Potomac Falls Wins Baseball Title

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Potomac Falls sophomore Ben Sweger scooped up a groundball off the bat and calmly fired it to first baseman Ryan Miller for the final out of the game and the Panthers piled atop one another in the middle of the diamond to celebrate their second Virginia AA Dulles District tournament title in three seasons.

With a 4-2 victory over Broad Run on Thursday night at Heritage, Potomac Falls avenged last year’s title game loss to the Spartans and completed a perfect 17-0 run through the district this season.

And at the bottom of that pile of black and purple was the hero of the night, senior left-hander Eric Dimsey, who came through with a complete-game five-hitter to propel the Panthers into the Region II playoffs with an eleven game winning streak and plenty of momentum.

"It was unbelievable," Potomac Falls Coach Joe Terango said of Dimsey’s effort. "He came out determined to get the victory tonight. He worked ahead of hitters for most of the evening and when he didn’t, he came back and ended up in a situation where he pitched out of it. He only got stronger as the game went on and that’s something we like to see out of our pitchers."

After conceding two runs on back-to-back second inning RBI singles from Andrew Hathaway and Shane Vlasic, Dimsey settled in and was nearly unhittable the rest of the way. He routinely got ahead of hitters with first-pitch strikes and closed the game with four one-two-three innings in the final five frames.

"As the game went on, I got more focused and felt more relaxed up on the mound," Dimsey said. "I wasn’t trying to force the ball or overthrow it, I just trusted my arm and my location."

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Dimsey's Arm, Miller's Bat Power Panthers to Dulles Tournament Title

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The Potomac Falls Panthers celebrate their 2009 Dulles District regular season and tournament titles. (Matt Brooks)

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Potomac Falls senior lefty Eric Dimsey tossed a five-hitter against Broad Run to win the Dulles District tournament championship game on Thursday night at Heritage and complete a 17-0 run through the league for the Panthers. (Matt Brooks)

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The Potomac Falls Panthers pile on senior pitcher Eric Dimsey after a 4-2 victory over Broad Run in the Dulles District tournament final. (Matt Brooks)

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The 2009 All-Dulles District second team is recognized following the Dulles District tournament title game on Thursday night at Heritage. (Matt Brooks)

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Dulles District Player of the Year Jacob Kline is congratulated by the rest of the All-Dulles first team following Potomac Falls' district title win over Broad Run. (Matt Brooks)

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The Spartans (12-9) nearly matched Dimsey’s effort on the mound, but junior starter Chase Warren – working on a pitch count to save him for next week’s regional first round – was tagged for runs in each of his three innings. Miller’s RBI single in the first plated the first run of the game for either team and after the Spartans took the lead in the top of the second, designated hitter Matt Hoover scored on senior centerfielder Chad McMichael’s groundout to knot the score at 2-2.

In the third it was the sophomore first baseman providing the jolt of power the Panthers (19-3) needed at just the right time. He turned on an inside pitch from Warren and crushed it over the left field wall for a two-run homer that provided the final margin.

"Coach told us to cut our swings down during batting practice this week," Miller said. "Normally when I cut my swing down, good things happen. With a 2-0 count there I just wanted to turn it and put the bat on the ball and I made some good contact and it went out."

Sophomore Taylor Clarke was stellar in three scoreless innings of relief for the Spartans, allowing just two hits and walking one while striking out four. But Broad Run’s hitters struggled to get the bat off their shoulders for much of the night, taking pitches from Dimsey early in the count and falling behind far too often. Dimsey only saw three full counts all night and two of those resulted in two of the Spartans’ seven base runners for the game.

"At this point in the season, whether you’re in the district tournament or in regionals, two runs will not do the trick," Broad Run Coach Pat Cassidy said. "To their credit, they played good defense and pitched well, but we had a few opportunities we didn’t get across and at this time of year, if you let guys off the hook, they’re going to end up taking games from you."

Dimsey, who was used mainly in short relief outings last season and early this year, has become a reliable No. 2 starter for Terango since an arm injury sidelined senior Michael Detaranto. In Thursday’s victory he struck out five and walked only two – both in the first two innings – while facing only 27 batters. Miller was two for three with three RBIs and senior shortstop Rob Malan was two for three with two stolen bases for the Panthers who erased the memories of last year’s 8-2 loss to the Spartans in the tournament final. Potomac Falls was also riding high coming off a dramatic walk-off win over Dominion in Tuesday’s semifinal which featured a classic pitching duel between All-Dulles District Player of the Year Jacob Kline and Dominion’s senior ace, Chris Taylor.

"Seeing him the other night, that just lets our kids know that when they face someone who can gas it up a little bit, we’re still going to have an opportunity to win a baseball game," Terango said. "With the Dominion win the other night, that got us ready for tonight and I think it’ll get us ready for whatever we have down the road for us. We’re ready for the challenge."

Broad Run must bounce back quickly as they travel to Sherando for a first round Region II matchup on Monday while Potomac Falls received a first round bye and will host their first opponent in Sterling on Wednesday.

"We're in a great situation to get to host a regional game and get a bye," Terango said. "We're kind of in control of our own destiny, so if we show up on Wednesday and play a nice game like we have, like we’re capable of doing, I think we have a nice opportunity."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks