Frederick is Best in the West as Cougars Outlast Hagerstown 6-4

With everything on the line in a winner-take-all final, the Frederick Community College Cougars baseball team showed they were the best in the west and delivered a gritty performance to defeat the #3 seed Hagerstown Community College Hawks 6-4. The win, earned in front of their home crowd, brings the Region 20 DII Championship Series to Frederick beginning May 16 at noon.

Frederick set the tone early with two runs in the second inning, capitalizing on defensive miscues by Hagerstown. William Gisriel drove in the first run with a single, and Braydon Kelman added another with a fielder's choice, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead. After Hagerstown cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fifth, the Cougars responded immediately. Andrew Varga scored on an error, pushing Frederick ahead 3-1.

The Hawks briefly seized momentum in the top of the sixth, scoring three times to take a 4-3 lead, but the Cougars responded like they've done in the past few games. Varga tied the game with a clutch RBI single, and Cooper Harris followed with a two-run knock to give Frederick a 6-4 advantage they would not relinquish. Despite being outhit 12-8, the Cougars made their hits count and took full advantage of Hagerstown's three errors.

Frederick's bullpen held strong in the late innings. Adam Horst earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless work, and Luke Pietrandrea came in to throw two pitches to record the final out for the save. The pitching staff struck out eight while walking just four and stranded 13 Hagerstown runners on base.

Now 49-10 on the season, the Cougars shift their focus to Anne Arundel Community College Riverhawks in the best-of-three Region 20 Championship Series. The opener is set for Friday, May 16 at noon, with the winner advancing to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, OK.