November 18 - As an eighth-grader at Bull Run Middle School, Zach Agnos watched his older brother, Jake, strike out 21 batters in a game for Battlefield High School.
“You just saw something in his eye,” the youngest of the Agnos brothers said.
A year later, Jake and Zach were sharing the field while playing key roles in Battlefield's run to the 6A North Region and state championship games. Jake collected a number of Player of the Year honors, including from the magazine's NOVA Nine Team, from The Washington Post's All-Met team, and from both the VHSL and VHSCA all-state teams.
Zach, who hit .368 with 17 RBI, was the lone freshman to earn Conference 8 honors, named as the second-team second baseman.
“It was fun to watch,” Battlefield coach Jay Burkhart said. “You don’t often get a chance to see two brothers contribute the way they did for us.”
Before the 2016 season started, however, Zach had to earn his spot on the varsity team. And he made quite the impression.
“He was probably the best player on the team during the tryout,” Bobcats pitching coach Shawn Camp said.
“From the beginning he acted like he belonged,” said Burkhart. “The way carries himself on the field, he fit right in.”
Zach became a sparkplug in the Bobcats' lineup. Hitting in the ninth spot in the order, Zach was considered by Burkhart as a second leadoff man, compiling a .426 on-base average while scoring 11 runs and stealing eight bases. He also showed considerable poise for a first-year high school player as a consistent defender at second base, committing just one error on the season.
“He didn’t play like a freshman last year,” Burkhart said. “I did not expect him to make such an impact.”
Added Camp: “He just made some unbelievable plays.”
The groundwork for his success was laid during the offseason, when the two brothers - excited about playing on the same field for the first time since Little League - began to work out together and train with Camp, the former Major League Baseball pitcher who has also coached both brothers in the offseason with Stars Showcase Baseball. The two formed a competitive sibling rivalry, and pushed each other during workouts.
“There is an in-house competition between those two,” Camp said. “Sometimes, it strikes your ears when they get after each other.”
While walking the hallways during the school day at Battlefield, Zach was known as Jake’s younger brother. On the field, Zach began developing his own identity. There are several differences between the two - Jake as the dominant left-hander who went 18-0 with 265 strikeouts in 129.1 innings over his final two years - the right-handed Zach as a slick-fielding infielder and a potential Division I pitching recruit.
This year, Zach relishes the opportunity to make a name for himself. He says he doesn’t feel any added pressure to live up to his brother’s rather large legacy. He wants to create his own.
“We play different positions, so I don’t think I am in the shadows of him,” Agnos said. “But I am trying to live up to him and create bigger footsteps than what he created.”
Burkhart and Camp both mentioned how Zach has the same ‘lion’ mentality as his older brother. They both share the look that Zach saw in his brother’s eye the night of his 21-strikeout performance, and during the Bobcats’ postseason run last spring.
“There’s a lot of resemblance between the two,” Camp said. “They mirror each other in almost everything they do.”
Growing up the youngest of four siblings, Zach points at his two older brothers constantly pushing him as a big reason for his development and ability to perform in pressure situations during his freshman season. Jake, now a freshman pitcher at East Carolina University, checks in often on his little brother.
“He told me he wants me to be better than him,” Zach said.
Already on the radar of several Division I schools, Zach has traveled this fall to visit the University of Alabama, Virginia Tech, and ECU. He has trips planned to the University of North Carolina this weekend and Penn State in December.
Like his brother, he’s tapped into the several connections available to him as he’s begun the recruiting process. Burkhart and Camp both played at George Mason University and have several collegiate contacts, as do other coaches within the Stars program such as Mike Colangelo and Carson Carroll.
“I can’t complain about it, they have gotten me in front of college coaches and given me opportunities to do stuff later in life,” Zach said. “I am thankful for them from the bottom of my heart.”
After pitching just four innings while behind three Division I arms in his brother, Keegan McGinnis (Virginia Tech) and James Beasley (Hofstra University) last season, the 6-foot, 175-pounder is in line for a busy spring. He’s expected to slide over and become the Bobcats’ starting shortstop while also shouldering a healthy share of innings.
“Being a middle-infielder and pitcher is challenging at times,” Camp said. “If there’s one person that can do both, it would be him.”
Battlefield returns five all-conference players from last year’s 23-5 team, including first-team all-state outfielder Brent Boggs and first-team all-region catcher Tyler Solomon. The returning core and an influx of players from a junior varsity team that lost just one game has Agnos excited.
“Our team is ready, ready mentally and physically,” he said. “And ready to kick some butt this season.”
Photos by Fred Ingham and courtesy of the Agnos family
