Prince George's Baseball Hosts CCAC South In NJCAA Region XX Division III Action On Tuesday

GAME DAY INFORMATION
CCAC South (7-9) at
Prince George's (16-23)
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 2 p.m.
PGCC Baseball Field | Largo, Md. 

GIVEAWAY – Prince George's athletics will be handing out free Original Chick-fil-a sandwiches and fans will have a chance to select collectibles from the 50th Anniversary celebration.

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opening pitch… One year after winning the NJCAA Region XX Division III Tournament at the Prince George's Community College Baseball Field, Prince George's will start the 2018 tournament by hosting CCAC South with the winner facing top seed Montgomery College on Friday at Westmoreland County.

last time out… Josh Pietrandrea recorded two RBIs in an opening-game victory while Vinny Rotundo smacked his first collegiate homer and drove in three runs in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the College of Southern Maryland on Sunday. Pietrandrea coaxed a bases loaded walk in the first to give the Owls the early advantage in the opener and then drilled a solo home run in the fifth after the Hawks made it a one-run game en route to a 5-2 victory in the first game. The freshman scored two runs and added a sacrifice fly in the second game to finish the afternoon 1-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored.  Rotundo was the big highlight in the second game after the he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Rotundo hit a two-run homer in the first to tie the game at 3, singled through the left side in the third and then found that same hole in the fourth to tie the game at 6 in a 10-6 loss. Austin Adams posted three hits, three runs scored and an RBI on the afternoon while Anthony Cavalier allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with four strikeouts in the opener.

next time on the diamond… The winner of Tuesday's game advances to the NJCAA Region XX Division III Tournament starting on Friday. The winner will begin the double-elimination tournament against top seed Montgomery at Westmoreland County Community College.

wins on the mound... Freshman Clark Reese leads the team with four victories while freshman Keaton Bradley has three wins. Sophomore Bay To and freshmen Anthony Cavalier and Dominic Marquez have two wins, and freshmen Abdul Mateen Bradley, Tyrone Miller Jr and Chase Perreault have each posted a win this season on top of the hill for the Owls.

extra base hits… Freshman Vinny Rotundo leads the team with 10 doubles while freshman Dominic Marquez ranks second with nine doubles and sophomore Austin Adams ranks third with eight two-baggers. Adams and sophomore Bay To are tied for the team lead with three triples.

the long ball… Sophomore Bay To leads the team with six homers while freshman Josh Pietrandrea has four homers while sophomore Brandon Crosby and freshman Josh Pietrandrea each have smacked five homers. Sophomore Austin Adams and freshmen Shawn Alicea, Abdul Mateen Bradley, Steven Fondeur, Dylan Irizarry and Alexander Montero each have one homer this season.

punchouts... Freshman Clark Reese leads the team with 48 strikeouts while freshman Keaton Bradley has 41 strikeouts to sit second on the squad and freshman Anthony Cavalier is third on the team with 23 strikeouts.

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.

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. Shawn Alicea, Keaton Bradley, Mateen Bradley, Jake Brewer, Anthony Cavalier, Dylan Irizarry, Dominic Marquez, Tyrone Miller Jr, Pedro Montero, Chase Perreault, Tommy Petrosino Jr, Josh Pietrandrea, Clark Reese, Vinny Rotundo, O'Neal Troche 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.

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