'Jacks seeded second in balanced baseball regional
HAGERSTOWN – The only certainty about this weekend's NJCAA Division I Region XX baseball tournament is that anyone can win it.
Top-seeded Potomac State College is seeking its 11th region title in 14 years; second-seeded Chesapeake College ended the regular season with six straight wins while outscoring those opponents by a 54-21 margin; and third-seeded host Hagerstown Community College is 19-12 at home this season.
Even 2-50 Harford Community College – which forfeited 31 regular-season wins for use of ineligible players but remained eligible for postseason competition – could emerge as the champion from this weekend's four-team, double-elimination tournament.
"We're evenly matched and the games that we've played against each other have all been close," said Chesapeake head coach Frank Szymanski of the regional competition.
Three games – two winners' bracket semifinals and a losers' bracket contest – are on Friday's schedule.
Chesapeake (28-16 overall, 4-2 in Division I Region XX games) takes on Hagerstown (30-25, 3-3) in Friday's 10 a.m. opener while Harford, the defending region champ, battles Potomac State (35-14, 4-2) in a 1 p.m. contest. The losers of those games meet at 4 p.m. in an elimination contest.
Szymanski said his team's opening-round game is crucial since early visits to the losers' bracket taxes teams' pitching capacity.
"It'll be key for us to win that first game tomorrow just because of depth, heat, and how difficult it can be coming through the losers' bracket," said Szymanski Thursday evening. "We're geared up to win that first game."
To that end, Szymanski intends to start freshman right-hander Tyler Tobin (8-2, 3.09 earned-run average) on the mound against Hagerstown. Tobin enters the tournament tied for the state lead in victories.
"He's having a great season and he's been very consistent," Szymanski said of Tobin. "He's had the ability to get his off-speed pitch over and he has an excellent fastball. We've also played well behind him."
Two other starting pitchers with winning regular-season records – left-hander Jack Wood (6-2, 4.37) and right-hander Jim Wix (5-3, 3.47) – are likely to figure in Szymanski's pitching plans. Closer Tyler McGovern (2-0, 2.41, three saves) could also play a pivotal pitching role for the Skipjacks.
Chesapeake's offense, which averaged 6.3 runs per game during the regular season, is led by Kam Stewart, who batted a team-best .366 and scored a team-high 43 runs in the regular season. Danny Allen (.359 average, team-high 39 RBI), Jordan Gowe (.364 average, 29 RBI, 42 runs, team-best three homers), and Blake Musser (.352 average) are other keys to the Skipjacks' offense.
Chesapeake's current, six-game winning streak includes a doubleheader sweep of state co-champion Cecil College and an 11-inning victory last Saturday against Hagerstown.
Hagerstown's offense is led by Dylan Dunn (.325 average, six homers, 52 RBI) and Tyler Walter (.357 average, 44 RBI) while the Hawks' pitching staff is led by Tanner Partlow (7-4, 2.65 ERA) and Kevin Bair (6-4, 3.97) with Dylan Eyler (4-2, 2.08, five saves) handling the closer's role for Hagerstown.
"We're going to face good pitching tomorrow and all weekend," said Szymanski. "We have to be patient, work the count in our favor. We're looking forward to the challenge."
Friday's first-round winners play in Saturday's 11 a.m. winners' bracket final. The team surviving Friday's 4 p.m. elimination game plays the loser of Saturday's 11 a.m. contest in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. losers' bracket final.
The title game is Sunday at 11 a.m. with the "if" game scheduled for 2:30 p.m. if necessary.
The Region XX winner will host three teams next weekend in the double-elimination Eastern District championship. Champs from Region X and Region XV, along with the Region X runner-up, will join the Region XX titlist in the four-team field.
The Eastern District champion advances to the NJCAA Division I World Series.