Hits Aplenty In CCBC Essex Victory Over Anne Arundel

Arnold, MD — In a game filled with momentum swings, CCBC Essex rallied late to defeat Anne Arundel 14-7 in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader at Anne Arundel Community College. The win evens the season series at 2-2 and helps the Knights stay in contention for home field in the Region 20 playoffs.

The Knights opened the scoring in the second inning when sophomore Ethan Holland (Salisbury, MD / Parkside) executed a textbook suicide squeeze to bring in the first run. Moments later, sophomore Hiyu Ota (Sammu Chida, Japan / Chiba Prefectural Naruto Senior HS) singled to score two more, giving Essex an early 3-0 lead.

Jimmy Perez (Queens, NY / High School for Arts and Business) drove in a run with a groundout in the third to make it 4-0.

Anne Arundel responded with a four-run rally in the bottom of the third, tying the game at 4-4. They then matched another Knights rally in the fifth, tying the game again at 7-7 in the sixth.

But CCBC Essex put the game away in the top of the seventh, exploding for seven runs on five hits. The biggest blow came from Cameron Brewer (York, PA / Susquehannock), who doubled to drive in two and finished with three RBIs on the day.

On the mound, sophomore Logan Bennett (Forest Hills, NY / Forest Hills) delivered a gutsy performance. After a 45-minute delay for an on-field injury, Bennett returned to the mound and did not lose his focus, battling through five innings and allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out two.

Freshman Diego Garcia (Bradenton, FL / Manatee) picked up the win in relief, and freshman Austin Shiflett (Dundalk, MD / Sparrows Point) closed it out with a scoreless seventh.

CCBC Essex totaled 10 hits, led by Brewer, Maxwell Urena (Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King), and Rafael Castillo (Queens, NY / High School for Construction Trades, Engineering, and Architecture), who all had two hits. The Knights also stole three bases and showed patience at the plate throughout.

Anne Arundel tallied 12 hits of their own, led by Russell Turner and Rylan Pallé.

CCBC Essex improves to 24-24 overall and 22-16 in Region 20 play.

The Knights now return home for the final four-game homestand of the regular season, beginning Thursday at 1:00 PM with a key division doubleheader against Chesapeake College. It marks the start of the final push toward securing home field advantage in the opening round of the Region 20 playoffs.