Prince George's Baseball Begins NJCAA Division III World Series Journey On Saturday Afternoon Against Tyler

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VIDEO: OWLS HEAD TO WORLD SERIES

PRINCE GEORGE'S VS. TYLER BROADCAST | LIVE STATS

LARGO, Md. – The Prince George's Community College baseball team begins the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III World Series against Tyler Junior College at Pioneer Park in Greenville, Tennessee, on Saturday at 4 p.m.

A tournament pass, which is good for all games during the six-day tournament, is $30 while single day passes are $7. Children 10 and under will be admitted for free. Fans unable to attend the World Series can watch all the action at NJCAA TV.

Prince George's advanced to its second NJCAA Division III World Series under head coach Buddy Foster after winning its second NJCAA Region XX title in the last four years and fourth overall with a come-from-behind 6-5 10 inning win against Butler County Community College in the opening round win on May 14, an 8-7 win against Montgomery College on May 15 and a 6-5 victory against Montgomery in the championship game on May 16. The Owls then took two out of three against Surry Community College to win the NJCAA District D Championship to earn the automatic bid to the NJCAA Division III World Series. The two teams split the opening day with the Largo program taking a 12-9 decision and the Knights earning a 9-3 victory in the nightcap on May 19 before Prince George's won its second title in four days with an 11-9 victory in the title bout.

The Owls, who have been ranked in the NJCAA Division III Baseball Rankings in six of the final seven polls, are having one of their best seasons in program history with a 33-13-1 record. The squad is 14-2 against Division III competition and 21-2 in non-conference games this season after posting a 12-11-1 mark in Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference games.

Brandon Crosby (Richmond, Va./Atlee, Mechanicsville), Dakota McFadden (Largo, Md./Heide Trask [N.C.]) and Bay To (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann) are Prince George's three top hitters, who were also named to the Region XX All-Tournament team. Crosby is batting .438 with 77 hits, 69 runs scored, 17 doubles, two triples, three homers, 47 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. McFadden is hitting .438 with 70 hits, 49 runs scored, 23 doubles, a triple, 11 homers and 60 RBIs while To boasts a .430 batting average with 68 hits, 54 runs scored, 19 doubles, four triples, nine homers, 48 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

McFadden, Jonathan Mahoney (Largo, Md./Gar-Field [Va.]) and Michael Hovermill, Jr. (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) started a game on the hill in both the NJCAA Region XX and NJCAA District D Championships. Mahoney is 5-1 with 83 strikeouts and a 4.09 ERA in 66.0 innings while McFadden is 5-2 with 68 strikeouts and a 3.58 ERA in 60.1 innings of work. Hovermill, a two-time NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Week, pitched both tournament-clinching victories and has posted an 8-0 record with 51 strikeouts and a 3.09 ERA in 55.1 innings this season.

Tyler, who are the three-time defending NJCAA Division III national champions and have won the World Series four times since 2007, come into the World Series 37-20 after winning the NJCAA District C Championship with a 5-0 win against Costal Bend on May 18, a 9-2 decision against Eastfield on May 19 and a 12-6 victory against Brookhaven on May 20 in the NJCAA District C Championship Game. The Apache has participated in the NJCAA World Series in six of the last eight seasons and for the fourth-straight year. Tyler has won its last five opening round games in the World Series with its last loss in the first round coming in 2010.

Taylor Broadway leads the Apache with a .361 batting average with 66 hits, 50 runs scored, 20 doubles, a triple, 11 homers and 60 RBIs. Jordan Trahan is second on the squad with a .356 batting average with 64 hits, 41 runs scored, 11 doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 66 RBIs while Braden Wise is hitting .352 with 43 hits, 31 runs scored, five doubles, four triples and 22 RBIs.

James Kuykendall, Mason Whitmarsh and Austin Cernosek pitched the three games in the NJCAA District C Championship. Kuykendall is 11-4 with 102 strikeouts and a 2.98 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched. Whitmarsh is 8-4 with 46 strikeouts and a 3.65 ERA in 69.0 innings this season while Cernosek is 3-1 with 47 strikeouts and a 4.81 ERA in 43.0 innings of work.

