Athletes of the Week June 8

Leah Barry

A great lacrosse teammate and friend, a rock-steady defender with real value as a change-of-pace draw control specialist. Leah saw prime-time action in every Cape game and was a chance to get Annie Judge off the circle. Leah is the 2018 Delaware winner of the Jackie Pitts Award, given to one senior who truly honors the game of lacrosse and is invested in the development of the game in her community. The award goes to those who combine academic and service as well as athletic accomplishments. It is a national award given to one player per chapter. Leah is heading to Tulane University in the fall.

David Erickson

“Moneyball” was a book written by Michael Lewis about the Oakland Athletics and general manager Billy Beane. The David Erickson story featuring Cape’s ace pitcher and the confidence shown in him by manager Ben Evick is the Vikings’ own Moneyball story. David was tight in a good way for his start in the state championship game June 4 against Caravel. He was hitting spots, throwing a fastball in the low 90s and bending his curveball over the plate for strikes. David sailed through five innings only allowing one hit while striking out nine batters for the game. “He’s the guy you want on the mound in that situation,” Evick said. He lasted until the seventh inning, when he ran out of pitches and handed the ball over to Mason Fluharty for the final out. 

Mason Fluharty

This lefty who can throw in the 90s will always be remembered for a final strikeout that closed Cape’s 5-3 win over Caravel and started a state championship celebration that lasted 30 minutes. Fluharty had three hits in the 6-5 quarterfinals win over Appoquinimink. He also pitched in middle relief against Dover in the semifinals and stroked a three-run bases-clearing double in the fifth inning to give Cape a 4-3 lead. Mason scored in the bottom of the 10th on a hit by Tim Vitella to tie the game at 5-5; it was later won on a walk-off hit by Jake Gelof.

Katie Frederick

The last of the Fred girl trio of sisters from Rehoboth who played field hockey and lacrosse and contributed to so many state titles. Katie was set back in the fall of her junior year by rupturing her ACL. “I wasn’t sure about coming back,” she said. “Lacrosse is so much running and cutting, it’s kind of scary.” Katie came back for 2018 wearing a big brace and responded by scoring 28 goals on the season, known for her style of taking it to the goal from up top. Katie scored a pair of goals in both the semifinals and finals of the state tournament to help Cape win its 10th state title in a row. Selected second-team all-state, she leaves Cape for Delaware with seven state titles over two sports. She will major in psychology at Delaware.

Jake Gelof

This sophomore stroked a solid hit over the Dover center fielder’s head in the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs to score Tim Vitella, the winning run in a 6-5 semifinals win over Dover in the DIAA state tournament. Jake was 4-for-5 in the game and played four positions, the last being pitcher, where he recorded an out and got credit for the win. Jake also laced a two-run single in the second inning of the championship game to give Cape a 3-0 lead. “He’s a game-day player,” said coach Ben Evick. “And he can play any position.”

Luke Johnson

Just a sophomore, Luke plays mostly second base, but he can also play shortstop and third base and pitch if needed. Next year he’ll pitch a lot. But in a tournament of crucial plays, Luke made the biggest catch and relay in Cape baseball history. Caravel had runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out. A ball ticketed for a base hit to short right field was caught by Johnson on the dead run over his head with arm outstretched. The runner on third was so sure it was a hit, he raced for home without tagging. Luke caught the ball then fired home to Zach Savage, who threw to Jake Gelof standing on third for the double play.

Kaylie Truitt

A workhorse two-sport athlete in field hockey and lacrosse, Kaylie came up through the system and just kept grinding to get on the field for a lacrosse team that is the best in the state and a field hockey team that has won three state titles over four years. Cape lax has an active 124-win streak against Delaware teams. Like all Cape veteran players, Kaylie saved her best performances for the biggest stage, scoring two goals in the finals versus Saint Mark’s. She is heading to Lynchburg in the fall, and she will play field hockey for the Hornets.

Timmy Vitella

Timmy wasn’t hitting, so he was lifted for Jackson Ostroski in the bottom of the eighth in a 5-5 quarterfinal game versus Appoquinimink. Jackson got a hit and Tim came back in to run, and scored the game-winner on a sac fly by Zach Dale. At Frawley in the next game, with Cape trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the 10th with two outs, Tim came up to bat. The season was on the line and there was no pinch hitter. Down to his last strike and the season in the balance, Tim stroked a single between shortstop and third base to score Mason Fluharty to tie the game and set up the game-winning hit by Jake Gelof.