Lefty strikes out 10 in first-game; Catamounts win 13-1, 6-3
Kyle Bennett - kbennett@times-news.com
Permission provided by the Cumberland Times-News
KEYSER, W.Va. — Brandon Schaeffer threw a complete game three-hitter in the opener, and WVU Potomac State plated four runs in the second inning of the nightcap to complete a doubleheader sweep over Garrett, 13-1 and 6-3, Wednesday afternoon in the home opener at Golden Park.
Devon Neal and Josh Hoffman both homered and led in the RBI department for the Catamounts with five apiece on the day, as Dale Houser went 5 for 8, including a triple and a double, Caleb Taylor went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, and Graham went 2 for 5 and scored four times.
The Lakers, limited to six hits over two games, was led offensively by Quintin Smith, who went 2 for 6 with a double, their lone extra-base hit.
Game 1
Schaeffer's rockiest inning of the six was the first, when Smith led off the game with a single through the left side. Smith moved up to second and later to third on an infield error, but Schaeffer got a strikeout to end the frame with runners at the corners. From there, it was more or less smooth sailing.
He struck out the side in the second, then sat the Lakers down in order in the third with a pair of strikeouts. The lefty faced four batters in the fourth with a double play and a fly out to second that stranded Peyton Carr, who singled, at first base. In the fifth, it was three-up, three-down again for Schaeffer with a ground out and a pair of punchouts.
Garrett's lone run came in the top half of the sixth, as Smith led off the inning reaching second on an outfield error. Smith moved to third on a single by Elijah Hannible, then scored on a 4-6-3 double play. Little went to the mound to visit with Schaeffer following the double play, and Schaeffer composed himself and got a strikeout to end the inning.
The southpaw struck out 10 and had no walks, and was backed by an offense that mashed 13 hits and drew six walks.
"He's a very solid pitcher," said Potomac State head coach Doug Little. "We expect big things out of him. He really works hard and prepares himself. He's really turned himself into a really good pitcher. He's a really good student too, so he's getting a lot of interest from some bigger colleges, and a little bit of pro interest.
"But he's a student of the game. He's a perfectionist, works hard. In his bullpens he always works as if he's in a game. He's just turned himself into a really good pitcher. I'd put him up against anybody. When we run him out there, he keeps us in the game."
The Catamounts plated a pair of runs in the first, with Frankfort graduate Zack Whitacre making the Lakers pay after a dropped fly ball in foul territory, lining a single over the center fielder's head on the very next pitch. He scored on the next pitch when Houser blooped a single over the shortstop. Taylor doubled the Catamounts' lead two batters later with an RBI triple to deep center to plate Brown, who walked on five pitches.
PSC got back to work in the third, with Houser getting another bloop single and Brown reaching on a single through the left side of the infield. Taylor drove in Houser with an RBI single and Hoffman played Brown and Taylor with a two-out triple to make it 5-0.
Houser led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple that one-hopped the fence in right-center, then Brown and Taylor walked to load the bases with no outs. On the second pitch he saw, Neal pulled a moonshot into right that landed on the hillside and cleared the basepath for a grand slam to blow the game wide open at 9-0.
The Catamounts put the run rule in effect in the sixth when Whitacre scored on a sacrifice fly from Neal and Hoffman put the score at its final with a three-run blast to left that curled around the foul pole.
Collectively, the top six hitters for PSC accounted for 11 of its 12 hits and five of its six walks, plating all 13 runs.
"Today they did a really good job," added Little, "and we're getting better. Hitting is very difficult and Garrett didn't run any slouch pitchers out there. They had some good arms out there today and they're a really good team.
"Our hitters did a really good job of grinding out at-bats and trying to get themselves into hitters' counts. When they got good pitches, they were able to drive them when we needed to. That's a testament to how hard they work. Coach Schafer's our hitting coach and he does a great job with those guys on situational hitting, and they were able to come through for us."
Game 2
The Lakers wasted little time in the nightcap to get on the board, as Smith led off with a double. He moved to third on a ground out and scored on a passed ball.
Potomac State responded an inning-and-a-half later when they batted around in the second. Taylor led off with a single, then Neal reached on an infield single that bounced in front of the plate and looked more like a fly ball after the bounce. Hoffman squared to bunt to move the runners over but reached base on a single as no one covered first.
Patience started paying off for the Catamounts, as Anthony Swenda drew a five-pitch walk to tie the game and Dakota Miller followed up with a five-pitch at-bat that resulted in him getting plunked, plating the go-ahead run. Still with no one out, Hoffman scored on a wild pitch during an at-bat by Sami Khan, who walked to load the bases back up. Swenda scored two batters later on an error in left field, giving PSC a 4-1 lead. Garrett starting pitcher Kelan Hoover later got a strikeout to end the frame with the bases loaded.
Potomac State struck again an inning later, with the bottom of the lineup staying productive as Miller, batting eighth in the lineup, hit a two-out RBI triple to make it 5-1.
The Catamounts extended it to 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth with another two-out run, as Whitacre drew a twoout walk, stole second, then scored on a double down the right field line by Houser.
The Lakers didn't go down without a fight, plating a pair of runs in the top of the seventh.
Starting pitcher Ashton Staubs was pulled following a ground out and a walk, finishing with 6 1/3 innings pitched of three-hit ball with four strikeouts and a walk.
After Tanner George drew a one-out walk, Baron Swiger walked before both runners moved into scoring position on a ground out. Smith drew a two-out walk to load the bases before Hannible and Joel Pinero walked to score a pair. Before Hannible walked, he hit the ball down the firstbase line and it appeared to bounce on the line, but it was ruled foul and wiped out potentially three runs for the Lakers.
Brown came on to pitch following Pinero's walk and got a strikeout to end the game and bail out the Catamounts.
"To win two games is big," said Little. "With everything that's going on in the world, being able to play baseball is something we're very fortunate for."
Potomac State (4-2) travels to CCBC-Catonsville on Saturday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
Kyle Bennett is a sports reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @KyleBennettCTN