Gardiner's 10th Inning Walk-Off Double Seals Win Over Cumberland, 9-8

Camden, NJ - The Brookdale Community College baseball team went the distance, and won, in the 10th inning of the NJCAA Region 19 DIII final four against the RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes, 9-8. Freshman right fielder, Casey Gardiner, ripped a double to score sophomore first baseman, Richard Kernan, home for the thrilling win. Gardiner hit two doubles on the day in addition to a triple to push the Jersey Blues.

Sophomore second baseman, Anthony Martino, crushed a three-run double in the second inning to propel the Blues and then Richard Kernan punched a homer in the bottom of the third to widen Brookdale's lead to 6-3. The Dukes had a couple of rallies in the 7th and 9th to make the game real interesting, but the Blues battled and remained steadfast. Freshman left fielder, Gary John Perone, went 3-for-5 on the day with a triple for an RBI as freshman center fielder, Declan Sheehan, and sophomore DH, Malik Little Jr., each added an RBI a piece. Sophomore right-handed pitcher, Tyler Mendez (5-2), relieved sophomore Christian Simonsen after 6.0 perservering innings to earn the win on the mound.

Brookdale (38-8) will face the Salem Community College Mighty Oaks in the next round of the Region 19 Final Four at Rutgers University-Camden, starting at 2:00pm.

Photo above courtesy of Tom Smith