Panthers Power Past Park View Into Final

Broad Run Reaches Title Game

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The second game of a water-logged, rain-delayed Dulles District tournament semifinal double-header at Broad Run on Wednesday, was a hard-fought battle between Potomac Falls and Park View. After watching the Spartans get past Dominion in the first game, the Panthers and Patriots knew that a win would guarantee them a spot in the Region II tournament next week, not to mention another shot at Broad Run in the district championship game.

In a tightly contested pitchers' duel, it was the second-seeded Panthers who got a clutch, two-out two-run home run from junior center fielder Chad McMichael. The hit broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth and lead Potomac Falls to another regional berth with a 4-2 victory.

Junior third baseman Rob Malan got the Panthers (15-6) on the board in the bottom of the first, hammering a two-two offering from Park View senior starter Johnny Mason over the left field wall for a lead-off home run. In the top of the second, the rains came, forcing a half-hour delay while coaches and athletic directors scrambled to throw down absorbent clay and rake puddles off of the field.

"It's a chance to go to regionals and it's a cross-town rival," Potomac Falls Coach Joe Terango said. "It could have snowed out here and I think they would have been ready to play when we came back out."

Soon after play resumed, the Patriots (13-9) knotted things up with senior center fielder Drew Mason's third inning RBI groundout that plated sophomore Adam Flees. The Panthers reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning when senior first baseman Aaron Sweger drove in Malan with an RBI single to left field

Park View answered once again in the top of the fourth. After senior designated hitter Jimmy Kerby reached on an error by McMichael in center, back-to-back singles by senior Adam Foltz and junior Ben Rosado tied the score again at 2-2. Following Rosado's RBI single, the Patriots had runners on first and second with two outs and threatened to take the lead, but Panthers' junior starter Jake Kline struck out Flees to end the threat.

Photo: Matt Brooks

The crowd at the Dulles District tournament semifinal double-header at Broad Run shields itselt from the rain while coaches and athletic directors debate the delay.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when McMichael stepped to the plate with two outs and Patrick Nightingale at second base. After taking a first-pitch ball, the second team all-district selection unloaded on the second pitch, driving it high into the air over left field. Initially, the ball looked like it would come down in play for a routine out, but it flew all the way out of the park and the Panthers took the lead for good.

"Our team can straight mash," McMichael said. "One-through-nine, we have power and we can hit the ball through the lineup."

Kline was masterful for Potomac Falls, allowing one earned run and scattering seven hits in a complete game victory. The first team all-district selection struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter on the night, clinching a regional berth for the Panthers for the second straight season.

"He's just a horse," Terango said of his ace. "He's a competitor and he likes to come out and win baseball games. And the kids like to play behind him is the main thing. They don't like letting him down, they know he's out there giving it his all and they're going to give him their all when he's out there on the mound making pitches."

Johnny Mason was just as effective for the Patriots, giving up six hits and no walks while striking out two in six innings. But his two big mistakes – leaving the ball out over the plate against Malan and McMichael – cost him and Park View a post-season run.

"Johnny threw a great game, he just had two bad pitches," Park View Coach Mickey Leap said. "It's too bad it ended this way for our seniors, but what a great baseball game tonight. To lose a ballgame the way we did tonight, you can't hang your head. Their guys did a nice job, our guys played hard and we just came out on the short end of the straw."

The Patriots had their chances to take control of the game early on but stranded two runners in both the first and fourth innings. Park View also hurt itself on the basepaths with two runners getting thrown out attempting to steal second base by the strong arm of Potomac Falls junior catcher Mike Spring. Kline didn't give the Patriots any openings after that as he struck out eight of the final 12 batters he faced.

With Broad Run winning the first semifinal, the Panthers know their season will continue regardless of the result against the Spartans in tonight's district championship game at Freedom High School. However, with the sour taste of a 5-4 loss to Broad Run in their season finale – a loss that cost them the regular season title – Potomac Falls is ready for a rematch.

"We show up every February to win championships and that's what's on schedule for tomorrow," Terango said. "So we're going to do our best to come out, play the best we can and play for it tomorrow."

Spartans Exploit Dominion's Mistakes, Advance to Final

Aside from another brief rain delay, the first semifinal of the night between No. 1 Broad Run and No. 4 Dominion was a far cry from the fundamentally sound pitchers' duel exhibited in the second contest. Whatever the reason – maybe it was the rain, or maybe it was the nerves – the Spartans and Titans combined for an astonishing 10 errors in a sloppy, 7-4 come-from-behind victory for Broad Run at home.

The Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead on first team all-district pitcher Cole Shain, taking advantage of a season-high five walks by the lefty in the first three innings.

