Prince George's Baseball Returns To The Diamond To Host CCAC Boyce On Sunday

GAME DAY INFORMATION
CCAC Boyce at Prince George's (3-1)
Sun, March 11, 2018 | 12 p.m. (DH)
Prince George's Baseball Field | Largo, Md.  

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PRINCE GEORGE'S: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS

opening pitch… After the weather wiped out a five-game, four-team road trip, Prince George's will play its fifth and sixth home game to start the season on Sunday when CCAC Boyce comes to town for an NJCAA Region XX Division III twin bill.

last time out… The Owls are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Howard University Club on Mar. 3. The Largo team won the opener 23-2 and then took the nightcap 33-0. Dylan Irizarry hit a homer and drove in six runs in the opener while O'Neal Torche had five RBIs in the nightcap. Austin Adams, Josh Pietrandrea and Vinny Rotundo each posted five RBIs, and Tommy Petrosino added four RBIs in the sweep.

next time on the diamond… Prince George's will head to Florida to participate in the 2018 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Owls will play Herkimer and Oakton on Tuesday, Niagara County and Rowan College of Gloucester County on Wednesday and Northern Essex and Rainy River on Thursday. The squad then returns home for a four-team, six-game homestand, starting with Allegany College of Maryland on March 17.

mother nature always wins… The weather has caused postponements of road games against CCBC Essex, Harford, CCBC Catonsville and Garrett. The Garrett doubleheader will now be played on Apr. 22.

the long ball… Freshman Josh Pietrandrea smacked two homers in his first collegiate game against SUNY Orange on Feb. 24. Freshman Dylan Irizarry notched his first career homer against Howard University Club on Mar. 3.

extra base hits… Freshman Dominic Marquez leads the team with five doubles while freshman Vinny Rotundo is second with four two-baggers. Austin Adams, Dylan Irizarry, Josh Pietrandrea, O'Neal Torche and Sutton Young all have two doubles while Anthony Cavalier, Tommy Petrosino Jr and Clark Reese each have one double. Adams and sophomore Bay To, Pietrandrea and freshman Abdul Mateen Bradley each have a triple.

wins on the mound... Freshmen Keaton Bradley, Anthony Cavalier and Clark Reese have each posted a win this season on top of the hill for the Owls.

punchouts... Freshman Clark Reese leads the team with nine strikeouts while freshman Anthony Cavalier has seven strikeouts to rank second on the team. Freshmen Dominic Marquez, Tyrone Miller Jr and Chase Perrault each have four punchouts and freshman Keaton Bradley has three strikeouts this season.

receiving points in poll… The Owls finished just outside the NJCAA Division III Poll in the first week of the poll. The squad posted 14 points to sit as the highest team not in the Top 10.

preseason nationally ranked… Prince George's Community College baseball team was ranked 10th in the NJCAA Preseason Poll. The defending national champion Tyler Junior College, who defeated Prince George's in the opening game of the 2017 NJCAA Division III World Series, is the preseason favorite after receiving 60 points. Niagara County (52 points), Cumberland County (49 points), Northampton (38 points), Century (35 points), St. Cloud Tech (29 points), Rowan Gloucester (23 points), Brookhaven (16 points), Delta (13 points) and Prince George's (8 points) rounded out the poll. The Owls were ranked in six of the final seven national polls last season.

tuff enough… Along with the usually tough Maryland JUCO schedule, the Owls have two teams on their schedule that are ranked in the preseason and were at the NJCAA Division III College World Series last season. The squad will battle Niagara County Community College (No. 2 in preseason poll) and Rowan College at Gloucester County (No. 7 in preseason poll) on Mar. 14 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

a year to remember… Prince George's is coming off one its best seasons in program history after winning the NJCAA Division III Region XX Tournament and NJCAA District D Tournament titles to clinch its second trip to the NJCAA World Series in the last four years. Along with head coach Buddy Foster and assistant coach Jimmy Williams, sophomore Austin Adams, Brandon Crosby, Naquan Holden and Bay To are the only returners from last year's championship run.

all-american returner… Sophomore Brandon Crosby returns after being named an NJCAA All-America first team selection last year. Crosby paced the team in hits (81), runs (71), stolen bases (45), batting average (.440) and on-base percentage (.527) while ranking third in RBIs (49), third in doubles (17), third in triples (2) and fourth in slugging percentage (.620). The freshman paced NJCAA Division III in steals and ranked fourth in stolen bases for all NJCAA divisions while also ranking eighth in Division III in runs. He posted a hit in 42 of the 49 games played, including 13 two-hit games and 12 three-hit performances. Crosby scored two or more runs 19 times and registered two or more stolen bases in 13 games. Crosby was also named an All-Maryland JUCO first team, All-NJCAA Division III Region XX first team and to the NJCAA Division III Region XX All-Tournament team.

other honors returning… Along with Brandon Crosby, sophomore Bay To returns after garnering All-NJCAA Division III Region XX first team honors and a spot on the NJCAA Division III All-Tournament team. Head coach Buddy Foster was named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Diamond National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III District D Regional Coach Of The Year.

the roster… Head coach Buddy Foster has added 15 newcomers to his team in 2018 while returning four players from last year's team. Keaton Bradley, Mateen Bradley, Jake Brewer, Anthony Cavalier, Dylan Irizarry, Dominic Marquez, Tyrone Miller Jr, Alexander Montero, Chase Perreault, Tommy Petrosino Jr, Josh Pietrandrea, Clark Reese, Vinny Rotundo, O'Neal Torche and Sutton Young.

about the coach… Head coach Buddy Foster enters his seventh 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 and 2017 Owls to the NJCAA Region XX Division III title and advanced to the NJCAA Division III World Series. Foster won his 100th game in the NJCAA District D Championship in 2017 and was named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Diamond National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III District D Regional Coach Of The Year in 2014 and 2017.

social media... Follow the Owls on Twitter (@PGCCOWLS) and become a fan on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/C/pgccowls/) for all the latest Prince George's Community College Athletics news.