Dukes baseball eliminated in semi-final round of Atlantic District Tournament

VINELAND- The RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes baseball season came to an end this past weekend at the hands of 2 losses from the Northern Essex Community College Knights. The tournament was comprised of 3 Region 19 teams (RCSJ- Gloucester, RCSJ-Cumberland, and Atlantic Cape) along with Northern Essex representing Region 21.  

Game 1 was a back-and-forth contest between the Dukes and Knights that would ultimately turn out to be a Northern Essex victory. For Cumberland, the game would be highlighted by a 3-run home run from freshman Gavin Gates. This home run came in the bottom of the 5th inning and would give Cumberland the lead for a brief moment. Offensively, joining Gates in the production was Kevin Merrone. The Dukes starting center fielder in the game went 3 for 5 at the plate with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Andrew Simone threw 7.1 innings on the mound while surrendering 4 earned runs. Nick Chiodo finished the remaining 1.2 innings with 2 runs scored and 2 strikeouts. The final score would end 11-9 in favor of the Knights. 

It would be a quick turnaround for Cumberland in game 2 if they wanted to advance from the loser's bracket into the semifinal round the following day. Jake Crawford would hold down the Atlantic Cape offense over 7 innings; giving up 0 earned runs and striking out 5 Buccaneers. Nelson Ocasio shut the door for the reaming 2 innings; giving up 0 runs and striking out 3 batters. Gates would provide 2 RBI's along with 1 from James Costanzo and that would be all that Cumberland needed to win the ballgame by a score of 3-2.   

The semi-final round was dominated by Norther Essex as they won game 3 by a score of 14-6. Many Dukes collected a multiple-hit game including Jake Guglielmi, Nick Falcone, Kevin Merrone, Matt Shepherd, and Christian Lutz. Michael Dodd was the most effective pitcher that threw on the day. His line was 5.1 innings pitched, 1 earned run, and 3 strikeouts.  

In total, the 2021 RCSJ-Cumberland baseball team finished with a record of 22-8 (21-6 regular season). The coaching staff is very optimistic about the 2022 season with many key players returning and an exciting recruiting class coming in.