New CCBC Essex Coach Has Ties to Ex-Orioles

Michael Carter, the first-year head coach for the baseball team at CCBC Essex, comes from an impressive coaching tree.

His coach in junior college at Allegany in Cumberland was Steve Bazarnic, whom Carter calls a solid coach who knows what it takes to win after nearly four decades in the game.

"I come from a winning background. I look up to him a great deal," Carter told Patch.

And Carter points out that Bazarnic spends a lot of time with Sam Perlozzo and Leo Mazzone, who spent their adult lives in pro baseball.

Cumberland native Perlozzo was once the manager of the Orioles (2005-07) and is now on the coaching staff of the Phillies. Mazzone, born in Keyser, WV, was a long-time pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves at a time the team made the playoffs every year.

Late in his career Mazzone was the pitching coach for the Orioles, in 2006 and 2007. Carter said Perlozzo would at times stop by practice at Allegany to see Bazarnic.

Carter, an assistant coach last season for CCBC Essex, said he hopes some of that knowledge rubs off on his coaching career. The Knights improved to 11-9 overall with a doubleheader sweep of Montgomery-Germantown on Saturday and a 2-1 win Tuesday over Anne Arundel Community College.

While that may not be overly impressive, Carter claims there is an improved attitude on the team this year.

"I think I bring my own style. I see a lot of chemistry this year and the will to win," he said. "They are out there to win. They want to win. They pull for each other."

The Knights lost six of their first seven games under Carter but then went 10-3 in a stretch through Tuesday.

Some of the top returning players this year are sophomore pitcher Eric Ryan (Patapsco), sophomore pitcher Jason Creighton (Loch Raven), sophomore catcher David Williams (Eastern Tech), sophomore infielder Caleb McDaniel of Virginia and sophomore infielder/outfielder Michael Romana, also of Virginia.

Carter said he has worked hard to establish ties to high school programs in baseball-rich Northern Virginia in an effort to land top players. He is also high on freshman pitcher Blake Geiger, from Calvert Hall, who was the starter on Tuesday in the win over Anne Arundel Community College.

Carter played in high school at Allegany in Cumberland. He then played in junior college at Allegany before also seeing action at the Division II level.

Carter was also an assistant coach under Bazanic for several years before he moved to Baltimore. During his time as a player and coach in college at Allegany the team advanced to the junior college World Series.

Now Carter, who played at Fairmount State in West Virginia, hopes to bring some of that western Maryland winning tradition to Essex.

Men's lacrosse rolls

The Knights improved to 5-0 (1-0 in MD JUCO) on Thursday following their 25-5 victory over CCBC Catonsville. The came after the Knights won, 22-2, on Sunday in Essex over Brookdale of New Jersey.

Against Catonsville, Dixon Green (Hereford) scored a team-high four goals to lead Essex. Zach Gagnon addd three goals and three assists for the Knights, who next play at 1 p.m. on Sunday against Delaware Tech at Wesley College in Dover Del.

CCBC Essex is ranked No. 2 in the country in the latest NJCAA poll.

Women's lacrosse falls

The women's lacrosse team at CCBC-Essex fell to 0-5 overall with a 15-0 loss on Thursday against Anne Arundel Community College. AACC is ranked third in the country, according to the latest NJCAA poll.