Brookdale Baseball Has Tough Start In Region Tournament Against RCSJ-Gloucester

Sewell, NJ - The Jersey Blues were on the road for a Friday afternoon contest against the No. 1 nationally ranked Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester (RCSJ) Roadrunners. With a spot in the North Atlantic District Championship on the line, RCSJ was dominant in their 13-4 rout of Brookdale to advance to a win away from punching their ticket to the NJCAA Division III World Series. 

The Roadrunners' ace Kevin Opanel pitched six innings of one run baseball, improving his ERA to 1.79 on the season along with an 8-1 record. Aside from Opanels dominance, the bats were hot for RCSJ-Gloucester who sent five home runs out of the yard, headlined by sophomore first baseman, Felix Diaz, who punched two of them out. 

As for the fourth seeded Jersey Blues, it was a tough semi final outing on the mound for sophomore Brendan Williams. Despite striking out eight batters, Williams allowed nine earned runs in 7.1 innings of work in just his second loss of the season (9-2). Sophomore DH, John Wade, led the Jersey Blues with two RBI on the day, along with a Marcus Johnson solo shot. 

The Roadrunners (46-5) await a potential rematch in the North Atlantic District Championship, while Brookdale will look to defeat the Middlesex College Blue Colts in their second semi-final matchup on Friday, May 19th, 3:00pm, at RCSJ-Cumberland's field. 

Photo above courtesy of Tom Smith