Faircloth-McFadden Tandem Powers Prince George's Baseball To 12-9 Win Against Surry; Knights Win Game Two To Force Decisive Game On Saturday

LARGO, Md. – Ryan Faircloth (Wade, N.C./Cape Fear) and Dakota McFadden (Largo, Md./Heide Trask [N.C.]) combined for eight RBIs to lift Prince George's Community College past Surry Community College 10-9 in the first game of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District D Championship on Saturday. The Knights (29-21-1) downed the Owls (32-13-1) in the nightcap 9-3 to send the two teams back to the diamond on Saturday for a winner-takes-all game three.

McFadden went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in the first and an RBI double in the third to account for his four RBIs while also scoring three runs in the opener. The sophomore also tossed seven innings with seven strikeouts to earn the victory. He added a two-run homer in the nightcap to give Prince George's its only lead in the second game at 3-2 in the fifth. Faircloth finished the first game 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in the third inning and added an insurance RBI double to left in the opener. He ended a triple shy of the cycle.

Bay To (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann) added five hits, five runs scored and two RBIs, including a 4-for-5 opener with a two-run homer and four runs scored. Dwayne Coleman (Lothian, Md./Southern) posted three hits and two runs scored while Jonathan Mahoney (Largo, Md./Gar-Field [Va.]) allowed three runs on four hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts in a no-decision in the nightcap.

Sawyer Davis paced Surry with two hits, four RBIs and a run scored while Jordan Huntley registered three hits, four runs scored and four RBIs. Matthew Lambert allowed three runs on seven hits with six walks and seven strikeouts in a complete-game victory in the second game.

In the opener, the Owls jumped out to the lead and kept having the answer when the Knights scored runs to come away with the 12-9 win to need one win for the District D title.

Prince George's used a four-run first to take the lead it would not relinquish. Brandon Crosby (Richmond, Va./Atlee, Mechanicsville) got the rally started with a single up the middle and moved to second on To's single through the left side before McFadden unloaded his 10th home run to center for a 3-0 edge. Just like in the NJCAA Division III Region XX Championship Game, Marte followed with a homer of his own to right field for his 10th of the year and a 4-0 lead.

Surry got two runs back in the third thanks to Daniel Thompson scoring on a wild pitch and an Austin Buchanan RBI double to cut the margin in half at 4-2.

McFadden then helped his own cause and create another four-run inning for the Owls in the third. Coleman singled through the left side to open the frame and then To put down a perfect bunt that turned into a base hit. After McFadden brought home Coleman on a single to left field, Faircloth smacked a three-run homer to center to increase the advantage to 8-2.

A three-run fourth was the response for the Knights thanks to a Huntley three-run homer to left field to cut the margin to 8-5.

In the sixth, Coleman singled to right center and came around to score on To's two-run jack down the left field line to give the Largo program a 10-5 lead.

Surry came back to within one run after a four-run seventh. Davis smacked a three-run homer to center and A.J. Canine doubled home a run to account for the Knights four runs to trim the deficit to 10-9.

A two-run eighth gave Prince George's two insurance runs for a 12-9 edge. To opened the stanza with a double down the left field line and McFadden put runners on the corners with a single through the left side. After To scored on a wild pitch, Faircloth doubled home McFadden for a three-run lead. Kevin Kornieck (Largo, Md./Woodbridge [Va.]), who came in the eighth, recorded a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save and give the Owls the opening game of the series.

In the nightcap, the Knights scored six runs in the seventh to break a 3-all standstill and earn the victory. Five of the six runs in the sixth were unearned, but Thompson had a two-run double with Hunter Travis, Zac Beisemeyer and Huntley each knocking in a run in the inning while the final run came home as part of a double steal.

Surry jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first thanks to RBI fielder's choices off the bats of Davis and Travis.

Prince George's responded with a run in the second after Quentin Rohrbaugh (Largo, Md./Sherando [Va.]) tripled down the right field line and touched home on Austin Adams (Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater) RBI single up the middle to cut the margin to 2-1.

A two-run top of the fifth momentarily gave the Owls the lead at 3-2. To walked and came home on McFadden's second round tripper of the day.

Travis answered for the Knights with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame to tie the game and then Surry posted six runs in the seventh to even the series at a game apiece and set up the decisive matchup on Saturday.

James Wilcox III (Sterling, Va./Dominion) picked up the loss in the nightcap.

The two teams return to the Prince George's Baseball Field on Saturday with the winning earning the NJCAA District D Championship and a spot in the World Series. First pitch is 11 a.m.