Locals showcase diamond talents | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

The players were five of 197 from five states and Washington D.C., who came to Joe Cannon Stadium on Friday to compete in the Best in Baseball Skills Awards. Based on the players' performances, 42 of the top prospects were selected to play in Saturday night's 6th annual Mid-Atlantic High School Baseball Classic.

Severna Park's Dylan Taylor and Kyle Convissar joined Ryan Collins (Southern) and Eddie Palmer (Archbishop Spalding) on the North squad, while Broadneck's Ryan Kroll represented the South in the Crab Claw Classic.

Kroll, who is only heading into his junior year, went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored a pair of runs and also recorded the game's final two outs to help the South earn the 14-11 win.

"It's a very interesting experience," Kroll said. "I've never been to one of these combines before, and I want to do it again next year. It's unbelievable, me being a rising junior and everybody else being a rising senior."

The Classic is designed to provide area high school baseball players an opportunity to showcase their baseball skills for college recruiters. An estimated 30 scouts and recruiters were on hand over the last two days.

Convissar, also a junior, went 0-for-2 with a walk, but won the award for the top runner and top student for the North during Friday's workouts. He ran 60 yards in seven seconds and boasts a 4.4 grade point average.

"It was a pretty nice experience. I guess I showed my speed, my bat and my arm since that's what they tested us," he said. "They said I hit the ball really well."

Spalding's Eddie Palmer went 0-for-1 with a pair of walks. He just missed what would have been a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning when his drive down the right-field went foul by a few inches.

"I thought I did, but oh well, it happens," he said. "It was a really good experience just to play in front of all the scouts. It's really special. It helps you understand that you're one of the better players in your area. It's nice to know that and get rewarded."

A pair of pitchers for the North - Taylor and Collins - each threw hitless innings. Taylor, a senior, came in in the fifth and retired all three batters he faced on ground balls. Collins pitched the seventh and struck out a pair of batters looking and stranded a runner on second.