Dukes clinch series vs Ocean County

VINELAND- Over the holiday weekend, the RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes baseball team matched up in a series verse the Ocean County College Vikings. The series saw the Dukes come away victorious in 2 of 3 of the contests and Cumberland to improve their overall record to 28-8. Cumberland also currently holds the #4 spot in the latest NJCAA Division III rankings.

Game 1 took place at the Dukes Baseball Complex, and starting pitcher Nick Chiodo got the series off to a good start. THe left handed pitcher threw 6 innings only allowing 1 earned run and struck out 5 batters. Chiodo then turned the ball over to right handed relief pitcher, Jeremiah Lebron. Lebron would complete the rest of the 3 remaining innings, allowing 0 runs. He also struck out 5 batters and did not give up a hit. Matt Shepherd provided a spark offensively for the Dukes. Shepherd collected 2 RBI's to go along with his 2 hits. Michael Guzzardo, Ben Maiers, and James Hallman also tallied an RBI in the 6-1 win.

Ocean County would tie the series at a win a piece at the conclusion of game 2. The Vikings went on to win the gam 6-4. Shepherd and Hallman would again have an RBI in the game. Leggarius Johnson also contributed an RBI. Andrew Slade, John Kennealy, and Noah Robinson all combined to throw 7 innings, giving up 6 earned runs while striking out 5 Vikings. 

In game 3, Cumberland would clinch the series with a 18-5 win. Many players had multiple RBI's, including Ben Maiers, Jack Peacock, James Hallman, Leggarius Johnson, Nathaniel Figuero, Andre Boyer, and Colin Cummins. The game was 8-5 before heading into the 7th inning, at that point the Dukes offense put up a 10-run inning. On the mound, Jacob Shapley got the win as he went 5 innings giving up 2 earned runs.

RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes are back in action today April 19th, when they travel to West Windsor, NJ to face-off against the Mercer County College Vikings at 3PM.