WYE MILLS, Md. – The third seeded Anne Arundel Community College baseball team upended second seed CCBC Catonsville, 11-2 in seven innings, in the NJCAA Region 20 DII East Division Tournament at Chesapeake College Friday afternoon.
Camden Hodges drove in four runs, highlighted by a two-run double that sparked a six-run fifth inning. Starting pitcher Evan Pohlman silenced Catonsville's bats allowing just two hits with seven strikeouts through 5.2 innings to earn the win.
AACC moves on to face top seed and tournament host Chesapeake College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. The winner of that game will advance to Sunday's championship game; the loser will play again at 4 p.m. Saturday, facing the winner of the day's first game between CCBC Essex and CCBC Catonsville.
The Cardinals got on the board first, using a throwing error to score one run in the second.
An RBI groundout from Griffin Klein tied up the game, and after Nicco Holland singled and advanced to on a wild pitch, Hodges stung the ball up the middle to send Holland across the plate for a 2-1 lead.
Pohlman struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning and allowed just one baserunner in the fourth before AACC broke the game wide open in the fifth.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Hodges hit a double to the centerfield wall to score Sam Ross and Griffin Klein – who had both singled. Russell Turner followed with a two-run single to left to make it 6-1.
JC Wilson made it 8-1 with a single to right, scoring Turner and Rylan Palle, who had reached on a fielder's choice and stolen second.
Catonsville threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but with the bases loaded and two out, Pohlman induced an infield groundout to get out of the jam.
AACC took advantage of three walks in the sixth to score twice more, first on a Hodges RBI groundout, then on a Travis Fleshman single to right.
Caden Houck relieved Pohlman with one runner on and two outs in the sixth, striking out the final batter.
The Riverhawks tacked on one more run in the seventh courtesy of a Holland single just out of reach of the second baseman.
Catonsville's last gasp came in the seventh after taking advantage of a pair of wild pitches. Klein got the final out of the game by snagging a high pop up behind the plate.
Pohlman moved to 8-2 on the season with the win. Houck allowed one run on one hit in the final 1.1 innings.
The win marked the first in an Region tournament elimination round game for fifth-year Head Coach Nick Hoffner, who has guided AACC to the most wins in a season since 2012.