In the nation, the teams are tied for eighth in runs (408) and RBIs (352) while the Owls are on top in hits (9th, 536/Tyler 10th, 521), doubles (5th,116/Tyler 9th, 109), homeruns (1st, 53/Tyler 6th, 41), stolen bases (5th, 116/Tyler 9th, 101) and batting average (3rd, .364/Tyler, .299). The Apache rank fifth in the country in strikeouts (385) and 12th in ERA (3.94).

Win or lose on Saturday, Prince George's will face either Niagara County Community College or Delta Community College in the next round. With a win against Tyler, the Owls will face the winner of Niagara County/Delta on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. while a loss against the Apache will pit the Largo program against the Niagara County/Delta loser at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Niagara County (43-8) advanced to the World Series after winning the NJCAA Region III title thanks to a 5-2 win against Erie Community College on May 19, a 6-4 decision against Genesee Community College on May 20 and an 18-8 decision against Hudson Valley Community College on May 21. The Thunder Wolves are making their second-straight trip to the World Series after advancing to the quarterfinals last year.

Zarley Cina leads the team with a .388 batting average with 66 hits, 39 runs scored, 17 doubles, two homers and 48 RBIs. Jake Cavana is second with a .380 batting average with 38 hits, 25 runs scored, eight doubles, a homer and 26 RBIs while Casey Gruarin is hitting .356 with 42 hits, 28 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, two homers and 31 RBIs.

David Lyskawa, Christian Young and Ryan Green each picked up a win to help Niagara County to the Region III championship and automatic District A title. Lyskawa is 8-1 on the year with 95 strikeouts and a 1.34 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched. Young is 6-2 with 95 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA in 50.2 innings tossed while Green is 5-3 with 34 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA in 32.1 innings of work.

Delta (34-21) advanced to World Series after taking the NJCAA Region XII title and then rallied for 9-5 and 14-3 wins against Elgin Community College after Elgin won the opening game in the NJCAA District B Championship 6-3 in 11 innings. The Pioneers are making their first appearance at the World Series in team history since the program's inception in 2011.

Hunter David leads the squad with a .403 batting average with 60 hits, 44 runs scored, 14 doubles, a triple, four homers and 39 RBIs. Tyler Snover is second on the team with a .386 batting average with 34 hits, 31 runs scored, six doubles, a homer and 25 RBIs while Z Westley is hitting .353 with 60 hits, 28 runs scored, 18 doubles, seven homers and 36 RBIs.

Justin Jurek, Tyler Kirkwood and Jake Gross each started a game against Elgin in the NJCAA District B Championship. Jurek is 7-3 with 50 strikeouts and a 3.47 ERA in 62.1 innings. Kirkwood is 5-2 with 75 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA in 54.2 innings while Gross is 3-4 with 60 strikeouts and a 5.52 ERA in 45.2 innings on the hill this season.

On the other side of the bracket, Cumberland County Community College faces Surry Community College and Century Community College battles Northampton. This quartet of teams would not face the Owls until Monday at 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. in the loser's bracket or at 7 p.m. in the winner's bracket for the rights to advance to the NJCAA Division III Championship Game.

Cumberland County (53-6) received the automatic bid to the World Series and top seed after defeating Northampton Community College 6-3 and 6-4 on May 21-22 to come out of the loser's bracket to claim the NJCAA Region XIX Championship and earn the District G title as well. The Dukes are making their first trip to the World Series in the six-year tenure of head coach Keith Gorman.

Misael Castillo leads Cumberland County with a .443 batting average with 86 hits, 70 runs scored, 23 doubles, a triple, 11 homers and 73 RBIs. Chris Salvey is second on the team with a .418 batting average with 87 hits, 65 runs scored, 19 doubles, one triple, 18 homers and 77 RBIs while John Banes boasts a .387 batting average with 79 hits, 59 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 60 RBIs.

Dan Goggin leads a pitching staff that holds a 2.47 team ERA with a 9-1 record with 77 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA in 84.1 innings. Jarrett Quinn is 11-0 with 90 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA in 83.0 innings of work while Justin Smith is 9-1 with 62 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA in 65.1 innings of work.

Surry (29-22-1), who won the NJCAA Region X title before losing to Prince George's in the NJCAA District D Championship, advanced to the World Series after District F vacated its spot in the tournament to give the District D runner-up the spot.

