Maryland JUCO Team Preview: Harford Fighting Owls

February 24, 2021
Kyle Campbell
Maryland Scouting Director

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JUCO programs across the state of Maryland began preseason practices back in early January. As the calendar quickly turns and with several teams getting ready to open up their 2020 campaigns in the next few weeks, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the 2019 season, examine key players that have moved on or left the program, look at some new faces and key players for the upcoming season, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2020 season. We continue our preseason previews with a look at the Harford CC Fighting Owls.

HARFORD CC 2021 SEASON PREVIEW

Head Coach: Josh Houser (2nd Season)
Mascot: Fighting Owls
2020 Record: 9-4
2020 MD JUCO Finish: N/A
2020 D1 Region XX Finish: N/A
2020 D1 District Tournament Finish: N/A
Twitter Handle: @HCC_OwlBaseball
CLICK HERE to view the Harford CC Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the Harford CC 2021 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the Harford CC 2021 Baseball Roster

Returning Starters: 7

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Patrick Campbell	2B/3B	10	.345	.424	.517	7	10	2	0	1	5	0
Reyce Curnane	OF/1B	13	.257	.527	.486	12	9	1	2	1	9	7
Jack Flanagan	1B/DH	5	.273	.529	.636	4	3	1	0	1	7	1
Brelon Harden	2B	8	.409	.462	.455	5	9	1	0	0	8	2
Mason Hicks	3B	6	.294	.400	.647	5	5	3	0	1	4	0
Brayden Parr	SS	10	.333	.417	.533	3	10	3	0	1	11	1
Ajay Szcepkowski	OF	12	.184	.333	.289	10	7	1	0	1	10	5

Returning Pitchers: 10

PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Hunter Bell	RHP	2	2	0	0	5.0	5	1	0	1	6	0.00
Nick Collier	LHP	1	0	0	0	3.0	4	3	3	4	5	9.00
Zane Grimes	RHP	2	1	0	0	7.1	2	3	3	8	10	3.68
Chris Hamann	LHP	DNP
Carter Heller	RHP	3	2	1	0	7.0	6	3	3	1	9	3.86
Cameron Kalandros	RHP	3	1	1	1	11.1	8	4	4	8	19	3.18
Jeremy Lapp	RHP	3	0	1	0	11.2	16	11	10	4	14	7.71
Caleb Musco	RHP	3	1	0	0	7.2	9	7	5	4	10	5.87
Austin Rohlfing	RHP	4	0	1	1	5.0	3	5	3	3	6	5.40
John Torres	LHP	4	0	0	0	8.0	6	6	4	8	14	4.50

Key Losses

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Alex Barker	UTL	9	.200	.469	.550	6	4	1	0	2	6	3
Tom Brosnahan	C	8	.440	.533	.760	7	11	5	0	1	6	1
PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Alex Barker	LHP	1	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	1	4	0.00

2020 Owls Moving On

*List of players from last year's team that are playing a 4-year schools this season.

Alex Barker (Monmouth University)
Tom Brosnahan (Western Carolina University)
Joshua Brown (Mount Aloysius College)
Antonio Buckley (Southeastern Louisiana University)
Jack Slade (West Chester University)

Top Newcomers

Connor Blantz RHP Lampeter-Strasburg (PA)
Joe Clancy RHP Westfield (VA)
Nick Gaitan 3B/1B Transfer from La Salle University
Jeremiah Guzman OF Transfer from Liberty University
Nick Hohenstein RHP Transfer from La Salle University
Ethan Kiple 1B/RHP Century (MD)
John McNamee 1B/DH Transfer from Rider University
Joe Quelch UTL Bishop McNamara (MD)
Matt Rivera C Transfer from La Salle University
Andrew Sicinski C/3B Transfer from Lackawanna CC
Zach Smith 3B/RHP Culpeper County (VA)
Chris Wallace RHP Transfer from James Madison University

Committed Players on Current Roster

Hunter Bell (Tennessee Tech)
Carter Heller (Gardner Webb)

2021 Season Snapshot

Harford CC returns a ton of talent from last year's Covid-19 shortened season. Combine that with another strong incoming freshmen class and a myriad of transfers and second year head coach Josh Houser and the Fighting Owls look poised to contend once again for not only the Maryland JUCO Conference title but also a berth in the NJCAA DI World Series out in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Expectations are high but that is nothing new for Harford. The perennial Maryland JUCO Conference powerhouse returns seven starters from last season's lineup and ten big arms on the mound. The offense has the potential to be even more explosive than prior seasons headlined by Reyce Curnane, Ajay Sczepkowski, and Mason Hicks. Infielders Patrick Campbell, Brelon Harden, and Brayden Parr will be tasked with getting on base in front of those big middle of the order bats that is also expected to include returner Jack Flanagan and Ethan Kiple. Of the top newcomers, look for transfers Nick Gaitan, Jeremiah Guzman, John McNamee, Matt Rivera, Andrew Sicinski as well as freshmen, Joe Quelch, and Zach Smith to get opportunities early to crack the lineup and fill the holes left behind by Alex Barker (Monmouth) and Tom Brosnahan (Western Carolina).

Aside from how fun this offense looks to be on paper, it might be the arms that garner the most attention throughout the season. This year's staff is littered with high caliber power arms beginning but not ending with righties Caleb Musco, Cameron Kalandros, Jeremy Lapp and lefty Chris Hamann. Fellow returners Hunter Bell and Carter Heller are the only two currently on the roster committed for next year to Tennessee Tech and Gardner Webb respectively. And, Nick Collier, Zane Grimes, John Torres, and Austin Rohlfing round out the list of ten returners on the bump. As for new faces that could play key roles throughout the season, they include transfers Nick Hohenstein, Chris Wallace, and freshmen Connor Blantz, Joe Clancy, Kiple and Smith.

Harford once again will entertain a pretty regional schedule with the likes of non-conference opponents Rowan Gloucester (NJ), Bryant & Stratton (VA), Mercer County (NJ), and Potomac State (WV). The season begins with double-headers against Anne Arundel (March 2nd), Garrett (March 6th), and CCBC Essex (March 7th). While the talent and depth is evident, coach Houser continues to remind his players to take it one game at a time. Time will tell how good this team really is when they actually get back out on the field and grind through the ebbs and flows of a long JUCO season. However, when it's all said and done, expect to see the Fighting Owls in contention for both the Maryland JUCO Conference title and NJCAA D1 World Series berth.