Panthers met goal by finishing undefeated against conference rivals
The preseason goal of going undefeated in conference play was ambitious but proved achievable for the Potomac School Panthers.
The high-school baseball team (19-4 overall, 14-0 in the conference) wrapped up the perfect mark by going 2-0 as the top seed to win the postseason Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, defeating the No. 3 seed Flint Hill Huskies, 5-2, in the May 11 championship game on the Panthers’ home field.
The Panthers nipped No. 4 seed Sidwell Friends, 3-2, in the semifinals after a first-round bye.
The tourney crown was the Panthers’ second straight and sixth in program history. The team will enter next season with a 22-game winning streak against conference rivals. The team won 20 games last season.
“We played well together all season and dominated the MAC. Our goal from the start of the season was to go undefeated in the MAC and we kept that momentum going,” said Paul Witkop, the team’s top pitcher and hitter who will play in college at the University of Richmond.
Chris Nee is Potomac School’s first-year head coach.
“We inherited a team with a good roster and culture of winning,” Nee said. “They have had a special season.”
In the MAC tourney final, Potomac School took a 2-0, Flint Hill rallied to tie the score at 2 in the top of the sixth, then the Panthers plated three runs in the bottom of the inning to move ahead 5-2.
Gavin Spiegel got the final outs in the seventh inning to earn the save, with senior starter Jack Graham getting the win as he pitched into the final frame.
On defense, catcher Will Piester threw out two baserunners, then made a good play on fielding a bunt to throw out another. He also had a sacrifice fly and RBI groundout with the bat.
“Will Piester was outstanding today,” Nee said.
Colby Bohnen had an RBI single and doubled in the win, Jackson Wiley had two hits, including a run-scoring single, Wyatt Pence had a sacrifice fly and doubled, Ian Parrish had a key sacrifice bunt, Witkop doubled and Jason Seeber singled.
For Flint Hill, Tyler Waterman and Sebastian Gratacos doubled and Vincenzo Fiorino and Michael Morgan singled.
“We knew it would be a game like this, 100 percent, because Flint Hill is so well coached and has been playing very well of late,” Nee said.
In Potomac School’s win over Sidwell, Witkop pitched six innings to get the win and had a sacrifice fly. Bohnen had a hit and an RBI, Piester doubled, Wiley had a hit and one RBI and Jake Adamec had an RBI.
Flint Hill finished the season 11-13, as the loss in the title game snapped its eight-game winning streak. The Huskies were 2-1 in the tourney.
The young Flint Hill team lost its first seven games of the season, then played its best at season’s end. The Huskies nipped St. James, 6-5, in the MAC tourney first round then edged second-seed Maret, 2-1, in the semifinals.
Fiorino had the game-winning three-run double against St. James. Aidan Ryan had two hits and was the winning pitcher in two innings of relief, P.J. Lyons and Jake Blazejowski had hits and an RBI, Ben Meeks had one hit and Gratacos had an RBI.
In the win over Maret, Zach Rachinsky had two hits and an RBI, Watherman doubled and had two hits, Meeks had a hit, Blazejowski had the other RBI and Fiorino started and was the winning pitcher, fanning eight.
“We made the plays behind Vincenzo, he filled the zone on the mound, then got the big hit when it counted most,” Flint Hill coach Mitch Mendler said.
