As spring 2026 slowly rolls around, the baseball season is just around the corner for Frederick Community College’s team after a dominant 2025.
Last year for the Cougars, they came off a fifty-one win season with only thirteen losses. Coach Rodney Bennett led the team to a Region XX DII tournament and District championship, with a fourth world series appearance since 2020.
In sixty-four games, FCC scored 555 runs against opponents, with a combined batting average of .333. Sophomores Jacob Downey, Shawn Karpaitis, and William Gisriel were top hitters, all above a .360 batting average in their final season with the school.
Rising freshman Casey Westerberg, Luis Perez Alfaro, and Braydon Kelman look to keep the momentum up from last season, with middle infielder Westerberg leading all freshmen with a .341 overall average.
On the pitching side, only three pitchers who made appearances last year return. Evan Hassinger, Ethan Duff, Tyler Haupt are the only rising freshmen who come back for another season playing with the Cougars.
Hassinger was the top freshman after having a 3.29 ERA (earned run average), pitching forty-one innings. Top pitchers last year, such as sophomores Matthew Koeneke, Adam Horst, and Hunter Barnes, graduated from FCC.
Hoping for another great season, the Cougars look to make their ninth world series appearance for coach Bennett.
The Cougar’s February 21st and 22nd season-opening double headers against Erie Community College were canceled due to weather. The season began on February 27th-28th with double headers against both Owens Community College and Kalamazoo Community College at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, Florida, sweeping the weekend to start undefeated on the year.
