game).

Leading the "Cardinal and Gold" offensively are third baseman (when not pitching) Stankus (.667, seven RBI, four runs scored, three doubles); senior catcher Mike Cassidy (.546, seven runs scored, three stolen bases, two doubles); junior catcher Dan O'Donnell (.500, six RBI, four runs scored); senior designated hitter Matt Kidwell (.500, one triple); senior centerfielder Curt Hanlon (.462); senior first baseman Ryan Hogan (.455) and right fielder Tim Sprague (.333, six RBI, five runs scored).

"We've got nine seniors, three juniors and one freshman. Our older guys have been around for a good while. We've got a good chance of really doing well in the WCAC and hopefully in the Virginia Independent Schools Tournament after the season concludes. We're going to have to really step things up once we get into the WCAC league schedule," said Stankus.

"We've only given up one earned run thus far this season. Our pitching staff is very good and I knew the experience level there was going to be high. We're also very solid defensively - especially up the middle with senior Brett Hanlon (Curt's brother) at second base, senior Mike Haskins at shortstop and with Curt Hanlon in centerfield," said Heiser, who is assisted by Mark Denhup and Chris Yagesh.

In Heiser's three seasons Ireton finished 11-17 ('00), 19-10 ('01) and 18-10 ('02). The 1986 Cardinal alumnus was selected WCAC "coach of the year" in 2001.