Prince George's Baseball Begins Quest For Fourth NJCAA Division III Region XX Tournament Title On Sunday

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | BRACKET | FOLLOW ON TWITTER

PRINCE GEORGE'S: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
MONTGOMERY: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
CCAC-SOUTH: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
BUTLER COUNTY: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS

the word on the tigers… CCAC-South comes into the tournament 13-8 overall and 3-3 in Region XX action after defeating Butler County 14-4 on Sunday. Omar Pineda Cabrera fuels the Tigers with a .426 batting average with 26 hits, 19 runs scored, nine doubles, a homer and eight RBIs. Rafael Ramos ranks second on the Tigers with a .339 batting average with 21 hits, seven runs scored, two doubles and nine RBIs while Raymond Santos is third with a .286 batting average with 14 hits, 11 runs scored, a double, two triples and three RBIs. Christian Perez, Ryan Frizzel and Joseph Cinello have tossed the most innings for the pitching staff this season. Perez is 3-2 with 36 strikeouts and a 3.38 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched. Frizzel is 2-2 with 12 strikeouts and a 5.06 ERA in 26.2 innings of work while Cinello is 2-2 with 10 strikeouts and a 4.35 ERA in 20.2 innings on the mound.

last time we met the tigers… Dakota McFadden  drove in three runs in the opener and then posted seven strikeouts on the mound in the nightcap to power Prince George's Community College to a Region XX doubleheader sweep against CC of Alleghany County-South (CACC-South) on Mar. 26. The Owls won the opener 6-2 and then took the nightcap 11-1 in five innings. McFadden pushed across the go-ahead run in the first inning on an RBI fielder's choice to plate the second run of the game before drilling a two-run double in the fifth to help seal the victory. It was McFadden's arm that did the damage in the nightcap after allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in a five-inning complete game for his third win of the season. Jonathan Mahoney allowed two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in the first game to earn his third win of the year. Bay To posted three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored while Brandon Crosby registered five runs scored, three stolen bases, a base hit and an RBI in the two games. Harold Marte added two hits and three RBIs in the nightcap. Kenneth Bruno paced the Tigers with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI while Noah LaGuardia and Jose Rodriguez each recorded an RBI on the day.

the word on the pioneers… Butler County comes into the tournament 4-6 overall and 0-3 in Region XX play after falling 14-4 to CCAC-South on Sunday. The Pioneers are led by Colter Cavalero with a .500 batting average, eight hits, three runs scored, a double and four RBIs. Kyle Campbell is second on the team with a .433 batting average with 13 hits, four runs scored, three doubles and four RBIs while Logan Hickey is hitting .303 with 10 hits, 10 runs scored, a double and six RBIs. Zach Jewart has logged the most innings this season for the Pioneers, tossing 13.0 innings with a 1-1 record, nine strikeouts and a 4.85 ERA while Isaiah Glass is 1-1 with three strikeouts in 10.1 innings of work.

last time out… Eighth-ranked Prince George's Community College falls to Cecil College 6-2 on Thursday. Ryan Faircloth smacked his fourth home run of the season for the Owls while Naquan Holden added two hits and an RBI and Kilian Bloat (Liberty, N.Y./Liberty) registered a hit and a run scored. Jonathan Mahoney pitched well in the loss, allowing three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in six innings of work.

next on tap… The winner of the NJCAA Division III Region XX Tournament advances to the NJCAA District D and will host the winner of Region X in a best two out of three series on May 19-21. The winner of NJCAA District D then heads to Greenville, Tennessee for the NJCAA Division III World Series.

nationally ranked… Prince George's dropped two spots in the NJCAA Division III Baseball Rankings to No. 10, announced on Tuesday. The Owls defeated the College of Southern Maryland in a doubleheader by scores of 10-8 and 15-6 on Tuesday before falling 6-2 at Cecil on Thursday to finish the week 2-1. Prince George's dropped two spots to No. 10 after receiving 12 points. The squad has been in the national poll in five of the last six weeks, including two weeks each at No. 8 and No. 9. The Top-5 spots in the poll remained the same after Cumberland County received all seven first place votes and 70 points to earn the top spot while Niagara County (63 points), St. Cloud Tech (56 points), Rowan Gloucester (47 points) and Northampton (41 points) sit 2-5 in the poll. There was some movement in the bottom half of the rankings with Century (25 points) and Tyler (21 points) switching No. 6 and No. 7 while Brookhaven (17 points) moved up one spot to No. 8. Onondaga (16 points) returned the poll in the ninth spot and Prince George's (12 points) rounded out the 10-team poll.  

