HCC Sports Round-Up: Baseball Ups and Downs, Lacrosse Victory

From Harford Community College’s athletics department:

Santiago Notches 8K’s in First Start; Harford Baseball Blanks Quinsigamond, 12-0

BEL AIR, Md.—Sophomore Rich Santiago (York, Pa./Southern York/CCNY) was utterly dominant in his first start on the mound as the Harford baseball team blanked Quinsigamond, 12-0 (7 inn.) on Tuesday at Harford Baseball Field. The sophomore-transfer struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits in six innings, while the Fighting Owl (8-5) offense combined for 15 hits against the Wyverns (1-2).

Freshman Alex Riley (Newark, Del./A.I. Dupont/Wesley) led the Fighting Owls (8-5) on the day, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs, two RBI and three stolen bases, while sophomore Jordan Heller (Loch Raven, Md./Loch Raven/Chesapeake) also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, one run, an RBI and a swiped bag.

Possibly even more impressive was the fact that the Owl pitching staff of Santiago and sophomore Bo Loar (Fallston, Md./Fallston) was free of walks, wild pitches and hit batters, while the Owl defense was also error-free.

On the Quinsigamond side, Mike Deperrio was tabbed with the loss after allowing three runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out one batter in four innings. Sean Murphy fared even worse for the Wyverns, giving up eight runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings.

The Fighting Owls complete a four-day, four-game stretch on Thursday when they travel to CCBC-Essex for a 3:30 p.m. matchup against the Knights.

Warczynski, Webb Net Five Goals Each as Harford Women’s Lacrosse Downs Howard, 16-2

COLUMBIA, Md.—The Harford women’s lacrosse team’s three goals in the first five minutes proved to be all that it needed as the Fighting Owls (1-2) downed host Howard, 16-2 on Tuesday at Howard Community College.

Sophomore Melissa Warczynski (Street, Md./North Harford) led Harford with six points (5g, 1a) against the Dragons (0-2), while freshman Holly Webb (Abingdon, Md./John Carroll) added another five goals for the Owls. Between the pipes, freshmen Stefanie Saul (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) and Kaitlyn Hall (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) split time with Saul making four saves and Hall stopping seven shots.

On the Howard side, Kelsey Erdman and Kat Gotis each tallied one goal, while Pamela Thomas stopped 12 shots in 60:00.

Harford dominated play, taking a 10-0 lead in the first thanks in part to three Warczynski goals, and two scores each by Webb and sophomore Tori Pyzik (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll/Oregon). The Dragons would not get onto the board until the 28:06 mark as Erdman fired one past Saul, but the Owls would tally four goals in the second half before Howard notched its second at the 9:32 mark. Two final goals with 16:10 and 12:40 remaining would give the Owls the 16-2 lead on the way to the blowout victory.

The Fighting Owls return to action this weekend when they travel to Nassau for the Nassau Lady Lions Classic with a Friday matchup against Dean and Saturday game against Jefferson.

Harford Baseball Rallies in Ninth, but Falls to Anne Arundel, 10-6

BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford baseball team rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn’t manage the comeback it needed as it fell to Anne Arundel, 10-6, on Tuesday at Harford Baseball Field. Sophomore Jordan Heller (Loch Raven, Md./Loch Raven/Chesapeake) capped the inning with a two-out, two-run homer before a Fighting Owls (7-5, 1-3 MDJUCO) fly-out gave the Pioneers (2-8, 1-3 MDJUCO) the 10-6 victory.

Heller was 1-for-2 on the day with one run, two walks and two RBI, while sophomore Drew Burton (Kingsville, Md./Calvert Hall) led Harford by going 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and two walks.

On the Pioneer side, Michael Perez led the way, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Joseph Monar (2-0) earned the win after seven innings of work, during which he surrendered just one run on six hits and struck out one batter. Freshman Corey Taylor (Fallston, Md./Fallston) (1-2) was tabbed with the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and striking out five in 5.2 innings pitched.

The Pioneers built a 5-0 lead before Harford got on the board in the bottom of the sixth off freshman Eric Quinn’s (Pylesville, Md./Harford Christian) fielder’s choice RBI. Anne Arundel would add another five runs in the eighth and ninth innings combined, with three in the eighth frame and two in the ninth.

Freshman Alex Riley (Newark, Del./A.I. Dupont/Wesley) started the ninth off for Harford with a double down the first-base line, before a single from sophomore Joe Harbach (Abingdon, Md./Edgewood) brought him in to score. Sophomore Woody Wlodarczyk (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) singled to put two men on for Burton, who plated Harbach with a single through the right side and freshman Christian Wolfe (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) scored Wlodarczyk with a groundout RBI for Harford’s third run of the inning.

After the second out of the inning, Heller crushed a ball over the left field fence to complete a five-run inning before the Pioneers made the final out and claimed the win.

The Fighting Owls continue a four-day, four-game playing streak on Wednesday when they host Quinsigamond at 4:00 p.m. Monday’s contest between the two teams saw Harford hand the Wyverns an 11-1 defeat.