Ellicott City, MD - The first official home games of the 2026 season for the Howard Community College Dragons went according to plan, as Howard swept the Frederick Community College Cougars to reach .500 on the season!

The Dragons finally got to play at home this year after spending their first two weeks of the season on the road or at a temporary home at CUA in Washington, D.C. Despite threats of severe weather, HCC got both games in and came up clutch to defeat the Cougars in a must-win series.

Game One: Dragons 4, Cougars 2
Game one was a tightly contested pitcher's duel in the first three innings between Howard's Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) and Frederick's Alondra Sidock. The Cougars, fresh off a surprising win against Region 20 powerhouse Potomac State, would strike first in the top of the fourth. Daysha Cook smacked a two-run home run to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead, and Sidock retired the side in the bottom of the inning. Howard got Katherine Wright (Dayton, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth, but a Taylor Pence (Mt. Airy, MD/Glenelg) ground out ended the scoring threat.

In the bottom of the sixth, Howard found its clutch gene. Kaylee Brogan (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg) had gotten on base after singling to right field, and advanced to second after a double play got both Sophia Steele (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) and Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) out. Next up was Jensyn Koonce (Chesapeake, VA/Greatbridge), who smacked a home run over the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2. After Wright walked at the next at bat, Gianna Peluso (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) smashed a deep home run to make it 4-2 Dragons.

Frederick would swap pitchers to get the final out of the inning, and Brooke Renninger gave the Cougars life with a seventh-inning opening double. But Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) locked down and struck out the next batter, and a pair of outfield fly outs ended the game in favor of Howard.

Game Two: Dragons 12, Cougars 5
While game one was a pitcher's duel, game two was the exact opposite. Frederick opened the scoring in the first inning with a Leo Cline RBI double, but Howard quickly responded. Gianna Peluso (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) smacked her second home run of the day to tie the game at 1-1, and Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) later extended it in the bottom of the third with a home run to make it 2-1 Dragons.

The action picked up in the third inning, as Frederick retook the lead off a two-RBI double from Addison Custer. Now up 3-2, the Cougars looked to pitcher Raegan Miller to shut down Howard's bats. That would not happen; Howard erupted to end the inning with five runs. After the Dragons loaded the bases, Madison Falby (Laurel, MD/Reservoir) smacked a deep single to centerfield to score two runs. A passed ball allowed Kaylee Brogan (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg) to score on the next at bat, and Katherine Wright (Dayton, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) then brought Falby home on a left field double. Layla Walker (Laurel, MD/Hammond) ended the inning by tripling Gianna Peluso (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) home to make it 7-3 Dragons.

The sixth inning scaries nearly derailed Howard's plans, as Leo Cline smacked a home run to lead off the inning, and an avalanche of infield errors allowed another Frederick run to score. But pitcher Sophia Steele (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) locked down the Cougars batters to end the inning, and the Dragons picked up the pace in the sixth. With a severe thunderstorm closing in, Howard smashed home five more runs to put the Cougars away for good. Once again, Madison Falby (Laurel, MD/Reservoir) cleared the bases with a double to left field, giving her four RBIs on the day. A sac-fly from Jensyn Koonce (Chesapeake, VA/Greatbridge) made it 10-5 Dragons, and Falby then stole home to wrap up a fantastic game for her. Wright added the cherry on top by scoring on a throwing error to make it 12-5 Dragons, and Steele shut down the side in the top of the seventh to finish off Frederick for good.

Howard next faces defending Region 20 champions Potomac State on Sunday, March 15 at 12:00 PM in a massive doubleheader.