Bel Air, MD- Potomac State use a combination of patience and power during a 16-8 win over Monrow University in the opening game of the Region 20 Tournament.
The first inning unfolded like a storm Monroe had carefully scripted. The PSC starter, Brock Whipkey, usually steady, stumbled out of the gate when Marcus Mercado worked his way aboard to open the game, and Jesus Nieves followed, finding a gap and igniting traffic immediately. Nair Jamanika reached via a walk to keep the line moving.
Then came the breakthrough—Juan Garcia lined a single to left, driving in both Mercado and Nieves while Jamanika advanced into scoring position.
Before the Catamounts could reset, Alejandro Bernard ripped a double down the line, bringing home Garcia and Jamanika. Four hitters had reached, four runs had scored, and Monroe had seized a 4–0 lead.
Potomac State countered with urgency in the bottom of the first. Braden Sloan singled to open the frame, Lex Wescott reached on a fielder's choice as Sloan was retired. Wescott then crossed the plate when John Mallow split right-center with a triple.
Blue then stepped in and laced a double to right, scoring Mallow. Just like that, the Catamounts had answered with two runs, cutting the deficit to 4–2.
In the third inning Wescott reached on a single and eventually scored when a passed ball skipped away, trimming the deficit further. Blue followed, working his way into scoring position after being hit by a pitch, and Callen Miller delivered a sharp single into left-center. Blue crossed easily, but Miller, aggressive on the bases, was cut down trying to stretch it for a double—as the game stood even at 4–4.
Monroe punched back in the fourth. George Gustafson found his way aboard, setting the table, and Nieves delivered the loudest swing of Monroe's afternoon—a home run to left-center that brought both runners home and pushed Monroe back in front, 6–4.
The fifth inning added another layer as Francisco reached and advanced through defensive pressure. With two outs, Jason Guzman lifted a ball to right that should have ended the frame, but a throwing error allowed Francisco to score, extending Monroe's lead to 7–4.
In the bottom of the fifth, Mallow doubled with one out. One out later, Blue followed with a single to center, driving him home and pulling Potomac State within two. That set the stage for Miller. With Blue aboard, Miller launched a towering shot to left-center as the game reset at 7–7.
Momentum fully shifted in the sixth when Dylan Rice drove a ball to left-center that cleared the fence for a solo shot and handed the Catamounts an 8–7 advantage.
But Monroe wasn't finished. In the seventh, Garcia reached again, and Francisco followed to create traffic. Guzman then delivered with a double into the gap, scoring Francisco to tie the game at 8–8. For a moment, the tension reset.
And then the bottom of the seventh Jaxon Drennen reached to open the inning, then was retired on a fielder's choice by Blue. Miller then reached on an error by Monroe, followed by a hit by pitch for Ryan Conrad.
Rice stepped in and delivered again, a single through the middle that scored Blue and pushed the Catamounts ahead. Healy came next and lined a single to center—Rice advanced, Conrad broke for the plate, and a defensive error allowed Conrad to score while Miller crossed as well.
In a blink, it was 11–8. Sloan kept the line moving with a single to right, scoring Rice. Then came Wescott. With Sloan and Healy aboard, he crushed a ball to center field lifting a three-run homer that brought Sloan and Healy home with him, stretching the lead to 15–8.
Even then, it wasn't over. Mallow reached again via a walk, and Blue put the ball in play, forcing a throwing error that allowed Mallow to score the final run of the inning to end the game via the rune-rule to 16-8.
Amid the offensive explosion, the pitching told its own quieter story. Whipkey, rattled early, settled in to navigate five innings, limiting further damage and allowing his offense to climb back. Then Evan Jenkins entered and he simplified everything. No walks, minimal contact, quick outs. Two innings that restored order and locked down the comeback.
Potomac State will now face the number one seed Harford on Saturday in a best of three series for the Region 20 Championship.