Pantos tosses gem, Austin hits slam as Cougars roll

ARNOLD, Md. – Brandon Austin's grand slam capped a six-run sixth inning for FCC and Nick Pantos pitched six strong shutout innings of one-hit baseball as the Cougars beat the Anne Arundel Community College 10-0 Saturday afternoon in six innings.

FCC slugged out nine hits in the win and scored in four out of six innings. FCC centerfielder Logan Appel got things rolling in the top of the second with a leadoff triple. He would score on a wild pitch to put the Cougars on the board. It was Appel's third triple on the year. He had a nice day at the dish going a perfect 3-for-3.

FCC blew the game open in the top of the sixth by putting six runs on the board. Jared Pine led off with a walk and scored on a double by Eric Naylor. Logan Appel, Mitch Long, and Thomas Gonzalez each walked in the inning. That set the stage for Brandon Austin. With the bags packed full of Cougars, Austin delivered a grand slam putting the crooked number up on the board. He went 1-for-1 in the win with 4 RBIs. Naylor went 2-for-4 and Brady Harju knocked in two runs.

What a pitching performance by FCC starter Nick Pantos. He pitched a complete game shutout and improves to 7-1 on the season. Pantos struck out 10 batters in the win and now has 65 Ks in 49 innings. He is sporting a 3.49 ERA and leads NJCAA Region 20 in wins (7) and strikeouts. (49)