Cumberland Softball earns 2nd Region XIX title in program history

DEPTFORD - In one of the most improbable runs in Cumberland Athletics history, the 3-seeded RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes Softball team shocked the Region XIX landscape by winning the 2021 Region XIX Championship this past Saturday afternoon.  The Dukes entered the Region XIX Championship tournament with a 10-18 record, but were confident of their chances after the six day lay off.  

In Game 1, the Dukes faced Middlesex College just a week after the Colts handily defeated them by a combined score of 30-6.  However, many of the Dukes were nursing minor injuries and had been strategically rested by 3rd year head coach, Magic Mears.  The rest certainly prepared the Dukes for the Region tournament as they routinely had runners in scoring position throughout game 1.  Unfortunately the Dukes could not convert and were held scoreless en route to a 2-0 defeat.  The loss would send them to the losers' bracket to face their sister school and the team that had their number all season long, the RCSJ-Gloucester Roadrunners.

The Roadrunners, the overall No. 1 seed and nationally ranked No. 3, were upset in their opening round game, losing to Camden County in extra innings.  Despite the loss, the Roadrunners were still the favorite to win the tournament and the odds were stacked against the Dukes.  However, 2021 Female Athlete of the Year and team ace, Bailey Pennino, twirled the best outing of the season by holding the Roadrunners to just 8 hits over 7 innings.  This allowed the Dukes to catch momentum in the middle innings that would lead them to victory.  After tying the game at 2-2 in the top of the 4th inning, the Roadrunners were come right back and score a run of their own to take a 3-2 lead.  Gianna Demarco (1-3, 1 RBI, 1 R) would spark the Dukes with a leadoff HR to tie the game and send the Dukes on the unexpected upward trajectory.  The Dukes would tally two more runs as Madison Sloan and Alicia Serrano would reach base and score later in the inning to give the Dukes a 5-2 lead that they would not relinquish.  DeMarco and Serrano would also dazzle defensively, with Serrano making a game-saving catch just shy of the centerfield fence to keep the game in check for the Dukes. They would go on to win 5-4 and advance to face the Middlesex Colts once again.

This time around, the Dukes would capitalize with runners in scoring position.  Taking a 2-1 lead into the 3rd inning, the Dukes would unleash an offensive barrage that had been pent up for weeks.  Cumberland would tally 7 runs in the inning, sending 10 batters to the plate.  Offensively, the Dukes would be led by Madison Sloan (3-3, HR, 2B), Gianna DeMarco (1-3, 2 R), and Alexis Donnelly (1-2, 1 R).  Pennino would be terrific once again in the circle with 5 innings pitched and 6 strikeouts while giving up just 4 hits.  The Dukes would survive and advance with a 9-1 victory in 5 innings launching them into the Region XIX Championship game against Camden County.

The Dukes, riding a wave of momentum into the Championship game, faced a feisty Cougars team that had upset the tournament favorite and defeated a well-rounded Middlesex team.  Cumberland, however, also had a ton of confidence entering the game as they were 3-1 against Camden County during the regular season and had swept them just over a week ago in Blackwood.  That confidence mixed with the day's momentum led Cumberland to scoring 7 runs in the first three innings against the Cougars.  Those runs would be the difference in forcing the 'winner-take-all' game with a 7-2 Cumberland victory.  Gianna DeMarco (2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Madison Sloan (3-4, 1 R, 3 RBI) would be the offensive stars for the Dukes once again while Alexis Donnelly (2-3), Nicole Rios (1-2, 2 R), and Karlee Rossetti (1-3, 2 R) chipped in as well.  Bailey Pennino was masterful once again, going the distance while striking out 5 and scattering 8 hits.

In the 'winner-take-all' game, Cumberland rode that momentum once again with a dominant offensive start by scoring 8 runs in the first inning with 11 hitters tallying a plate appearance in the inning.  After the Cougars would score runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th inning, Cumberland would eliminate doubt by scoring 3 runs in their half of the 5th inning.  A scoreless 6th and 7th inning would send Cumberland to the North Atlantic District Series as they would win the second Region XIX Championship title in program history by the score of 11-4.  Every Dukes would tally a hit in the game, but they would be led but the 1-5 hitters of the lineup.  Sarah Morgan (3-4, 3 R, 1 RBI) and Olivia Powers (4-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) would be the offensive stars while Karlee Rossetti (2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI), Gianna DeMarco (2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI), and Bailey Pennino (2-4) aided in the offensive outburst.

Cumberland now advances to play the winner of Region 15, Suffolk County CC of Selden, NY, in the North Atlantic District Series.  The 3-game series will be held on RCSJ-Cumberland's campus May 20-22.  Start times will be announced once confirmed.