FCC baseball snaps rare losing streak with 4-2 win over Penn State Mont Alto

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Story by: Alexander Dacy adacy@newspost.com

Staff photo by: Katina Zentz

It's not often that Frederick Community College's baseball team loses three straight games. It's only happened twice in the previous five seasons.

But that's the situation the Cougars found themselves in entering Wednesday's contest against Penn State Mont Alto.

They'd gotten sloppy in those games, no doubt exacerbated by some injuries and a suddenly demanding schedule full of doubleheaders. Wednesday's contest was FCC's fifth in four days and would have been their seventh in five had Saturday's matchups not been postponed.

The Cougars needed a reset. And they got it at home against the Nittany Lions.

Freshman right-hander Chris Durkin gave them seven strong innings on the mound, and first baseman Aidan Greaney hit a towering homer to lead FCC to a 4-2 win.

"For so long, we were finding a way to win. And the last week, we were finding a way to lose," Cougars coach Rodney Bennett said. "Today wasn't pretty … but I'm very happy we responded to get a win."

Bennett noted some recurring issues at the plate — FCC left 12 on base and went quiet after the first three innings — but was pleased with Durkin's effort.

Outside of a two-run fifth inning, Mont Alto (16-9) generated weak contact against Durkin, who filled the zone with strike after strike. That's his bread-and-butter, and it's made him a reliable arm for Bennett.

What's more, Durkin's extended outing meant spelling a taxed bullpen, letting those arms rest after a busy few days.

"For him to go deeper into games, that's what we're going to need down the stretch," Bennett said.

He's also going to need his offense to become more consistent once again, which it looked to be doing in the first third of Wednesday's contest. The Cougars battered Nittany Lions starter Blaine Wilson with seven hits, working four walks in the first three innings.

Aidan Masters doubled in a run to kick off the scoring in the first before coming home on a Greaney single. Nick Keane then had an RBI single in the second, and Greaney led off the third with a solo shot to left.

It boosted Durkin, who sat down Mont Alto's first nine hitters. 

"I think we've got the best hitters. They always give me a lead, and I feel comfortable, so it's pretty much smooth sailing," he said.

And it had to be that way, given that FCC's offense stagnated the rest of the afternoon. It mustered just three hits across the final six innings against the Nittany Lions' bullpen, a disappointing finish as the Cougars continued an up-and-down stretch at the plate.

Yet with Durkin dealing and Aiden Fernandez sealing the contest with a two-inning save, it ultimately didn't matter.

FCC (20-6) was able to end its unusual skid, which came after a more typical 15-game winning streak. The Cougars hope this victory is not a blip, but rather the start of another extended run of wins befitting one of the country's top junior college teams.

"It was good, especially after yesterday and Sunday," Greaney said. "We've never really been on a three-game losing streak before [in recent times]."