After striking out the first batter of the game, Shain threw two balls to Matthew Sherrill. Sherrill's turn at bat was interrupted, however, by heavy rains passing through Ashburn and both teams took cover in their dugouts. Following the brief delay, play resumed with Shain throwing two more balls to Sherrill to give Dominion its first base runner of the game. Following an error on junior shortstop Chris Jessop, Titans' junior pitcher Chris Taylor brought Sherrill home on an RBI single to right Dominion a 1-0 lead.

The Titans (13-10) put three more runs on the board in a wild third inning that included two more walks, two hits, and two errors by Broad Run infielders. Following junior Greg Smucker's bunt single, a walk to Sherrill, and another Jessop error on a fielder's choice that loaded the bases, junior designated hitter Anthony Bartolotti drew a 10-pitch walk to bring in Dominion's second run of the game. Senior shortstop Jonathan Noro followed with an RBI groundball to second that was booted by first team all-district selection Trey Brocke for another error, and freshman second baseman Ryan Doyle drove in the third run of the inning on an RBI single to left.

Trailing 4-0, the Spartans (19-3) turned the tables on the young Titans in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs on three hits and six Dominion errors. Senior left fielder Adam Luhmann led off with an infield single and promptly stole second base. Senior center fielder Andrew Mann brought Luhmann around with a single to left and then stole second on the very next pitch. Jessop grounded to short for what should have been a routine out, but the ball slowed in the wet grass and Noro's throw to first was wild, allowing Mann to score. Jessop then stole second and, following a strikeout, senior catcher Tommy Meier's groundball to short resulted in another Noro error and another Spartans run.

After Shain drew a walk and Brocke singled to third to load the bases, senior designated hitter J.P. Devlin reached on an error by first baseman Geoff McCowat. As two Spartans came around to score, Brocke didn't see Coach Pat Cassidy giving him the "hold" sign at second and nearly over-ran courtesy-runner Shane Vlasic at third base. Brocke was forced to scramble back to second and could have easily been tagged out by Noro, but the shortstop elected to go home to try to get Vlasic at the plate. Again the throw was wild and after the sixth Dominion error in the frame, the Spartans had taken a 6-4 advantage.

"It was sloppy for both teams, but it's one of the ones where you're glad to come out on top," Cassidy said. "Taylor threw a really good game, it was just that one inning when they didn't give him any defensive support. That's the difference in the ballgame."

The Spartans continued to put pressure on Taylor and the Titans' defense throughout their big inning by running wild on the basepaths, tallying four stolen bases and forcing multiple rushed throws from Dominion's infield.

"I think we had a couple clean hits that inning maybe," Cassidy said. "But error, error, stolen base, stolen base, coming around on an overthrow at first base … just aggressive base-running all the way around. We've been good all year doing this, so we're not going to stop now. People know we're going to do it but we're going to keep doing it anyway."

Broad Run added an insurance run in the fourth on Mann's solo home run to left field and Vlasic pitched the final two innings to secure the victory and pick up the save. It was only the sophomore's second pitching appearance at the varsity level, but he looked very sharp, only allowing two hits and striking out three of the eight batters he faced.

"Vlasic walked about four guys in the one inning he pitched for us earlier this year," Cassidy said. "But he was terrific tonight and he'll be on the mound tomorrow to close it out for Brocke. We'll hand him the ball. He's got good arm action, he's just got to be more consistent."

Taylor had a strong day on the mound for the Titans, allowing only three earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings, but got no help from his defense, which proved to be the difference. Dominion, which loses only three seniors from this year's team, has struggled with consistency in the field and at the plate all season. It wasn't surprising to see that come back to bite them when it mattered most.

"We just made errors, it had nothing to do with the field," Dominion Coach Jay Raines said. "We made bad decisions and we didn't make the plays we needed to make. You're up against one of the top pitchers in the league and you put the ball in play and take advantage to get up 4-0, and then we had guys out here that just didn't make plays.

"We had a golden opportunity up 4-0. The game was ours and we gave it away making too many errors and our base-running was pretty horrible, too."

Two Titans were picked off by Shain's deceptive move to first base and another was caught stealing. Dominion also stranded eight base-runners on the night as the last game of the program's best season to date ended on a down note.

"We definitely got a lot of positives out of this year," Raines said. "We're basically bringing our whole nucleus back, and they've learned a lot. We accomplished a lot and the program accomplished a lot, but looking at a 4-0 lead against Broad Run in the semifinals and then to have it all slip away … it's tough."

Meanwhile, the Spartans advance to take on Potomac Falls for the third time this season in a rubber match with both teams taking one game in the regular season. The Dulles District championship game will be played on tonight at 7 p.m. at Freedom High School.

Tagged: 2008 Dulles Tournament, baseball, Broad Run High School, Dominion High School, high school sports, Park View High School, Potomac Falls High School, sports

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