Midd-West grad Inch manages state of success

Travis Inch had been close enough to a state championship that he'd given some thought to how he might react if he won one.

Would he hurt his hand amid back-slapping embraces with his assistant coaches in the dugout?

Would he go absolutely nuts and race onto the field to revel with his players?

There were easily more possible celebrations on the table than off it.

When the moment came, however, Inch traded the blur of his elation for a solitary seat on the bench.

The Liberty High Lions of Eldersburg, Maryland - a baseball program he revived and molded in his image - won the Class A public school championship on a field named for state royalty. Inch, like a proud father, watched as a wave of baby blue-clad family members, as he'd call them, crashed on the Ripken Stadium turf that overcast May afternoon.

"Everybody's out piling up, giving hugs, (and) my assistants are jumping around giving high-fives. I sat down in the dugout and just took it all in," he said. "Simply because it's something I'm going to remember forever, and I had this vision that this is going to happen."

Inch built this.

Sure, Liberty baseball had two previous state championships, won seven years apart around the turn of the century. But Inch had been at it for seven years - double that if you count when he joined the program as a volunteer assistant - and he gave everything to the pursuit of the Lions' third trophy.

Inch had learned during three years at Middleburg High and as a member of the Midd-West jointure's first graduating class that, when it came to athletics, "losing is not an option."

He saw Dustin Shambach, a fellow three-sport standout, as a "big brother" figure who welcomed a freshman Inch and made certain he was involved in all team activities.

And there was always the memory of his devout grandfather, Gordon Zechman, whom he credits with stirring his love of the game, serving as an example of how he hoped to blend baseball and life.

Those three pillars - the drive to win, the value of family and the importance of faith - were not only at the foundation of Inch's program, but they propped him up through the challenges of a stroke and several near-misses on the diamond ahead of this year's triumph.

"To say that I saw this coming this season? Probably not. Not saying we wouldn't be successful. I knew we could challenge for the county (title)," said Inch, 40. "The Carroll County Times put it this way: Its (headline) was ‘Built for this.' We had this coming, eventually, with the program that we have."

Inspired by grandfather

Inch's love of baseball is rooted in Middleburg, where his grandfather managed teams in the adult league his father, Mike, and his uncles played in for years.

One of Inch's earliest memories is him running around the Middleburg field in a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey of Darryl Strawberry and uniform pants.

"I would not take them off," Inch said. He is a Dodgers fan still, sharing his home with fox red English Labrador Retriever named "Mookie."

Zechman, Inch said, "loved Jesus, he loved Bluegrass, and he loved baseball." The thought of his death in 2020 still moves Inch to tears because Inch has realized in his own decade-plus of managing teams how much Zechman's passion for the game, his faith and his family lives on.

"It all stems from my grandfather," he said. "I got to play with him when he was, I think, 75 or around there, and there were three generations on the field."

Inch played soccer, basketball and baseball at Middleburg High. In his freshman year, the Middies went to the state basketball quarterfinals and played in Pottsville's Martz Hall. The baseball program then won its first district playoff game. He was an all-star forward in his junior basketball season, and a Valley first-team baseball all-star that spring after batting .450 wth 23 RBIs and going 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

"I think that's what taught me, ‘Hey, I don't care what grade you're in - you're gonna be family," he said of being a varsity athlete.

In his senior season, the first year of Midd-West High School, he and classmate Matt Wright pitched the Mustangs to the District 4 championship and a berth in the state quarters at 23-0. The magical run ended with a 5-3 loss to Springfield-Delco at Stump Stadium in Pine Grove, with Inch making the game's final out on a deep drive to the fence in right-center field.

"My cousin told me (that) on the radio they were doing the home-run call," he said. "I hit one to the warning track, and that was the end of the game. I'll never forget that."

That year, Inch went 7-0 with a 1.78 ERA - the right-handed thunder to Wright's lefty lightning - while batting .448 with 26 RBIs in another all-star season. Later that summer, he was named Susquehanna Valley American Legion League West Branch first-team at third base for Chris Romig's playoff squad.

Inch went to Millersville University, and he hit .353 in 13 games during the Marauders' 2006 season. He developed arm trouble in his second year and stepped away from the game, ultimately transferring to Lock Haven where he graduated with a business degree in 2009. That same year, he became a PIAA umpire, something he enjoyed so much that he planned to continue doing it after relocating to central Maryland.

A friend alerted Inch to the government job he landed. Similarly, while playing in the Mid-Maryland Semi-Pro League, he became friends with a player whose father was a teacher at Liberty High. It was suggested that Inch help coach the Lions to further scratch his baseball itch. He had helped a bit at Midd-West, so he had a good idea of what donating his time might entail.

Liberty is in the Carroll School District, 30 miles northwest of Baltimore and 50 miles from Washington, D.C. Inch became a volunteer assistant coach there in 2013, and soon moved to coaching the junior varsity team.

"Chris Romig really taught me the advanced baseball stuff, coming from Elizabethtown," he said. "That, I think, was one of the bigger triggers in my life, too. It was like, ‘Hey, you've got great baseball knowledge. Go share it.' I got that from Chris."

‘I sell out for the program'

Inch couldn't shake the strange feeling on the way to work that 2018 morning.

He felt a bit dizzy and his vision was blurred to the point he drove Route 70 relying on one eye. Unable to focus on the job, he left work and returned home, where he sought the advice of a neighbor who was a paramedic.