all-conference honors… Brandon Crosby and Dakota McFadden were named to the All-Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference (MD JUCO) team. Crosby was selected to the first team as an outfielder while McFadden garnered second-team recognition as a designated hitter.Crosby paces the team in hits (63), runs (68), stolen bases (42), batting average (.450) and on-base percentage (.538) while ranking second in RBIs (43), third in doubles (14), third in triples (2) and fourth in slugging percentage (.609). The freshman leads the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III in steals and ranks eighth in the nation in runs.  Along with leading the conference in stolen bases, Crosby sits second in batting average, third in hits, third in on-base percentage, fifth in runs and ninth in doubles. He has posted a hit in 35 of the 41 games played, including nine two-hit games and 11 three-hit performances. Crosby has also scored two or more runs 18 times and registered two or more stolen bases in 12 games. McFadden fuels the team in doubles (20), RBIs (50) and is tied with teammate Harold Marte (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) for the team-lead in homeruns (8) while sitting second in hits (59), second in batting average (.434), second in slugging percentage (.772), third in runs (41) and third in on-base percentage (.477). McFadden is fifth in NJCAA Division III in doubles and 10th in slugging percentage while ranking second in doubles, fifth in batting average, seventh in RBIs and eighth in slugging percentage in Maryland JUCO. He has recorded a hit in 32 of the 41 games this season, including 12 two-hit games, three three-hit performances and three games with four hits. In those three games with four hits, McFadden was perfect at the plate going 4-for-4.

milestone numbers… Prince George's has won 20 games for the first time under head coach Buddy Foster. The Owls reached the milestone with a 3-2 win against No. 17 Frederick on Apr. 15. Foster is now just four wins shy of 100 wins for his career.

theft master… With three steals against Allegany of Maryland on Apr. 23, freshman Brandon Crosby became the first Prince George's player in the last five years to swipe 40 bases in a season and now has 42 stolen bases on the year. Crosby became just the third player in the last five years on the squad to have 20 thefts, joining Roland Eusesio (26, 2016) and Abdiel Marcano (29, 2014 and 20, 2013) as the only players with 20 steals in that stretch. Freshman Bay To can became the fourth player in that span with 20 steals and currently has 21 steals on the year.

in the last five years… Along with Brandon Crosby being the first Prince George's player in the last five years with 40 steals, Crosby is the first player to score 60 runs in a season and the fifth player with 50 hits in a season during that stretch. Crosby currently sits at 62 runs to post the most runs scored in the last five years for the team while his 68 base hits are the most in the last five years. Dakota McFadden has posted 20 doubles this season to notch the most doubles in the last five years while his 50 RBIs matches Jeremy Hagstrom's (50) total from last year. McFadden and Harold Marte's eight homers are the most for the team in the last five years while Michael Hovermill is the third pitcher to reach five wins in a season and how has six on the year.

this is how we roll… Prince George's players have recorded at least two hits in a game 130 times this season. The squad has also had three hits in a game by a player 33 times, four hits by a player seven times and four five-hit performances. Brandon Crosby leads the way with 22 multi-hit games this season while Dakota McFadden (18), Bay To (16), Harold Marte (16), Dwayne Coleman (11), Siri-Jacob Ramirez (8), Kilian Bloat (7), Austin Adams (6), Ryan Faircloth (6), Jared Davis (4), Thomas Thorgersen (4), Quentin Rohrbaugh (5), Naquan Holden (3) and Bryan Waltemath (2) have also notch multi-hit contests this season. Crosby has tallied 11 games with three hits while Marte (4), Bloat (3), McFadden (3), Coleman (2), Faircloth (1), Holden (1), Ramirez (1) and Rohrbaugh (1). McFadden has three four-hit games while Adams has two four-hit games and Coleman and Waltemath each have one four-hit performance this season while To has two five-hit games and Coleman and Ramirez each recorded a five-hit performance this season.

punch out kings… Five Prince George's pitchers have recorded nine strikeouts or more in a game this season. Jonathan Mahoney posted 11 strikeouts in a five-inning game against Central Virginia on Feb. 8 while Michael Hovermill, Jr. registered 11 strikeouts in nine innings against Anne Arundel on Mar. 28 for the top strikeout mark this season. Dakota McFadden struck out 10 College of Faith hitters on Feb. 18 in seven innings while Mahoney posted nine punch outs against Orange County on Feb. 26 and Kilian Bloat registered nine strikeouts against UVAA on Feb. 17. Thomas Thorgersen recorded nine of his 12 outs recorded via the strikeout against Harford on Apr. 4. Hovermill had nine strikeouts against Westmoreland on Apr. 29 and MdFadden had nine punchouts against Garrett on Apr. 30 while Mahoney posted nine K's against Cecil on May 4. The Owls are 6-3 when a pitcher has nine or more strikeouts in a game.

