Pot Falls Baseball Is Class of Dulles

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Since splitting its four games at the Hanahan Invitational Tournament in Charleston, S.C., Potomac Falls has returned to form in the AA Dulles District, where the Panthers remain undefeated and three games up on the rest of the league.

Potomac Falls (8-3, 7-0) has been dominant through seven district games, earning 10-run mercy rule victories in four and outscoring its opposition 64-13 overall. Seniors Michael Detaranto and Jacob Kline - who has four complete games in as many starts - have consistently shut down opposing offenses and worked deep into ballgames.

But a rash of postponements could test their bullpen depth this week. Including Thursday night's 6-4 win over Heritage, the Panthers have four Dulles District games in six days and all without Detaranto, who is out for 2-3 weeks with elbow tendinitis.

"Kline is really going to have to step it up," Potomac Falls Coach Joe Terango said. "He's going to see a lot of innings the next three weeks."

After Sweeping Stone Bridge, McLean Looks Ahead

With all the rain in recent weeks wreaking havoc on baseball schedules around the region, McLean was determined to wait out the downpour and lightning that threatened to postpone its critical Virginia AAA Liberty District matchup with Stone Bridge on Tuesday.

One hour and 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, the two teams took the field and just after 10 p.m., the Highlanders were celebrating a 4-2 victory that solidified their spot atop the standings.

Behind a three-hitter from junior Denis Buckley, the Highlanders (10-3, 7-1) completed a season sweep of the Bulldogs and gave themselves a bit of breathing room. McLean Coach John Thomas said Buckley's 115-pitch outing wasn't ideal, but with postponements creating a logjam of games this week, the Highlanders needed the first team all-district selection to keep their bullpen fresh.

"We've got four games in four days this week and we really had to extend him tonight to save our pitching for the rest of the week," Thomas said. "Clearly, he stepped up big-time."

After avenging their lone district loss in a 7-1 victory over Madison on Wednesday, McLean went into last night's meeting with Woodson with a two-game lead on the rest of the district and have an opportunity to stretch that lead when it visits Jefferson today.

"It's nice to be out in front, it's where we want to be," Thomas said. "But we've just got to keep banging that nail down on that one seed. That's our goal. If we can lock that up, we'll worry about everything else later."

Osbourn Looking Solid

Since April 13, Osbourn has played a few games but because of rainy weather has gotten outside to practice only once. If nothing else, the Eagles have saved a lot of wear on tear on their baseball supply.

Osbourn has seven regulars batting .297 or higher and three above .400. The Eagles (10-3, 6-1 in the Virginia AAA Cedar Run District after a 2-1 loss to Battlefield on Wednesday) are averaging 10.2 runs per game.

"We're getting a little bit from everybody," Osbourn Coach Keith Howell said Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before facing Battlefield. "We're scoring some runs, but better than that, our pitching is starting to get some confidence."

Osbourn, with the one district loss, trails Osbourn Park (9-1, 6-0) in the Cedar Run. The first of the teams' two regular season games was rained out last week, so they are scheduled to play Wednesday and May 5.

Staff Writer Preston Williams contributed to this report

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks