High School

Bowling, Godrick and Milton vie for ‘Prep Player of the Week’

By Dean Jones

Posted on April 11, 2016

Most of the attention on Baltimore baseball over the past week has been centered on the Orioles’ undefeated start at Camden Yards. But, around the area, the high school season has been underway for a few weeks and teams are in the middle of conference/league play.

On BaltimoreBaseball.com every Monday we’ll highlight three of the area’s top high school ballplayers from the previous week. Then, you get to  vote – early and often – for the athlete you want to be our Prep Player of the Week.

In order to vote, select your choice at the bottom of this post. Voting ends Thursday nights at 11:59 p.m. On Friday, we’ll reveal the winner. This week’s three candidates – for the games from April 4 to April 10 – are listed below, as well as other players who received serious consideration.

If you would like to submit candidates to be considered as the BaltimoreBaseball.com Prep Player of the Week, please send the player’s name, key statistics from the previous week, and your contact information to [email protected].

Prep Player of the Week Finalists:

Colin Bowling, North Harford

Bowling led the Hawks to three straight victories during the week. The 6-foot, 175-pound senior earned two wins on the mound – on Monday against Rising Sun and on Friday versus Fallston – and had a go-ahead, two-run single as North Harford upset Bel Air on the road Wednesday in a key Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference matchup. On Monday, he struck out seven Rising Sun batters and held the Tigers to one unearned run and three hits in five innings during the Hawks’ 3-1 win. And the left-hander pitched 6 1/3 innings in North Harford’s 9-4 victory over Fallston on Friday, allowing two earned runs and five hits.

Billy Godrick, Archbishop Spalding

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior had seven hits in 10 at-bats as the two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion Cavaliers won three consecutive league matchups last week. He finished a home run shy of the cycle in Archbishop Spalding’s 10-5 win over Mount Saint Joseph on Monday, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. (In the same game, senior teammate LaVale Hodges was 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and six RBIs.) Godrick, who is committed to Fordham, reached base in all four of his plate appearances – three hits and a walk – as the Cavaliers routed McDonogh, 14-3, on Wednesday. And he ended the week with a single and a run scored in Archbishop Spalding’s 6-0 victory over John Carroll on Friday.

Kody Milton, Severna Park

Milton, the son of former major league left-hander and current Severna Park coach Eric Milton, showed off his power stroke as the Falcons swept three Anne Arundel County matchups last week. On Monday, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore had a home run and two RBIs in Severna Park’s 10-0 victory over Glen Burnie. Two days later, Milton went deep twice – including a go-ahead, three-run shot in the top of the seventh inning – as the Falcons beat Old Mill, 6-4, on the road. In Severna Park’s 4-0 win over Chesapeake-Anne Arundel on Friday, Milton singled and scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Others considered (listed alphabetically): Spencer Dietrich, Severna Park; Kieran Garner, River Hill; LaVale Hodges, Archbishop Spalding; Ethan Kiple, Century; Garrett Matheny, Calvert Hall; Alex Parker, McDonogh; Tommy Parris, Liberty; Joe Seidler, Chesapeake-AA; Trevor Sprinkle, Calvert Hall.