Little picks up 400^th win as Potomac State coach

Catamounts win five out of six over busy weekend

Keyser, WV- Potomac State Head Baseball Coach Doug Little picked up his 400^th win as the Catamounts swept a doubleheader at Lackawanna College on Sunday afternoon.  The Parkersburg, WV native who is in his 12^th year as the Catamounts leader, gained the milestone as PSC rolled over Lackawanna in the second game of the sweep 12-1.

In all the Catamounts raised their record to 29-12 as they played six games in four days and have won 8 out their last 10.

Weekend wrap-up:

Friday

Potomac State banged out 25 hits as they rolled to an easy 22-7 win over Shenandoah University at Golden Park. 

Winchester, VA native Jason Lombard led the way for Potomac State with a home run, two singles a sacrifice fly and five runs batted in.  Lombard launched his sixth home run of the season; in the Catamounts five run first inning.  Kevin Griffin followed Lombard's blast with his eighth round tripper as the sophomores went back-to-back in the opening frame.

Cody Dalton went 4-4 with three singles, a double, three RBI's, three runs scored and two stolen bases.  "Cody has really been setting the table at the top of our order", said Little.  "He gets better every day, and really plays the game the right way."

Scott Davis, Gary Williams and Brennen Dougherty all added three hits each for the Catamounts.

David Higgins picked up the win, raising his record to 3-2 as he hurled six strong innings as he struck out five.

Saturday

Potomac State Baseball hosted defending Region XV Champion Monroe College at Golden Park on Saturday as the two team split the doubleheader.  PSC won game one by a score of 9-6, Monroe rebounded in game two with an extra inning 10-9 win.

Game one featured a large crowd at Golden Park as the 5^th annual GOLD RUSH was held.  The large crowd was treated to late inning fireworks as PSC broke a 4-all tie in the sixth inning with a five run outburst. 

Kevin Griffin opened the inning with a double that hugged the left field line.  Seth Roy then entered the game as a pinch runner for Griffin.  Josh Birthisel rolled a base hit through the infield to put runners at first and third.  After a pop out, Cody Dalton drilled a single back through the middle that scored Roy.  PSC tacked on four more runs via Monroe wild pitches, errors and a single from Dominick Hayes and a double from Kurtis Voytell.

"This was a quality win for us," said Little.  "We are very familiar with how good a program Monroe has.  Coach Melendez does a great job and his team is as talented as anyone we played all year."

Eric Hinkle threw his second consecutive complete game as he limited Monroe to just eight hits.  The Ocean, NJ native raised his record to 6-1 as he struck out seven and walked none.

"Eric has been really pitching well as of late.  He seems to be getting more comfortable with every game, and really competes for us when he's on the mound," said Little.

In game two Monroe's Robin Bugallo hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to give the Mustangs a 10-9 win. 

Gary Williams led PSC with four hits and two runs batted in.  Brennen Dougherty hit his first home run of the season and every Catamount hitter had a least one hit. 

PSC held a 5-4 lead into the sixth inning but was unable to hold the lead as Monroe pushed five runs across the plate in the sixth.  Potomac State answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the bottom of the seventh to force the extra inning.

After Bugallo's home run in the eighth, Potomac State had the makings of another late inning comeback.  Scott Davis and Gary Williams singled to open the inning, but Dominick Hayes popped out and Kurtis Voytell rolled into a game ending double play to end the rally.

Sunday

Potomac State exploded for eighteen hits including two home runs from Dominick Hayes as the Catamounts blew past Lackawanna 16-8 in game one of their twin bill in Scranton, PA.   Hayes hit a two run home run in the first inning, a grand slam in the second and a single in the sixth as the Freehold Township, NJ native drove in six runs and scored three runs. 

Cody Dalton added a double and two singles, walked twice, scored two runs and drove in four runs to add to the Catamount offense.  Every starter had at least one hit, with Williams, Birthisel and Justin Grantham having two each.

Paul Chenoweth threw 51/3 innings and struck out six to raise his record to 5-3. 

"Paul threw a good game", said Little.  "It was a hot day, and Paul did a great job of getting ahead of hitters, throwing strikes and changing speeds."

Game two turned out to be more of the same from the Catamount offense as they pounded out sixteen more hits as the completed the sweep with a 12-1 win.  The win also marked the 400th win for Head Coach Doug Little.  In twelve season Little's all-time record now stands at 400-154.

Cole Hardway pitched a complete game effort striking out six making his record 2-0.

"Cole pitched his best game of the year", said Little.  "We hadn't even planned to start him, but we had him up in the bullpen at the end of game one and decided to use him since he was ready.  I'm glad we did."

Dalton continued to set the table for the Cats as the Charlottesville, VA native went 3-3 with a double and two singles.   Dalton finished the day 6-6, with five runs scored, and six runs batted in. 

Gary Williams went 3-4 with a triple and two singles.  Justin Grantham and Seth Roy also added two hits each for PSC.

Potomac State, (29-12), will be back in action on Wednesday for a doubleheader at CCBC-Catonsville.  Potomac State will round out the regular season with a twin bill at Golden Park against Cecil College on Saturday May 2 at 1PM.