Brown University recruit to play in Sunday’s Brooks Robinson All-Star Game at Camden Yards
B-CC shortstop Elliot Ginns will be on the diamond Sunday at Camden Yards for an annual Maryland high school all-star game
Victoria Pfaff
Recent Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School graduate Elliot Ginns’ 12-game hitting streak was in jeopardy by his fourth at-bat when the Barons baseball team faced Montgomery 4A East foe Winston Churchill on April 20.
But the second-year starting shortstop never prioritized personal statistics over team success, B-CC coach John Schmidt said. So, to keep an inning alive, the Barons’ leadoff batter took a seven-pitch walk.
“He took an end to his hit streak to get an inning going,” Schmidt said. “That’s the type of player Ginns is.”
The regular-season win over Churchill—the Barons also beat the Bulldogs en route to the Class 4A West Region final—was part of a three-game win streak that helped B-CC turn around its season after a 1-7 start, resulting in a 12-10 record. And Ginns was at the forefront, Schmidt said.
The Barons’ coach wasn’t the only one to take notice of all the little—and big—things Ginns did for B-CC baseball this spring. The Brown University recruit was selected by the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches (MSABC) to play in Sunday’s 2016 Brooks Robinson All-Star Game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The exhibition, scheduled to follow the Orioles’ 1:35 p.m. game against the Toronto Blue Jays, perennially features the top 30 seniors in the state as selected by coaches.
“It’s a huge honor to be selected to play among that caliber of players,” Ginns said. “It’s a really cool opportunity to play at Camden Yards, with the history that park has.”
Ginns first showed up on the MSABC’s radar after a breakout 2015 season—during which he tallied an impressive 35 hits—that landed him on the West Region Futures roster, a list of the region’s top 25 juniors. He responded with maturity to the pressure that comes along with such attention to live up to the preseason hype, Schmidt said.
Ginns “will be the last guy to tell you how good he is,” Schmidt said. “But [MSABC accolades] is not just me vouching for my guys. I know what type of guy he is. To get all that recognition from coaches, he’s got to make the plays to stand out. He did it at the right times. He knows the best players rise up in the biggest games.”
Ginns was the only junior starter last year on a predominantly senior squad and took a backseat to his older teammates in terms of leadership, Schmidt said. Ginns embraced his role this spring as a player the Barons looked to and led by example, and his teammates fed off everything he did, the coach added.
Ginns, who said he relishes the mental aspect of baseball and likened it to a chess match between two teams, finished the year batting .415 with a team-high 27 hits and 22 runs scored and was error free on defense.
Being the leadoff batter can be one of the toughest jobs, Schmidt said. It takes patience and discipline and Ginns excelled at both. His range in the middle infield also instilled confidence in the Barons’ young pitching staff. With several key players slated to return, Ginns said he expects the Barons will take that momentum into next spring.
He said he has his sights set on impacting a Brown program on the rise. And he has the potential to do so, Schmidt said. While Ginns might not be the biggest, fastest or most athletic guy on the baseball diamond, he possesses all the intangibles that make him the complete package.
“He gives 100 percent, all the time,” Schmidt said. “Every opportunity he gets, he takes advantage of it.”
