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SPORTS WWW.PRINCEWILLIAMTIMES.COM
POWELL, NEMEROW NAMED BASKETBALL PLAYER, COACH OF YEAR IN CLASS 6
Osbourn Park High’s dynamic guard Alana Powell was named Class 6 girls basketball Player of the Year after averaging 12.8 points and leading the Yellow Jackets to a 23-5 record. Gainesville coach Daniel Nemerow was Class 6 girls Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals (23-5) to the state quarterfinals in the school’s second year. Prince William Times | March 23, 2023
PATRIOT BASEBALL PREVIEW
‘HE SMOKED IT OVER THE TREES’
Pierce’s mammoth homer sets tone in Pioneers’ 12-1 win over Unity Reed By Matthew Proctor Special to the Times
With one out and a runner on second in the bottom of the second inning, Patriot was already in firm control of Tuesday’s early season district clash with visiting Unity Reed. Then junior Luke Pierce added the exclamation mark. On a 1-1 count, Pierce got his pitch and hammered it over the center field fence for a two-run home run, putting the Pioneers ahead 10-0. Pine trees lie just behind the fence at Patriot’s field and Pierce’s shot cleared them easily. “He got all of that, that went over the trees. He smoked that one, so that’s a nice swing by him,” Patriot coach Nick Grove said. The Pioneers plated 12 runs in the first two innings to post a 12-1 five-inning mercy win, which was over in less than 90 minutes before 8 p.m. “I thought our guys did a really nice job of staying short and quick to the baseball,” said Grove, whose squad improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in the Cedar Run District. Featuring elite starting pitching, Patriot expects to remain one of Prince William County’s prominent baseball powers. Consistently harboring state tournament aspirations, the Pioneers went 15-8 last year and advanced to the Region 6B tournament for the second time in two seasons under Grove. See PATRIOT, page 22
PHOTOS BY RANDY LITZINGER
Jordan Capuano (above) will play at UNC-Wilmington and is one of Patriot’s three Division I-bound senior aces, along with Nathan Barrett (University of Virginia) and Jakob Foster (Mount St. Mary’s).
Patriot watched fellow Cedar Run District member Freedom win the Class 6 title last year. The Pioneers hope to make regions and make a state tourney run this year.
