The Starting Five

Can the Hagerstown Community College Hawks do a repeat of getting to the NJCAA Division I World Series as it did last year?

Right now the Hawks are 32-12 after Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Chesapeake and are in the top spot in the region with a 6-1 record. HCC currently is in the top-seeded position in Region XX and they can stay there for good if they can take care of business on Thursday with a critical game at Garrett.

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Well, my first thought earlier today, after seeing that Grayson County (Texas) Community College had beaten Central Arizona 8-7 late Thursday night to advance to the NJCAA Division I championship game against Shelton State (Ala.) Community College, was one of humor.

Both Grayson and Shelton, in order to get to the final, had to run-rule Hagerstown Community College on the way there. I said it was humor, didn’t I?

Just checked in on the NJCAA website and it looks like Grayson will go through the tournament unbeaten and win the championship. They are leading Shelton State 12-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Conrad Flynn, the pitcher Hagerstown faced, is working his way through leading Grayson.

Hagerstown had a creditable World Series, going 2-2. The Hawks can hold their heads up high as they return home and disperse for the summer.

Score update and you won’t believe this one.
At the NJCAA World Series in the top of the 7th, Central Arizona leads Iowa Western 23-19.

At any rate, earlier today Hagerstown Community College rebounded from its 18-2 thrashing by Grayson (Tex.) Community College on Sunday with a 10-7 victory over Chipola (Fla.) College, the defending champion of the Division I tournament.
This was a big win for HCC in many ways, not the least many people thought HCC would even win a game out there and that the Hawks were not a long ball-hitting team.

In the early stages of the tournament runs were plentiful. Twice, the run count surpassed 20 and then Grayson scored 18. And then, there’s the game going on now.

To the credit of the Hawks’ players, they indeed forgot about Sunday’s game and came back today with a clutch performance, one that included three homers — by Matt Byers, Roland Thiele and Charles Johnson.

Spencer Cromer appeared for as rough a start as Aerik Taylor encountered Sunday, until he started working his fastball and curveball effectively, retiring 13 out of 15 batters through the middle innings after his teammates gave him a 10-5 lead on the strength of a 7-run fourth inning. Then, when he tired in the eighth and allowed two runs, Kyle Briggs came on for the save.

A great victory for the Hawks, one they will remember for a long time.

They play Wednesday at 5 p.m. (EDT) and their oppoent won’t be kown until midnight or so tonight. It’ll be either Grayson or Alvin (Tex.). Those two teams are still in the winners bracket and loser drops down to play HCC.

It’s hard to tell what’s better — playing a team for a second time such as Grayson — or a very talented Alvin team.

No matter, here’s hoping for another game to remember for the Hawks.

Hagerstown Community College is about 24 hours away from its first game in the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. Sunday’s game time against Grayson Community College is 9:30 pm and you can hear the action locally on WJEJ Radio, 1240.
You can also catch the action through the radio by tuning into www.jucojg.com

Just talked with HCC coach Scott Jennings a few minutes ago. The team practiced earlier and was just on the way back to the field to watch the final game of the day. They had just been feted by their host — Rotary Club.

Jennings said Williamsport graduate Aerik Taylor, who clinched the Eastern District with a win over Pitt NC last Monday, will be the starting pitcher for the Hawks.

In games so far on Saturday, Shelton State (Ariz.) defeated Johnson county 8-4; Iowa Western beat Central Arizona 6-4 and defending champion Chipola (Fla.) College scored 15 runs in the 6th inning and whipped Connors State, 22-2.

Right about now, around 10 pm on Tuesday, Hagerstown Community College’s baseball team was planning on leaving for Grand Junction, Colorado via bus for the NJCAA Division I World Series.
Sometimes plans change and they did for the Hawks, due to requirements by the NJCAA in fullfilling pre-tournament requirements.
Coach Scott Jennings said the Hawks would get a practice session in on Wednesday before they head West, now scheduled for Thursday morning — by plane.
Jennings told me this evening the NJCAA needed to have the Hawks in Grand Junction on Thursday. The bus trip has been reduced greatly from its original 1,8600-mile venture. The team will fly from Baltimore to Denver and then make a four-hour bus trip into Grand Junction. while they’ll miss the youth clinic Thursday at 5 p.m. (MDT), they’ll be on hand for all the other festivities.
Jennings said there is paperwork to be completed Friday morning followed by a media photo session in which players will have their pictures taken onto trading cards.
The Hawks will be hosted by the Rotary Club there and will be feted at a noon luncheon and then have practice from 3-4:30 p.m. Afterward, there will be a banquet.
Saturday there will be a picnic, hosted by Rotary, for the HCC players andfamilies at 3:30 following an 11:30-1 practice. Saturday night the Hawks will watch the games taking place.
They’ll make their initial appearance at 9:30 Hagerstown time on Sunday night against Grayson Community College (Tex.).
“There were regulations attached with making it to the World Series,” Jennings said. “We moved on to plan B and that involved flights and the HCC administration came through with the flights to make it happen.”