Two-Run Ninth Sends Prince George's Baseball Back To NJCAA Region XX Division III Baseball Tournament Championship Round

YOUNGBLOOD, Pa. – Tommy Petrosino Jr (Bayonne, N.J./St. Anthony's) knocked in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to power Prince George's Community College past Westmoreland County Community College and send the Owls back to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX Division III Baseball Tournament Championship Round for the second-straight year and for the third time in the last five years.

Prince George's will face the winner of Montgomery College and Westmoreland County in the championship round on Sunday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.

Josh Pietrandrea (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) opened the ninth with a double and came around to score the decisive run on Petrosino's RBI double. The Owls would add an insurance run after back-to-back singles by Vinny Rotundo (New York, N.Y./Middletown) and Shawn Alicea (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street) with Alicea's base hit bringing home Petrosino.

Petrosino finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Pietrandrea posted a 3-for-5 performance with two RBIs, two runs scored and a pair of doubles while Pedro Montero (LaRomana, Dominican Republic/Colegio Nueva) added a hit, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Looking to head into the championship round the winner's bracket route for the second-straight year, Prince George's jumped out to a big lead only to see the Wolfpack rally to the tie the game. The Owls used a two-run ninth to send the Largo team back to the NJCAA Region XX Division III Baseball Tournament Championship Round. Prince George's can win its second-straight title, third under head coach Buddy Foster and fifth in program history with a victory on Sunday.

The Owls jumped out to an early lead with a run in the third. Montero walked and came around to score on Jake Brewer's (Gibson City, Ill./Gibson City Melvin Sibley) RBI single for a 1-0 lead.

The Largo team batted around in the fourth to increase the margin to seven runs. Pietrandrea doubled and came around to score on Petrosino RBI single. After Rotundo singled and Alicea was hit by a pitch, Montero smacked a two-run single to give the Owls a 4-0 lead. After Brewer walked, Brandon Crosby (Richmond, Va./Atlee, Mechanicsville) plated a run on a sacrifice fly. Bay To (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Gorretti) walked before Pietrandrea capped a six-run fourth with a two-run single for a 7-0 advantage.

Prince George's added a run in the sixth to extend the advantage to 8-0. Austin Adams (Atlanta, Ga./Whitewater) singled and touched home on To's run-scoring double.

With the Largo team holding an 8-0 lead, the Wolfpack scored five runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to tie the game at 8. The Westmoreland County full comeback was thwarted by four-consecutive base hits including RBI singles by Petrosino and Alicea.

Anthony Cavalier (Sarasota, Fla./Braden River) tossed the final 2.2 innings to earn the victory.

The Owls looking for its fifth region title in program history after winning the title in 1978 and 1979 under Donald "Cap" Redmiles, who is being inducted into the Prince George's Community College Inaugural Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on May 15. Under the guidance of Foster, the squad has won the region crown in 2014 and 2017.