FCC finds no reason to push panic button

His purpose is to gear his team up for Region XX competition late next month, and right now, he believes FCC is headed in the right direction.

‘‘We played a whole bunch of games in a short amount of time against some really good teams,” Bennett said. ‘‘We lost a lot of tight games that will make us better later on in the season. I am glad we already have 18 games under our belts.”

Bennett says the Cougars’ hitters are head of the pitching thus far, but with a staff full of all freshmen and one sophomore, it is to be expected. Offensively, sophomore shortstop Tim Kellinger is more than pulling his weight.

He is averaging .403 with four home runs and 20 runs batted-in. He has 25 total hits, which include seven doubles and three triples. Former Liberty High player Jimmy Guilford, a freshman, is hitting a torrid .560 with six walks in 31 total at-bats.

‘‘As a team, I think we are doing a good job of hitting the baseball,” Bennett said.

Bennett calls Ryan Starnowsky the Cougars’ staff pitching ace. Despite a .500 record (2-2), the freshman right-hander sports an earned run average of 2.25. Classmate Kevin Starinieri is 2-1, with a no-hitter against Prince George’s on March 15. He also tossed a complete game against National Junior College Athletic Association Division I school Muscatine of Iowa (a 7-5 victory). Walkersville alum Ryan Kassab is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

‘‘Our freshmen are going to get better as a group,” Bennett said. ‘‘They are learning a lot, and we haven’t played a game yet that counts toward the region. I really like this group of players we have here.”

The Cougars will face Allegany today at home in a game scheduled to start at 3 p.m. On Sunday at 1 p.m., they will host Penn State-Fayette, then entertain Chesapeake College on Tuesday at 3 p.m.