BEL AIR, Md. - The Harford Fighting Owls captured their eighth Region 20 Baseball Championship on Monday, defeating the No. 2 Potomac State Catamounts 15-7 inside the Harford Sports Complex.
Joe Quelch led the game off with a solo home run to deep center for a 1-0 Harford lead. A fielding error in the second and a wild pitch in the third boosted the Fighting Owls advantage to 3-0 heading to the fourth. However, a home run in the fourth and a four-run fifth flipped the lead to Potomac State.
Trey Cruz's solo shot and
Blake Mayberry's RBI double quickly brought the score to 5-5 in the fifth. The Fighting Owls weren't finished there, loading the bases up with one away for
Andrew Sicinski. The veteran catcher made it hurt, doubling to left for two runs. A few batters later and Harford loaded them up again for Cruz, who would burn the Catamounts for three more on a massive double to the middle of the outfield.
Jeremiah Guzman closed out the scoring with a double that plated Cruz, handing Harford an 11-5 lead heading into the final four frames.
Harford paired its powerful offense in the middle innings with
Joe Grassi's pitching. Grassi (3-0) scored the victory after dominating the Catamounts over three frames, allowing just two hits while chairing a trio of batters. He held Potomac State at-bay in the sixth, then Sicinski stepped up and put two more on the board via the long ball in the bottom half. Quelch drove home one in the sixth as well, while
Lenny Montesano followed up with an RBI single to left in the seventh for a 15-5 lead.
The Catamounts made some noise in the eighth, sending home two on a sac fly and a solo homer.
Alex Margot stepped in and extinguished the comeback attempt, sending Potomac State packing with three straight strikeouts to end the contest.
Joe Quelch,
Joe Clancy,
Bobby Spencer,
Jeremiah Guzman, and
Braedon Karpathios were named to the Region 20 DI All-Tournament Team following the contest.
The Fighting Owls move to 45-6 on the season.
Scoring Summary: Click Here
Box Score Highlights
- Connor Blantz got the start for Harford, striking out seven batters
- Montesano topped the Fighting Owls with three hits
- Quelch, Cruz, and Sicinski ended the day with two hits each
- Guzman and Mayberry each finished with one hit, a steal, and two walks
- Harford was won its last four meetings against Potomac State
Up Next
The Fighting Owls are set to host the East District Tournament from May 13-15.
