Dukes Baseball receives 2-seed for North Atlantic District Baseball Championship Tournament

The Dukes baseball team finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 21-6 (11-5 in GSAC) under 2nd year Head Coach Marco Carolla. In result, the Dukes were ranked 2nd overall in the country according to the latest NJCAA polls. At the conclusion of the regular season, Cumberland finished with a home record of 13-2 whole boasting a team batting average of .354 over 27 games. 

Many student-athletes contributed to Cumberland's offense in the 2021 season, but it was led primarily by 3 big bats in the lineup. Starting catcher Matt Shepherd led the Dukes in batting average (minimum 50 AB's) at .491 while hitting 7 doubles, 2 home runs, and driving in 20 RBI's. Shortstop Kevin Merrone currently has a .424 batting average, 4 home runs, 23 RBI's and is top 3 on the team in steals with 8 bags. Sophomore outfielder Christian Lutz continues to be the anchor of the Dukes outfield with a batting average of .438, team-leading 10 doubles, and 22 RBI's on the season.   

Also getting in on the action for the Cumberland offense are many standout players that currently hold a batting average above .300, they are as follows: Gavin Gates (.370), Carelle Gonzalez (.390), Jaques Colon (.333), Michael Guzzardo (.306), Casey Vaughn (.373), Jake Gugliegmi (.404), and James Costanzo (.345).  

On the mound for Cumberland, the Dukes relied heavily on the Freshman from Vineland, NJ Andrew Simone. Simone was the most consistent starting pitcher for head coach Marco Carolla as he pitched a total of 46.1 innings while posting a 2.91 ERA. His season included 60 strikeouts and only committing 18 walks. Another Freshman that was able to contribute to the pitching staff was Jake Crawford. Crawford played many roles for Cumberland on the mound as he appeared in a few games as the starting pitcher, but came out of the bullpen for the majority. His numbers included a 2.70 ERA with 43 strikeouts (2nd most on the team).

This week the team is preparing for their first-round matchup vs the Northern Essex Community College Knights. The first game will take place on the RCSJ-Cumberland campus on Friday, May 21st at 11 AM. Game 2 location will be based on the results of game 1.   

For all district tournament information: https://rcroadrunners.com/information/DistrictBase2021