The first thought was a TIA, transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke. That is when blood flow to the brain is briefly interrupted, causing stroke-like symptoms that typically resolve within an hour.

Inch went directly to the hospital, and he was admitted for the better part of a week following the diagnosis of a full stroke.

"Jesus was watching out for me," Inch said. "I walked out of the hospital with nothing ... like, no repercussions from it. Doctors can't understand how or why it happened, and can't understand why I don't have repercussions.

"Ever since that my love for Jesus has just grown tremendously."

Two years later, Inch was preparing to make the transition to oversee Liberty's varsity program when the COVID-19 outbreak forced the season to be canceled. "And we had a great class that year. I think we would've went pretty far," he said. The following year, the pandemic limited the Lions to 12 games. They tied for the Carroll County championship.

In 2022, Inch's first full varsity season, the team went 15-6 and lost in the Class 2A state semifinals. The next season was even better (19-6), but ended with another state semifinal loss.

Liberty was realigned to Class A in 2024, but it won its third consecutive regional title (akin to a PIAA district) before eventually bowing in the state quarterfinals. Inch was the Baltimore Sun/Carroll County Times Coach of the Year in those back-to-back seasons.

The Lions won at their typical clip in 2025, humming along at 15-3 when they were beaten in the regional final. That outcome led the Baltimore Sun to damn the program with faint praise in the newspaper's 2026 preview, saying Liberty was "poised to challenge for Carroll County and regional titles again."

The Lions boasted the Carroll County Player of the Year, La Salle commit Carter Shanks, as well as another ace in Logan Garey, who formed a knockout right-lefty duo that was very familiar to their coach.

Inch made one significant change to his approach, scheduling stronger opponents late in the season rather than lesser ones to allow his players to rest and heal for the postseason. He feared the Lions had "hit a wall" in past years, and he wanted them "to catch our stride going into the playoffs."

Everything else remained the same, from the inclusive team outings and fundraisers to the never-ending work Inch did keeping up and improving Liberty's home field.

"I sell out for the program, I really do. It's just keeping the kids excited about playing baseball," he said. "When I took over this program, one of the things (the players) had to buy-in on, and us coaches - especially me - preach day in and day out, is to be a family. There's no player that's above anybody else."

Inch typically keeps about 20 players on varsity rather than the typical 15-16, finding valued roles for them all. He doesn't name captains, but allows team leaders to emerge organically in step with the program's pillars. Players go to church with Inch, and they pray before - or, in the case of the state final, after - games.

"I've had parents come to me and say, ‘Listen, Travis. I know you've made my kid a better baseball player, but you made my kid a better man, a better boy,'" he said.

‘They were so overjoyed'

When the final out was made and Liberty's state championship celebration began, Lions first baseman Brody Knight and catcher Tanner Kane remained vigilant and glued to their respective bases.

See, the last play was a sharp grounder to third base with two outs and Patterson Mill runners at second and third in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lions infielder Charlie Hitzel made a diving stop and a throw across to Knight, whose foot came off the bag but got back on in time (Inch says video confirms it). However, the batter was ruled safe. A run scored to pull Patterson Mill within 6-5, and Inch's appeal was unsuccessful.

In the moments after the play, as several Liberty players ran toward the mound and flung their hats in the air, Knight and Kane made certain the other Patterson Mill runner couldn't make a break for the plate from third base to score the tying run.

It's a memory Inch cherishes as much as any from the title game. Those two players understood the importance of staying engaged on the field, even as post-game chaos unfolded around them.

Making matters more interesting was the fact that Shanks had reached his pitch limit after 6 2/3 innings of four-hit, one-run relief. Inch called on sophomore left fielder Caleb DiCerbo to face Patterson Mill leadoff batter Logan Scheeler with the tying run still at third. On a 2-1 pitch, DiCerbo induced a game-ending foul pop to Kane.

"And then we celebrate again," Inch said with a chuckle.

When Inch finally emerged from the dugout, he tipped his cap to all the Liberty fans who made the trip to Aberdeen for the 10:30 a.m. Monday start.

"Simply a thank you for supporting the program, coming to the game, pushing these guys," he said. "I've watched videos (of the game) and just watched fan reactions in the background."

Bev and Mike Inch were among them.

Inch's parents decided against making the trip from Middleburg for the original game date of Friday because there was significant rain in that day's forecast. The game was moved to the following Monday, and the Inchs were front and center at Ripken Stadium.

"Just seeing the joy on my parents' faces was awesome," he said. "They're not rah-rah people, but you could tell they were so overjoyed by it."

Liberty won its last seven games, including a 5-4 win in 10 innings over Smithsburg in the state quarterfinals. Knight delivered a clutch game-winning RBI with two outs after an errant pickoff throw allowed Garey to take third.

The Lions erased Patterson Mill's 4-0 first-inning lead in the championship game.

"It was probably my best managerial job, including my assistants, that I think I could have done," Inch said.

The championship glow is still bright more than a month later.

Inch has received congratulations from people he both knows well and not at all. The team was to be recognized on the field by the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The younger brother of a Liberty varsity player who was intent on playing at a private school has reconsidered.

"I think I'm raising (the program) to a certain standard," Inch said, "and I don't know if I'd say ‘standard' because there really isn't a standard other than winning.

"My end goal is to be a state champion every year, and it's never going to change. Two weeks after we won, I said we're going back-to-back."

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