No. 4 Niagara County Community College toppled No. 1 seed RCSJ-Gloucester 10-3 in a semifinal elimination game June 1 in the NJCAA DIII World Series at Pioneer Park in Greeneville, TN.
Niagara County advances to the Championship Final Game 1 vs. No. 2 seed Tyler Junior College on Wednesday. The Roadrunners, coached by Rob Valli, finished their 2021 season with a 35-6-2 overall record and 2-2 tournament record. The Roadrunner loss was the second in the World Series competitiion following a 16-1 defeat to Tyler Junior College on Monday, May 31.
Day 4 Results
Tyler JC 16, Roadrunners 1
In a battle between the top two seeds, No. 2 Tyler Junior College scored 14 runs in the sixth inning to defeat the No. 1 seed Roadrunners 16-1 to earn a spot in the 2021 #NJCAABaseball DIII World Series championship game. The Apaches held a 2-1 lead entering the inning prior to the offensive assault.
The loss dropped RCSJ to 35-5-2 overall. The Roadrunners will face the winner of Monday's elimination game between No. 4 Niagara County and No. 3 Oakton.
Day 3 Results
Roadrunners 6, St. Cloud Tech 3
Catcher John Cristino cracked a solo home run while Sam Daggers' RBI single in the sixth knocked in the winning run as the No. 1 seed Roadrunners rallied for a 6-3 win over St. Cloud Tech in a quarterfinal contest Monday in the NJCAA DIII World Series at Pioneer Park in Greeneville, TN.
Other offensive contributors included shortstop Sean Szetowicki, who had a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth, and DH Jack Billings and centerfielder Eric Sabato with two hits apiece.
Winning pitcher Chris Widger hurled six innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs while striking out four. Tom Kane pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.
Coach Rob Valli's team fell behind 3-0 when St. Cloud scored three unearned runs in the top of the third inning. The Runners then scored six unanswered runs to settle the outcome.
The Runners advance into the semifinal round against No. 2 seed Tyler Monday night in an 8 pm start.
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Day 1 Results
Roadrunners 9, Owens CC 1
Catcher John Cristino launched a pair of home runs, including a grand slam to spark a 6-run seventh inning to lead the No. 1 seed Roadrunner past No. 8 Owens, 9-1 in the opening round of the NJCAA Division III College World Series Saturday at Pioneer Park in Greeneville, TN.
The Roadrunner slugger also blasted a three-run homer to give the Runners a 3-0 lead before his grand slam sealed the final outcome of 9-1. Cristino finished with seven RBIs.
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Winning pitcher Jack Billings went the distance, allowing 8 hits and striking out 6 in seven innings.
The Runners (35-4-2) will advance to the second round Sunday when they meet the winner of No. 4 Niagra County vs. No. 5 Rockingham.
Tournament Preview
There is only one goal remaining that will cap off this impressive 2021 spring season for the Roadrunner Baseball team: Win the NJCAA Division III College World Series Championship!
The World Series opens Saturday, May 29, when the No. 1 seed Roadrunners square off against No. 8 seed Owens Community College in a 4:30 pm start. The Runners, coached by veteran Rob Valli, enter the tournament with a 34-4-2 overall record after emerging as champions out of the Region XIX North Atlantic District last weekend.
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Entering the postseason, the Roadrunners were hitting .355 as a team and feature a solid lineup led by catcher John Cristino, who has slammed 12 home runs and knocked in 53 runs to go with his lofty .412 batting average.
Additional sluggers include leftfielder Nick Nocella (7 HRs, 28 RBIs, .423), rightfielder Sam Daggers (5 HRs, 38 RBIs, .354), shortstop Sean Szetowicki (7 HRs, 36 RBIs, .493) and infielder Dauri Genao (3 HRs, 41 RBIs, .418) among others.
The team showed their considerable offensive might in the North Atlantic District Gloucester when they rallied from a 10-0 deficit vs. Atlantic Cape to emerge with a 12-10 victory. Offensive MVP Nocella and outfielder Shawn Dougherty were among several hitters who enjoyed a breakout tournament.
"We know we are never out of any game with the lineup we have," Nocella said following last weekend's tournament. "We're anxious to prove that again in the College World Series -- and we're very confident."
Pitching wise, the Runners are also strong. Valli can rely on plenty of depth in the rotation, including veteran right-hander Marcus Eusebio (6-1, 3.55 ERA), sophomore righty Jack Billings (4-0, 2.06 ERA), freshman lefty Chris Widger (7-0, 1.52 ERA), sophomore Rich Racobaldo (5-0, 3.82), sophomore Joe Marino (3-1, 4.15) and freshman southpaw Tom Kane (4-0, 1.32).
The tournament matchups are found below for Day 1.
Click here for the complete tournament brackets and matchups
2021 NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series
May 29-June 3, 2021
Pioneer Park
Greeneville, TN
Schedule for May 29, 2021
No. 3 Oakton (30-19) vs. No. 6 Coastal Bend (27-23)
Final: Coastal Bend 6, Oakton 5 (10 innings)
No. 2 Tyler (36-16) vs. No. 7 Rockingham (27-14)
Final: Tyler 13, Rockingham 5
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester (34-4-2) vs. No. 8 Owens (35-13)
Final: Roadrunners 9, Owens CC 1
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No.4 Niagara County (30-9) vs. No. 5 St. Cloud Tech (25-4)
Final: St. Cloud Tech 4, Niagara County 2
Schedule for Sunday, May 30
Elimination Game
No. 3 Oakton vs. No. 7 Rockingham
Final: Oakton 9, Rockingham 4
Elimination Game
No. 8 Owens vs. No. 4 Niagara County
Niagara County 8, Owens 2
Quarterfinal
No. 6 Coastal Bend vs. No. 2 Tyler
Final: Tyler 6, Coastal Bend 5
Schedule for Monday, May 31
Quarterfinal
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester vs. No. 5 St. Cloud Tech
Final: Roadrunners 6, St. Cloud Tech 3
Elimination Game
No. 5 St. Cloud Tech vs. No. 3 Oakton
Final: Oakton, 14, St. Cloud Tech 12
Elimination Game
No. 6 Coastal Bend vs. No. 5 Niagara County
Final: Niagara County 14, Coastal Bend 4 (5 innings)
Semifinal
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester vs. No. 2 Tyler Junior College
Fimal: Tyler 16, RCSJ-Gloucester 1 (6 innings)
Schedule for Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Elimination Game
3:00 pm
No. 4 Niagara County vs. No. 3 Oakton
Final: Niagara 7, Oakton 6
Semifinal Elimination Game
7:00 pm
No. 1 RCSJ-Gloucester vs. No. 4 Niagara County
Final: Niagara County 10, Roadrunners 3
Schedule for Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Championship Final
Time TBD
No. 2 Tyler Junior College vs. No. 4 Niagara County
You can watch the 2021 NJCAA DIII Baseball World Series live on the NJCAA Network: