The Virginia Peninsula Community College baseball team opened the home portion of its schedule by dropping a doubleheader (2-0 and 11-5) to the College of Southern Maryland on Feb. 9. The games were played at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.
In the opener, starting pitcher Zack Easton (Hermitage High School/Richmond) had a strong out for the Gators (0-3) but suffered the loss. He went five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and two hits. He struck out three. The Gators had just four hits, including doubles by Aidan Feather (Grassfield/Chesapeake) and Marco Fernandez (Spanish River HS in Florida). They were done in by three errors.
The visiting Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings in the second game before the Gators rallied with three runs in the fifth. However, the Hawks added four in the sixth and three more in the seventh for the sweep of the two games. Feather led the offense with a pair of two-run singles. Israel Dozier (Kempsville/Virginia Beach) also had two hits.
The team’s scheduled doubleheader at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 8, was canceled because of weather. The Gators are back at War Memorial Stadium on Feb. 15 with a split doubleheader (vs. Apprentice at 10 a.m. and Monroe University of the Bronx at 3 p.m.) The following day, VPCC and Monroe play a single game at War Memorial beginning at 3 p.m.
Men’s basketball
The Gators’ lone game last week was a 96-88 loss to Sandhills Community College on Feb. 8 at SafeHaven Empowerment Center.
VPCC (12-7 overall, 3-3 in Region 10) was looking for a season sweep of the Flyers, having won 102-96 at Sandhills in January. The Flyers are ranked seventh in the country in NJCAA Division III.
In the rematch, the Gators controlled the first half, taking a 44-22 lead with a little more than seven minutes to go. However, the Gators led just 54-42 at the break as Flyers closed the half on a 30-10 run. The Gators were ahead 69-61 with 12 minutes left in the game before the Royals made another run. They took an 81-80 lead with 4:28 remaining and stayed in front the rest of the way. The Gators cut it to 90-88 with about a minute left but couldn’t get any closer.
Sincere Moore (Matoaca High School/Chesterfield) led five VPCC players in double figures with 20 points. D’Cameron Haynes (Munford HS/Memphis, Tenn.) and Keshaun Johnson (Nansemond River/Suffolk) added 14 each, Jakobe Reed (Woodside/Hampton) had 11 and Jayden Sepulveda (Landstown/Virginia Beach) 10.
The Gators’ game scheduled for Feb. 3 at Chowan University was canceled. They finish the regular season with a pair of home games (Feb. 12 against Camp and Feb. 15 against Patrick & Henry Community College) Both games are at SafeHaven, with the Feb. 12 game starting at 7 p.m. On Feb. 15, the game starts at 3 p.m. with a pre-game ceremony honoring our sophomore players and cheerleaders.
For more information on VPCC athletics, visit www.vpccgators.com. For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu.