Panthers Continue Diamond Dominance
Potomac Falls junior Ryan Miller will be part of the potent pitching rotation of the Panthers this season. When not on the mound, Miller will be playing the hot corner for the Panthers and blistering balls in the line-up...
Photo By: Phil Dolinger / GamedayMagazine
Junior Ryan Mahoney will again man the outfield, as well as being part of the pitching rotation for the Panthers this year...
Photo By: Dave Bernhardt / GamedayMagazine
Matt Hoover returns once again for the Panthers and will be relied upon to cover a lot of ground in the outfield when he is not on the mound this season. Offensively, Hoover will be expected to continue contributing at the plate...
Photo By: Phil Dolinger / GamedayMagazine
(With Collaboration From Barry Sweger, Panther Baseball Insider)
POTOMAC FALLS, VA - If you are outside of the hallowed halls of Potomac Falls High School, you may have missed the fact that the defending Dulles District baseball champion Panthers are still as hot as they were in their 2009 campaign. Having played only two games prior to Spring Break, and taking that Holiday week off, the Panthers have started the 2010 season on a 3-0 run, and in convincing fashion.
Averaging over 11 runs per game, while relenting just over two runs to their opponents, these Panthers are poised to make another run in hopes of repeating as the Dulles kings, and getting back to the state tournament in June. Lone senior pitcher Taylor Jernigan leads a young, yet potent rotation of Ryan Miller, Matt Hoover, and Ryan Mahoney. The Potomac Falls bats continue to blister opposition, piloted by seniors Thomas Rea and Harrison Kee, juniors Miller, Hoover, Ben Sweger, and Michael Lascomb, and sophomores Sam Bass and Tyler Caldwell. So far in this young season, the Panther line-up, on any given night, are proving quite formidable to opposing pitchers.
In their opener on March 20, Potomac Falls hosted a split doubleheader with Handley and Hedgesville (WV). In that first tilt, the Panthers started out a bit shaky, but settled in to secure a 13-3 victory. Giving up 2-runs in the 1st inning, Potomac Falls answered with five runs of their own, and cruised from there. Ryan Miller earned the victory, and contributed at the plate with a double that hit the top of the fence mid-way through the game. Adding to the offensive barrage were Sweger, Jernigan, Bass, Mahoney, and Hoover.
In the nightcap against Hedgesville, a rotation of Jernigan, sophomore Jackson Rogers, and junior Steven Fisher limited the Eagles to 3-runs on 2-hits, and the Panthers rolled to an 8-3 win, albeit after a slow start, not getting the bats rolling until the 4th inning. In that frame, Ryan Miller hit a towering home run to lead a 4-run onslaught, and the game would be in hand from there. Junior 1B Michael Lascomb went 3-3 in the game, with Miller and Ben Sweger adding 2-hits each.
With no Spring Break tournament on the schedule this year, head coach Joe Terango relied on practice sessions to keep his young team sharp. And the lay-off didn't seem to hinder the Panthers in their return to competition this past Tuesday, when they traveled to Brambleton to face Briar Woods in their Dulles District opener, and drove home 13-1 victors.
In that game, the Panther bats did not waste any time as they scored 4 runs in the 1st inning. Thomas Rea led off with a triple off the rightfield fence and Ryan Mahoney followed with a double down the leftfield line. Ryan Miller then drew a walk before Sam Bass hit a line drive to right to score Mahoney. Miller then scored on a fielder's choice and Bass scored on a double to rightfield by Tyler Caldwell.
The Panthers added 4 more runs in the 2nd inning when Rea led off with his second triple of the night. Mahoney followed with an RBI single up the middle. Bass then laced a drive to centerfield that was mishandled, allowing Mahoney to score. Lascomb then hit a single up the middle to score Bass, and Caldwell added his second double to score Bass and give Potomac Falls an 8 - 0 lead.
Potomac Falls added 3-runs in the 3rd inning, and two more in the 5th, and Taylor Jernigan cruised for the win. Spotted to an 11 run lead, Jernigan settled into a nice rhythm mixing fastballs and off speed pitches to keep the Falcons off balance. Through 3 innings, he gave up only one hit and had faced 12 batters before giving up the lone Falcon run (unearned) in the 4th. Rea led the onslaught Tuesday, going 3-3 with two triples. Mahoney, Bass, Caldwell, and Lascomb each contributed two hits apiece.
So with the impressive start to the 2010 campaign, the immediate future looks bright for these Panthers, and look for this team to pick up where they left off in 2009, and to scratch and claw their way back to post-season play. Stay tuned...
The Panthers are back in action tonight, in a non-district game against Loudoun Valley before facing their rivals from Broad Run on Friday. Both games are at Panther Field, with the 1st pitch scheduled for 6:00pm. Friday's game is scheduled to air live on Gamedaymagazine.com, with the video replay available later that night.
