Prince George's Baseball Powers Past CCAC South And Into The NJCAA Region XX Division III Tournament First Round

LARGO, Md. – Josh Pietrandrea (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) and Shawn Alicea (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street) powered a five-run inning with a three-run and two-run homers, respectively, to propel Prince George's Community College past CCAC South 11-3 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX Division III Baseball Tournament Play-in Game on Tuesday.

Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Pietrandrea handed the Owls the lead for good on one swing of the bat thanks to a three-run homer. Alicea then capped the five-run stanza with a two-run shot. Pietrandrea went 2-for-3 on the afternoon with two runs scored to go along with his sixth homer of the season.

Bay To (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a solo homer while Brandon Crosby (Richmond, Va./Atlee, Mechanicsville) added a 3-for-4 performance with a run scored and an RBI. Austin Adams was 2-for-4 and ended the game with a two-run triple while also scoring a run. The sophomore trio will be looking to lead the Largo team to back-go-back region titles when the tournament continues on Friday against top seed Montgomery College.

CCAC South grabbed a 1-0 and 3-2 advantages before Prince George's scored the final nine runs of the game to earn the 11-3 seven-inning victory. 

The rally in the fifth began when Crosby hit a high popup in front of the plate that landed on the ground after three Tigers all looked at each other for a base hit. To doubled to left center to put runners on second and third before Pietrandrea smoked a ball over the left field fence for an "Earl Weaver special" and a 5-3 lead. Tommy Petrosino Jr (Bayonne, N.J./St. Anthony's), who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored on the day, singled on a bunt and came around to score on Alicea's second homer of the year for a 7-3 lead.

Prince George's tacked on four runs in the seventh to seal the victory and to move the Owls to the next round. To opened the frame with a solo homer to left. Pietrandrea walked and Petrosino doubled to right center to put runners on second and third. With two outs, Pedro Montero (LaRomana, Dominican Republic/Colegio Nueva) walked and Pietrandrea scurried home on a wild pitch on ball four. Adams then smacked an opposite field triple to right center field that evaded the right fielder over his glove for an 11-3 win.

CCAC South opened the game with a run in the first. The Largo team answered with two runs in the third to grab a 2-1 edge. Montero reached on a fielder's choice and Adams singled through the right side to put runners at the corners with one out. Jake Brewer (Gibson City, Ill./Gibson City Melvin Sibley) hit a shallow fly ball to center that Montero was able to touch home on for a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1. Crosby tripled off the center field fence to give the Owls a one-run lead. 

It seemed that CCAC South was going to give Prince George's a run for its money, but after the Tigers scored two runs in the fourth the Owls scored the final nine runs of the game.

Clark Reese (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts to earn his team-leading fifth win of the season. Keaton Bradley (Bahama, N.C./Northern Durham) tossed the final frame.

Prince George's will travel to Westmoreland County Community College for the NJCAA Region XX Division III Baseball Tournament. The Owls will face the top-seeded Montgomery College at 1 p.m.