Ellis, James and Martin threw gems on way to ‘Prep Ballplayer of Week’ voting

With the regular season winding down and Mother Nature ravaging the fields around the Baltimore area for much of the week, I thought I would have a hard time finding suitable candidates for the fifth BaltimoreBaseball.com Prep Ballplayer of the Week Award.

But that wasn’t the case at all.

Two no-hitters and a tremendous all-around performance – including a complete game – in a county championship made it easy to select three deserving finalists this week.

Before we get to this week’s candidates, though, I wanted to congratulate Fallston’s Bryce Logan for being selected as last week’s Prep Ballplayer of the Week with more than 7,000 of the nearly 16,000 total votes. He became the second consecutive Harford County athlete to win the award – joining Bel Air’s Michael Yetter. Archbishop Spalding’s Billy Godrick and Loyola Blakefield’s Jack Sheehan also have received the honor.

Our main goal with the Prep Ballplayer of the Week voting is to highlight three of the Baltimore area’s top high school performances in a post every Monday. You get to vote – early and often – for the finalist you believe should be our winner. To vote, make your selection at the bottom of this post. Voting ends 11:59 p.m. Thursday night. We’ll reveal the winner Friday. It’s as simple as that.

Details on each of this week’s three candidates – for the games from May 2 to 8 – are listed below, as well as the other players who received serious consideration.

If you would like to submit candidates to be considered “Prep Ballplayer of the Week” in the future, please send the player’s name, key statistics from the previous week and your contact information to dean@baltimorebaseball.com.

THIS WEEK’S FINALISTS

Matt Ellis, Dulaney
In a 2-0 win over Towson on Monday, the 5-foot-11, junior right-hander needed just 68 pitches to complete a no-hitter. Ellis, who is now 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA in 30 innings this season, had three strikeouts against the Generals and issued only one walk. On April 6, he allowed one unearned run and two hits in five innings as the Lions routed Towson, 14-1. Ellis struck out a season-high, five batters in that victory.

Blake James, Atholton
Like Ellis, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior didn’t allow any hits in the Raiders’ 5-0 victory over Hammond on Thursday. A preseason all-state selection who is committed to play at La Salle next year, James struck out 10 batters and walked only three in the game. Only one Golden Bears player reached second base against the right-hander – and that was on an error. He also had an RBI double in the first inning and scored Atholton’s second run. Before throwing the no-hitter Thursday, James had a home run and two RBIs in the Raiders’ 9-4 win over Wilde Lake on Wednesday.

Brandon Martin, Westminster
Martin, a four-year varsity player, helped the Owls avenge two regular-season losses to Francis Scott Key with a 6-1 win over the Eagles for the Carroll County title on Saturday. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound right-hander had six strikeouts and allowed four hits in the complete game. In addition to his performance on the mound, Martin also helped himself at the plate. He finished 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly in the victory. Martin is committed to play at Fordham next year with Godrick, the inaugural Prep Ballplayer of the Week winner.

Others considered (listed alphabetically): Jeremy Arocho, Old Mill; Tyler Blohm, Archbishop Spalding; Luke Childress, Severna Park; Nick Cress, Patterson Mill; A.J. Gibbons, Fallston; Ryan Jack, Severn; Creed Mourey, Kenwood; Stephen Pelli, St. Mary’s; Michael Prosperi, Arundel; Jack Stilling, Mount Saint Joseph; Dillon Waters, Southern; Ryan Zellers, Northeast.

BALTIMOREBASEBALL.COM PREP BALLPLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week 1 (April 4-10): Billy Godrick, Archbishop Spalding
Week 2 (April 11-17): Jack Sheehan, Loyola Blakefield
Week 3 (April 18-24): Michael Yetter, Bel Air
Week 4 (April 25-May 1): Bryce Logan, Fallston