Marriotts Ridge senior Will Ashbaugh gets unique opportunity at Orioles’ Autism Acceptance Night

Marriotts Ridge senior Will Ashbaugh’s passion for the Orioles has never wavered.

Friday night at Camden Yards, Ashbaugh, who has autism, will be on the same mound as many of the players he idolizes. As part of the Orioles’ “Autism Acceptance Night” against the Oakland Athletics, Ashbaugh will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

“It’s totally overwhelming,” his mother, Laura Ashbaugh, said. “Cal Ripken has played on that field. It’s so crazy. The younger guys that he’s really idolized, they’ve given him so many reasons to engage with others and things to study. For him to be on the field where those guys play and maybe even get to give them a nod or a fist bump, it’s literally a dream come true.”

However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Ashbaugh, an aspiring sports broadcaster, will be joining the Orioles’ MASN television broadcast in the third inning and the team’s radio broadcast in the fourth. He’ll be wearing a custom Orioles jersey with his name on it, wearing No. 95 to represent a former ice hockey teammate who moved to Massachusetts.

“My teammates, they’ve been telling me to throw just straight gas,” Ashbaugh said of his first pitch. “It’s going to be so exciting. It’s a day I’ve been waiting for, for many years.”

The manager for the varsity baseball team, he also hosts a weekly “Sports with Will” segment each Friday on the morning announcements at Marriotts Ridge in Howard County, introduced by the “Orioles Magic” song.

Nicknamed “Will the Thrill” by the Mustangs baseball team for his infectious positivity and energy, Ashbaugh has been preparing for his first pitch. He’s been throwing with his grandfather, who played baseball in college at the University of Virginia, and several Mustangs players.

“It’s awesome. He’s as die-hard of an Orioles and Marriotts Ridge fan as there can be,” Marriotts Ridge baseball coach Josh Molnar said. “Everybody knows the instant Will gets to the ball field. He’s talking to everybody and trying to get everybody fired up, the players, parents, other fans watching. It’s an infectious attitude that you know if Will’s there, you’re going to have a good day.”

Friday night’s festivities signify the culmination of a year-long process with assistance from both teachers and classmates. Ashbaugh will have over 100 supporters at Camden Yards on Friday night, including family, friends, classmates and teachers.

“What anyone would tell you about Will, he gets so excited about everything,” said Amanda Shearer, a special educator and allied sports coach at Marriotts Ridge. “If it’s a game day and he sees me in the morning, the first thing he says to me is, ‘Ms. Shearer, we’re going to play whoever and we’re going to get the big W.’”

Marriotts Ridge media specialist Michael Shemm will never forget a moment in his video production class last spring. Teaching a lesson on camera angles, Shemm was showing a highlight of former Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor’s game-tying ninth-inning home run against the Texas Rangers on July 5, 2022.

Unprompted, Ashbaugh began doing play-by-play and color commentary of the clutch hit for the entire class. Shemm was so impressed he pulled up clips of other Orioles highlights and Ashbaugh didn’t break stride.

“I thought, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing,'” Shemm said. “He could do it in an intricate way that made it understandable and sounded like a pro. One of his friends in class told me, ‘Mr. Shemm, he can do that on the fly, we’ve seen him do it.’”

From there, Shemm and his students created a near eight-minute video highlighting Will’s love for the Orioles and sports broadcasting. They hoped to get the attention of MASN, as the video was shared with local organizations, including Pathfinders for Autism, but there wasn’t any traction.

Shemm, along with special educators Molly Milani and Shearer, vowed to try again this spring. The video production class edited and shortened that initial video, including some of Ashbaugh’s best calls. He spoke about his love for baseball broadcasting while Shemm and students Dean Palmer, Barry Romero, Jack Bonner and Luke Holland touted Ashbaugh’s sports knowledge.

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“It turned into something I would have never anticipated in a million years,” Shemm said. “We know Will’s awesome, but it’s our job to make sure we make something that communicates that.”

In addition, Milani direct messaged the video on Instagram to Orioles left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe, whose son Theo has autism . To Milani’s surprise, Coulombe messaged her back that same evening, saying he would pass the information along.

In early February, Milani received an email from the Orioles’ community development team inviting Ashbaugh to throw out the first pitch. She immediately called Laura to share the exciting news.

The next day, Will entered video production class with his usual excitement and energy when Shemm asked, “Will, how does your throwing arm feel?” Ashbaugh promptly replied, “Really good.” Shemm then told Will that he was throwing out the first pitch April 26, in what Schemm described as a moment he’ll never forget. In disbelief, Will said, “You’re kidding, I don’t even have tickets to the game,” which was followed by laughter and a cacophony of applause.

“When I was telling kids in school about Will having the first pitch and everything, every kid was genuinely excited for him and they were so excited to talk to him,” Milani said. “It’s really cool to see because you don’t see that very often with any kid. Will is kind of the mayor of Marriotts Ridge.”

Given Ashbaugh’s passion for broadcasting, Shemm reached out to the Orioles to see if it would be possible for him to join the television booth. The Orioles delivered earlier this week as Ashbaugh will join many of the voices who are the soundtrack to his favorite team.

Ashbaugh said he’s going to keep any potential calls secret until he steps in the booth.

He quickly listed Kevin Brown, Ben McDonald, Jim Palmer, Geoff Arnold and Brett Hollander as his favorite broadcasters. “Then in the past, when the Orioles were really good, it was Gary Thorne and Mike Bordick,” he said.

The Orioles are inviting organizations focused on autism awareness, acceptance and advocacy. A group from Pathfinders for Autism will be on the field for batting practice and will meet with Coulombe before the game. The Orioles are donating tickets to groups including Pathfinders for Autism, Itineris Baltimore and the Autism Society of Maryland.

Laura hopes Will’s story can serve as inspiration in many ways.

“When Will was 5 and we got the diagnosis about his autism, I had no way to project into the future what things could be achievable for him,” she said. “It was really about, ‘OK, how do we take the next step?’ To see him react to this news, he worked really hard. There’s this entire community around him who has been supporting him for years and we all get to celebrate with him this amazing progress.

“Also, hopefully be able to share with other families who are facing similar circumstances that there is a future. You can make progress and sometimes you get to see dreams become a reality.”

A die-hard fan who’s always believed in “Orioles Magic,” Ashbaugh will get a magical moment Friday night.

“It’s the culmination of so many things,” Laura said. “Ultimately for me to see him be able to achieve a dream, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, very few people throw out a first pitch at an MLB game.

“For him to be able to do a thing that he’s always wanted to do, for a team that he’s adored, in a way that demonstrates some hope.”