College Baseball

COLLEGE BASEBALL Shepherd ranked second in region Shepherd University moved up to second in the recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association North Atlantic Regional Poll. The Rams are 18-5. West Virginia State (12-3) is ranked No. 1. COLLEGE TENNIS Rams' Wells goes 5-0 on trip HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Erin Wells went undefeated at No. 4 singles for the Shepherd University women as the Rams (15-7) won four of five matches during their recent spring-break trip to Hilton Head.

kauffman@herald-mail.com WILLIAMSPORT - A little fishing, a little hunting and a whole lot of good college baseball. Those three things drew Williamsport senior ace Aerik Taylor to Oklahoma State University. On Wednesday, Taylor signed a letter of intent to play for the Cowboys starting in 2006. "I went out there a couple weeks ago, and it's the best place I've been to so far," Taylor said. "(Stillwater) is a little town that's similar to here. There's fishing and hunting.

Funkstown Legion baseball coach Darryl Powell is optimistic that this year's team will be one of the best in recent memory. A big reason for that is a rule change that extends the age of eligibilty from 18 years old to 19, allowing Powell to utilize the abundance of Washington County players that will return to the team after a year of playing college baseball. "I feel a lot more comfortable than in years past as far as the number of quality players," Powell said. "The big thing is the returning college players.

kauffman@herald-mail.com Frederick senior Billy Gross has already had a season to remember. On Wednesday, Gross enjoyed a day he likely will never forget. Gross, who has led the Cadets to a 13-1 record and the top spot in The Herald-Mail baseball poll, cashed in by signing a letter of intent to play for West Virginia University next school year. "They gave me an offer that was pretty hard to turn down," said Gross, who will receive a full scholarship. "I've been up there a couple of times and really liked what I saw. The facilities are amazing, and it's the Big East Conference.

koelble@herald-mail.com HANCOCK - Dan Kerns spent 20 years as the head baseball coach at Hancock High School. While sons Mick and Brian were growing up, moving through their teenage years and into adulthood, Dan probably knew baseball was always going to be in the family bloodlines. What probably wasn't envisioned was a day in the future when both of them would be high school baseball coaches, let alone on the same diamond about to send their teams against one another for the first time.

koelble@herald-mail.com In keeping with the annual editorial practice of offering gift ideas for sports figures and teams, here are a few that might be considered: Washington Wizards - The return of Jerry Stackhouse and Gilbert Arenas ASAP. Eddie Jordan isn't all that bad a coach and deserves a better fate with a full squad. And while we're at it, an arena that isn't so hard to get to and maybe more fans would attend. Cleveland Cavaliers - No gift needed here except some patience for victories.