Neil Hutchens leads the Knights with a .419 batting average with 49 hits, 28 runs scored, nine doubles, a homer and 28 RBIs. Chase Snyder ranks second on the squad with a .405 batting average with 75 hits, 65 runs scored, 14 doubles, a triple, four homeruns and 44 RBIs while Jordan Huntley is hitting .400 with 68 hits, 67 runs scored, 15 doubles, six triples, 14 homers and 45 RBIs.

Matthew Lambert, Tyler Lundy and Seth McRorie each started a game in the NJCAA District D Championship against Prince George's. Lambert is 8-3 with 83 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA in 82.0 innings pitched. Lundy is 8-3 with 80 strikeouts and a 5.49 ERA in 77.0 innings of work while McRorie is 1-3 with 44 punchouts in 39.0 innings on the hill.

Century (33-12) won the NJCAA Region XIII Championship to also claim the NJCAA District E automatic berth. The Wood Ducks defeated Ridgewater Community College 7-3 on May 18, Rainy River Community College (4-0) and Riverland Community College (5-1) on May 19 before earning the title with a 3-2 decision against Riverland on May 22. Century is making its second-straight appearance in the World Series.

Zach Walsh leads the team with a .421 batting average with 48 hits, 40 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, two homers and 27 RBIs. Scott Finberg is batting .360 with 45 hits, 35 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples, seven homers and 36 RBIs while Griffin Schneider is hitting .343 with 47 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, four homers and 39 RBIs.

Ryan Hennen leads the Wood Ducks pitching staff with a 7-0 record with 66 strikeouts and a 1.52 ERA in 59.1 innings of work. Josh Gaworkski boasts a 4-4 record with 77 strikeouts and a 3.98 Era in 54.1 innings while Zach Rustad is 6-1 with 56 strikeouts and a 1.79 ERA in 50.1 innings on the hill.

Northampton (34-7) received the one at-large bid in the World Series after falling to Cumberland County in the Region XIX Championship. The Spartans are making their first trip to the World Series under head coach Adrian Yaguez in his eight seasons at the helm.

Angel Lopez leads the team with a .412 batting average with 54 hits, 56 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 61 RBIs. Franklin Ramirez is second on the team with a .409 batting average with 65 hits, 54 runs scored, 13 doubles, four triples, three homers and 34 RBIs while Michael Ferrara is hitting .373 with 47 hits, 28 runs scored, five doubles and 26 RBIs.

Tyler Forbes leads the hurlers with a 4-1 record, 68 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA in 50.1 innings of work. Brendon Caraway is second on the team with an 8-2 record with 53 strikeouts and a 3.10 ERA in 49.1 innings while Tristan James is 4-1 with 52 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA in 42.0 innings.

Prince George's also went to the NJCAA Division III World Series in 2014, falling to St. Cloud Technical & Community College 18-11 and Waubonsee 12-6 in the two games hosted at the Mike Carter Field in Tyler, Texas. 

Prince George's Possible Games/How They Get To That Game/Possible Opponents (Bracket)

WINNER'S BRACKET
GAME 4 | #6 Prince George's vs. Tyler | Saturday, 4 p.m.
GAME 8 | Win Game 4 | Niagara County/Delta Winner | Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
GAME 11 | Win Games 4 & 8 | Cumberland/Surry/Century/Northampton | Monday, 7:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME | Win Games 4, 8 & 11 | Any of the 7 other teams | Wednesday, 7 p.m.

LOSER'S BRACKET
GAME 6 | Lose Game 4 | Niagara County/Delta Loser | Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
GAME 9 | Lose Game 4 & Win Game 6 | Cumberland/Surry/Century/Northampton | Monday, 12:30 p.m.
GAME 10 | Win Game 4 & Lose Game 8 | Cumberland/Surry/Century/Northampton | Monday, 4 p.m.
GAME 12 | Win Game 9 or 10 | Any of the 7 other teams | Tuesday, 3 p.m.
GAME 13 | Win Game 4 & 8 & Lose Game 11 or Win Game 9 or 10 & 12 | Any of the 7 other teams | Tuesday, 7 p.m.
IF NECESSARY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME | Thursday, 7 p.m.

Prince George's cannot play in Games 1,2,3,5 or 7