A changing of the guard is occurring for this season’s baseball team. In previous years, Potomac Falls baseball has relied upon upperclassmen leadership to carry them through the season. However, following the departure of All-District player of the year Brandon Orbe, along with first team All-District selections Zachary Englemann, Jared Goldberg, and James Pearson, these upperclassmen must be replaced by this year’s seniors.

 This year, the baseball team returns only five seniors to the roster. Alex James, Blane Hornung, Brendan O’Brien, Joey Larimer, and Michael Havert will provide the support system for this year’s team.

“I don’t want to set any personal goals. As a team, we just want to win as many games as possible,” said O’Brien.

 O’Brien, Larimer, and James started last season at catcher, first base, and Designated hitter respectively. Larimer has committed to the Roanoke Maroons baseball team, and will play college baseball after the season ends. Havert and Hornung both played critical roles coming off the bench and serving in the outfield.

“Shorty [Brendan O’Brien], and Joey [Larimer] bring great leadership to the team. They know how to play the game and know the ins and outs,” said junior Jordan Brown.

The team will have to replace overpowering pitchers Orbe, Englemann, and Pearson with new young talent.

“We have a lot of new pitching this season. Pearson and Englemann were dominant, so it’s gonna be hard to move on from them. I think our new pitchers [senior Joey Larimer, senior Alex James, sophomore Danny Cox, and sophomore Drew Daczkowski] are up to the challenge,” said O’Brien.

 O’Brien received first team all-district catcher honors last season, along with then freshman third baseman Michael Smith. Last year, the team used some underclassmen, including outfielder Daczkowski, and starting middle infielders juniors Charlie Curtis and Brown.

“This year, individually, I need to adjust my stance and my swing, but as a team, we want to move past the region championship and into states,” said Brown.

Last year’s team experienced a number of exciting victories led by first team All-District catcher O’Brien. “Shorty” as he is referred to, earned a new nickname- Brendan “Oh My!” O’Brien- as he hit walk offs in back to back games in the Dulles District playoffs against Dominion, and Loudoun Valley. The team’s run ended last season in the Regional playoffs to a 2-0 semifinal loss to an upstart Woodgrove team led by South Carolina pitching commit Kaleb Bowman.

 They hope for a better result this season, as they will be led by their strong starting lineup. The first district home game for the team is April 22 against the Freedom Eagles. The Panthers senior night is scheduled for May 16 against Stone Bridge, setting up the potential to face North Carolina (and probable MLB) bound pitcher J.B. Bukauskas on that night.

Team play opens up at home against the defending state champion Sherando Warriors on March 17.