Family bond got Hagerstown baseball to regionals and why Quaid Mull’s goodbye was so tough

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Standing in the on-deck circle, Quaid Mull envisioned himself at the plate, connecting with a two-out base hit and driving in the regional championship game-tying run.

Nobody else would have been more deserving than the Hagerstown senior. Mull, a starter and leader from the moment he put on the Tiger purple and gold as a freshman, had already reached base twice and was in the middle of pitching yet another gem on the mound (six innings, three hits, three runs). He was about to have a chance to save the season and extend his high school career.

Sectionals: Hagerstown baseball wins sectional championship behind Mull's pitching, Burris' clutch hit

But that chance never came.

Standing in the on-deck circle, Mull watched junior Ben Williams sprint right past him toward first base, trying to beat out the catcher’s throw after a dropped third strike. The ball hit the back of the first baseman’s glove before Williams could get there, the pitcher launched his mitt to the sky and Heritage Christian’s players dogpiled on the infield, celebrating a semistate birth after their 3-2 regional championship win over Hagerstown June 3.

Mull collapsed to his knees, the emotional realization that he just played his final high school game hitting him instantly.

“Knowing this is my last time ever playing ball for this team and putting this purple and gold on,” Mull said as he took a deep breath to keep his composure. “It’s just a lot of fun and a lot of work we’ve put into this. My expectations were always higher, but we put together a great season. Purple and gold is what I love to wear, and I’d kill to wear it again.”

It was a different kind of emotion than his teammates were used to seeing from their senior leader. Mull was the guy to gather them up and give a fiery, motivational speech before the game. He was the guy to walk off the field screaming and pumping his fist after striking somebody out to end the inning.

This was different — it was vulnerable — and Mull’s teammates were there for him the same way they had been all year. Almost as soon as his knees hit the ground, four fellow Tigers were kneeling beside him. Not 10 seconds later, just about the whole team was surrounding that on-deck circle.

“They came down there and said, ‘Hey, great season. It’s all right, bud. You got it. You’re going to do big things,’” Mull said. “It’s something you strive to have, that closeness with your fellow teammates. The season is a whole lot more fun and it goes a whole lot better when you’re that close with your teammates.”

Related: Gavin Trent leaving ‘older brother’ legacy at Lincoln after final game as a Golden Eagle

'It's OK': Burns says emotional goodbye to Lincoln softball; Lunsford key to future success

Mull finished the season with a team-high 71.2 innings pitched (43.1 more than anyone else), 82 strikeouts and a 1.76 ERA. He has a next step in his baseball career, as he committed to Bethel University last December, but there’s a second senior on this Hagerstown team who doesn’t.

Braylon Doerstler was also a leader for the Tigers but in a completely different way. While Mull did his thing on the field, Doerstler embraced his role as the hype man. He played in 20 of Hagerstown’s 31 games and had just 12 plate appearances all season. Whenever he wasn’t in the game, Doerstler was at the head of the dugout, encouraging his teammates as one of the loudest voices you’d hear throughout the ballpark.

“You couldn’t ask for better seniors,” head coach Jay Hale said. “Braylon shows up every day to work, knowing that he might only get an inning or two in the field if he’s lucky, and he never complained about it once.”

As for everyone else, there’s a feeling throughout the team that they’ll be back. Losing Mull and Doerstler will be tough, but the Tigers have 12 players — seven of them will be seniors — set to return with considerable varsity experience.

Earlier: Hagerstown baseball takes expectations in stride, aims to do ‘something special’ in 2023

'Past their years': Hagerstown softball has bright future with young core leading the way

However, just because it looks good on paper doesn’t mean anything is guaranteed next year, and the Tigers know all about that. After a young Hagerstown team surprised some people in 2022 with an 8-0 Tri-Eastern Conference record and a sectional final appearance, the expectation was, with a nearly identical roster, it would do it again in 2023. Instead, the Tigers finished third in the TEC and couldn’t defend their Wayne County Tournament title.

The Tigers will once again have practically the same roster coming back in 2024, but they’ll be better prepared to repeat their success this time after experiencing a few setbacks this year.

“They’re going to want to be back, but it’s a mindset,” Hale said. “You get into next season, and you think you’re just going to run through everybody. That’s not baseball. This year, they knew they were going to be good, but they knew they had to work to get here. Next year, it’s going to be more of a mental test for them to be able to say ‘How do we get back here?’”

As long as they keep that close family bond, which junior Collin Beaty said will be natural after being part of “definitely the closest” team he ever has this season, getting back to regionals will be a priority.

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Beaty said. “The younger guys coming up are going to have to be leaders because we’re losing two big ones. We’ll be ready. We’ll have that fire under us with a big chip on our shoulder. We’ve just got to come out as a family again and win for each other.”

After the post-game team meeting in short right field, it was time for Mull to break down one last huddle. You could hear it in his voice. It was a little softer and clear he was holding back tears.

“Family on three! One, two, three, FAMILY!”

It was how they broke each huddle all season, but this one meant a little more. As Mull put it, “They’re my brothers.”

Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Hagerstown baseball falls to Heritage Christian in regional final