Allegany Splits Doubleheader with WVU Potomac State in Dramatic Day at Golden Park
Allegany College of Maryland and WVU Potomac State traded blows in two very different ballgames on March 15 at Golden Park, producing a shutout masterpiece in the opener and an offensive eruption in the nightcap. In front of a combined 479 fans, the teams showcased power, pitching, and plenty of chaos in the field as they split the doubleheader.
Game 1: Sypa Shines as Allegany Secures a 3–0 Shutout
Allegany's opener belonged entirely to Ivan Sypa, who delivered one of the cleanest starts of the young season. The right-hander went 6.1 innings, scattering six hits with six strikeouts and no walks, never allowing WVU Potomac State to build momentum. Caden Long closed the door with two quick outs to finish the combined shutout.
The offense didn't need much, and Christos Tassopoulos provided it early. In the top of the first, after Frank Diaz reached, Tassopoulos turned on a 2–2 pitch and launched a two-run homer, giving Allegany a 2–0 lead before the seats were warm.
From there, the Trojans played airtight baseball. Diaz added a triple later in the game and scored again in the sixth when a throwing error allowed him to cross the plate for the final 3–0 margin.
WVU Potomac State managed six hits—two from catcher Ryan Conrad and two from shortstop John Mallow—but never solved Sypa's mix of fastballs and breaking pitches. Allegany's defense turned a key double play and committed just one error, preserving the shutout.
Game 2: Potomac State Explodes Late to Take an 11–4 Win
If Game 1 was a pitcher's duel, Game 2 was the opposite. Both teams traded early runs, but the sixth inning turned into a full-scale avalanche as WVU Potomac State erupted for seven runs, flipping a tight contest into a runaway 11–4 victory.
Allegany struck first again, with Isaac Abalo scoring in the opening frame on a double-play ball. After WVU answered, the Trojans regained the lead in the third when Ben Abram lifted a sacrifice fly to score Vladimir Breton. The momentum grew in the fourth: Manuel Cartagena crushed a solo homer, and Jace Hesketh doubled home Duke Psoras to make it 4–2.
But the bottom of the fourth hinted at trouble. Two errors in left field allowed a run to score, and Seth Healy tied the game with an RBI single.
Two innings later, the dam broke.
WVU Potomac State strung together hit after hit—six in the inning, including doubles from Braden Sloan and Lex Wescott—and capitalized on another Allegany error behind the plate. Wescott's two-run double gave WVU its first lead, and the hits kept coming. By the time the dust settled, the Catamounts had turned a 4–4 tie into an 11–4 advantage.
Reliever Jaxon Drennen was dominant in relief, striking out eight in three innings to earn the win. He also contributed at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Allegany's offense mustered eight hits, including multi-hit games from Abram and Psoras, but five defensive errors proved too much to overcome.
Allegany walks away from the doubleheader with a split—one game defined by dominant pitching and the other by defensive miscues and a late WVU surge. With the early-season rhythm still taking shape, the Trojans now turn their attention to a quick turnaround. They're back in action Thursday at The Baz, where they'll host SUNY Ulster in their next matchup.