hovermill honored again… Michael Hovermill, Jr. was named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Pitcher of the Week for the week of Apr. 24-30. It is second time this season the freshman has received the top pitcher in the nation award after also garnering the recognition for the week of Mar. 27-Apr. 2. Hovermill, a right-handed pitcher, tossed a four-hit complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts and two walks in a 3-0 win against Westmoreland County Community College on Saturday. With the win, the freshman picked up his team-leading sixth win on the mound this season.

hovermill honored… Michael Hovermill, Jr. was named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 27-April 2. It is Hovermill's first honor of the season. Hovermill pitched a nine inning complete-game gem in a 7-1 win against Anne Arundel Community College on Mar. 28, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts on 117 pitches. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning five times and retired 12 of 13 batters faced from the second to the fifth inning with the only hitter reaching base on an error in that stretch. The Riverhawks were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and twice Anne Arundel had runners in scoring position with no outs and the freshman got out of both innings unscathed. 

what a stretch… After going through a five-game winless streak, Prince George's has won 18 of its last 25 games, including going 8-0 against NJCAA Division III teams and have won all six games against Division III Region XX competition. The squad has posted 165 runs in the 18 wins and has tallied 39 innings with two or more runs scored, including eight four-run frames, five five-run innings, two six-run inning outburst, a seven-run inning and a nine-run outburst against Montgomery. The team has pounded out 200 hits in the 18 victories, including 79 extra base hits (52 doubles, 6 triples, 21 home runs).

region xx tournament… Prince George's Community College will host the NJCAA Division III Region XX Tournament on May 12-14 and locked up the top seed in the three-day event. The Owls swept Community College of Allegheny County-South 6-2 and 11-1 on Mar. 26 and then swept Montgomery 14-11 and 3-2 on Apr. 2. Prince George's locked up the No. 1 seed with 8-4 and 3-0 victories against Westmoreland County on Apr. 29 to end the year 6-0 against Region XX opponents.

in the nation… Brandon Crosby leads the National Junior College Athletic Association with 42 stolen bases while ranking eighth in runs (63). Dakota McFadden ranks fifth in doubles (20) and 10th in slugging percentage (.772) while Bay To is fourth in slugging percentage (.785). As a team, the Owls lead Division III in slugging percentage (.585) while ranking third in batting average (.373), fourth in home runs (42), fifth in on-base percentage (.454), sixth in doubles (104), seventh in stolen bases (106), ninth in runs (362), and ninth in hits (472). NOTE: Prince George's is an NJCAA Division III member so these rankings only include Division III programs in the nation.

in the league… Brandon Crosby fuels Maryland JUCO lead in stolen bases (42) while ranking second in batting average (.450), third in on-base percentage (.538), third in hits (68), fifth in runs scored (63) and ninth in doubles (14). Dakota McFadden ranks second in the circuit in doubles (20), fourth in in ERA (2.98), fifth in batting average (.434), seventh in RBIs (50), eighth in slugging percentage (.772) and eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.87). Bay To sits third in triples (4), fifth in on-base percentage (.522), sixth in batting average (.431), seventh in doubles (17), seventh in slugging percentage (.785) and 10th in stolen bases (21). Michael Hovermill, Jr. is eighth in wins (6) while Jonathan Mahoney ranks sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.17) and ninth in strikeouts (67). Harold Marte is ninth in doubles (14). As a team, the Owls lead the conference with a .373 batting average while ranking second in on-base percentage (.454), second in slugging percentage (.585), second in triples (19), second in home runs (42), third in doubles (104), third in stolen bases (106), third in hits (472), fourth in RBIs (307) and fourth in runs (362). NOTE: The Maryland JUCO is comprised of all the teams from Maryland no matter what division affiliation (Division I, II or III).

the long ball… Prince George's has smacked 42 home runs this season. Harold Marte and Dakota McFadden are tied for the team lead with eight homers. Bay To has hit seven bombs, Dwayne Coleman and Ryan Faircloth have four homers while Kilian Bloat and Siri-Jacob Ramirez have gone deep three times. Brandon Crosby and Naquan Holden two balls over the fence this year.

the roster… Head coach Buddy Foster has added 11 freshmen to his team in 2017 while returning 10 players from last year's team.

a loss to the owls family... Legendary Prince George's baseball coach William "Bumps" Vaughan passed away at the age of 90 on Feb. 25. In his long career as a head coach includes 20 years at the helm of the Owls from 1986-2005. The Owls will be wearing a special patch on their uniforms in honor of Vaughan and the athletic department paid tribute to Vaughan with a tip of the cap moment of silence before its doubleheader against Westmoreland County on Apr. 29.

about the coach… Head coach Buddy Foster enters his sixth season as the head coach of the baseball team. Foster has been at Prince George's since the 2009 campaign after serving as the squad's pitching coach for three seasons before being elevated to the head coach position. He guided the 2014 Owls to the NJCAA Region XX Division III title and advanced to the NJCAA Division III World Series.

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