’Jacks sweep AACC, stay perfect in league
ARNOLD – Chesapeake College spotted the host Pioneers 2-0 leads in both ends of Saturday's baseball doubleheader before rallying to sweep Anne Arundel Community College, 7-2 and 9-2.
Jim Wix blanked the Pioneers over the final six innings of the opener while Matt Schotanus, Dillon Shaw and Blake Musser each drove in two runs in the nightcap. The Skipjacks improve to 5-0 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference with the sweep.
"It was a good day," said Chesapeake head coach Frank Szymanski, whose Skipjacks (14-8 overall) also swept a Sunday afternoon non-conference doubleheader against Stevenson University's junior varsity, 12-11 and 7-3. "We really played good baseball. We had a couple of big innings, which helped a lot."
The Skipjacks saved their biggest inning for Sunday against Stevenson, scoring 10 runs in the seventh inning of the opener to erase a 10-2 deficit and pull out the 12-11 win.
"It's unbelievable," Szymanski said of the last-inning rally to win Game 1. "It's probably the biggest comeback we've ever had. It was quite an inning."
The Skipjacks, who had a six-run sixth to win Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against Stevenson, have won five straight overall after a rough patch in which they dropped seven of nine.
"We've cleaned up our game a little bit. We're making the plays defensively and we're scoring in bunches," said Szymanski. "We're also getting good pitching."
In the Anne Arundel opener, Schotanus (two runs, RBI) and Shaw (RBI) each had two hits and Daniel Allen drove in two runs. Chesapeake pulled with 2-1 on Jordan Gowe's third-inning, RBI double and took the lead with a two-run fourth built around Shaw's run-scoring single and Allen's RBI fielder's choice.
Allen had an RBI hit in the sixth that stretched the lead to 4-2 and the Skipjacks broke the game open with a three-run seventh that included a run-scoring hit by Kam Stewart and an RBI double from Schotanus.
Wix (3-0) threw a six-hit complete game with seven strikeouts and one walk while allowing just one earned run.
"Jim really threw the ball well," said Szymanski.
Jake Rich and Zach Weiss each had second-inning, run-scoring hits off Chesapeake starter Jack Wood to stake Anne Arundel to a 2-0 lead in the nightcap. The Skipjacks, however, took control with a six-run fourth inning that included two-run singles by both Schotanus and Musser (2-for-3) and an RBI hit from Gowe.
Casey Joseph joined Musser with two hits for Chesapeake.
Wood (2-1) spaced eight hits and four walks over six innings to earn the win while Tyler McGovern struck out three and walked one while pitching a scoreless seventh.
Anne Arundel starter P.J. Adams, who held the Skipjacks scoreless until the fourth, pitched through the fourth inning and was charged with six earned runs on six hits and a walk while taking the loss.
Chesapeake 7, Stevenson JV 3
BALTIMORE – Trent Ehret and JD Correa each scored one run and drove in another during a six-run sixth inning Sunday as the Skipjacks wiped out a 2-1 deficit to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Eight of nine starters either scored or drove in a run for the Skipjacks.
Connor Gorman (2-1) allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk with two wild pitches and a hit batsman in five innings while earning the win for Chesapeake. Scott Abt pitched the final two innings for the Skipjacks, giving up a run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Chesapeake 12, Stevenson JV 11
BALTIMORE – Trent Ehret – who went 5-for-5 and scored four runs – and Kam Stewart each had two seventh-inning hits Sunday afternoon during Chesapeake's 10-run explosion as the Skipjacks erased a 10-2 deficit.
Ehret singled, doubled and drove in a run during the seventh-inning rally while Stewart (2-for-4) singled twice, including a two-run hit. JD Correa (2-for-4) had a two-run single during the memorable seventh inning.
Matt Schotanus (two runs, RBI) and Lane Farmer each went 2-for-4.