MCCC Baseball to Host Region 19 Playoffs

5/7/24

Mercer baseball (29-20, 11-4) will enter the Region 19 Playoffs as the #1 seed May 10^th-12^th in the double elimination tournament.  The Vikings will open play against #4 seed Sussex CCC at 10:00 AM on Friday, May 10th at MCCC.  Lackawanna College enters as the #2 seed and County College of Morris is the #3 seed.

Games are nine innings for the Region 19 Tournament.  Mercer will play all of their games at MCCC, while Mercer County Park will also be used as a tournament site.  The two winners Friday morning will play at 2:00 PM, while the two teams who lose their first game will face an elimination game at 2:00 PM Friday.

The winner of the elimination game will face the loser of Game 3 10:00 AM on Saturday.  The winner of Game 5 will play the Winner of Game 3 at 2:00 PM on Saturday.  There will be an if necessary game on Sunday at 11:00 AM.

The winner of the Region 19 Tournament will advance to the East District Championship with Regions 3, 15 and 21.

In a three game series for Lackawanna, Mercer won two of three games (5-3 win, 11-2 win and 1-5 loss).  Mercer lost two of three vs County College of Morris (13-7 win, 7-9 loss, 6-8 loss).  The Vikings took two of three vs Raritan Valley CC (16-3 win, 4-6 loss, 3-2 win).  And Mercer won all three of its games vs Sussex CCC (13-3, 3-1, 7-6).

The winner of the Region 19 Tournament will advance to the District Championship with the opportunity to advance to the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Mercer baseball heads into the Region 19 Playoffs with a strong offense that includes seven batters hitting .300 or better on the season.  The Vikings have been led by sophomores Torin McKenzie (Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham) and Joe Gmitter (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert).  Freshman Jake Pope (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) has been the Vikings top hitter with a .414 average on the season.  Sophomore transfer Bannon Brazell (Vienna, VA/James Madison HS) has not been far behind Jake Pope with the hot bat this season, with a .396 average.

The Vikings have also gotten strong offense from sophomore Wyatt Baker (Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham), who is batting .356 on the season and freshman Slade Harrill (New Egypt, NJ/Allentown HS) who is batting .350 on the year.  Sophomore outfielder Andrew Glatt (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) is hitting .306 on the year and had a strong second half of the season.

Gmitter and McKenzie lead the Vikings with 56 hits, followed right behind by Jake Pope who has 53 hits on the season.

Sophomore Ryan Ulisse (Columbus, NJ/Holy Cross) has 35 hits and 40 RBIs on the season and freshman Shane Hickey (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty) has 35 hits and 33 RBIs.

On the mound, the Vikings have been led by two freshman pitchers Matteo Mannino and Collin Williams.  Mannino is 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.  Williams is 3-0 and threw a no-hitter in a late season win at Cecil.  Williams has a 3.00 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.

Sophomore pitcher Dyllon King has also been a key part of the Vikings rotation this spring.  King is 5-2 with a 4.34 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched.  Sophomore Colin Bernhard (Florence, NJ/Florence Twp. Memorial) has a 4.20 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched and is another key arm in the Vikings pitching rotation.

Sophomore relief pitcher Ryan Conover has seven saves on the season, a 3-1 record, 3.21 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched.  Sophomore Ryan Mignogna has a 2.48 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.

The Vikings have relied on a strong offense and small but strong pitching rotation to get the #1 seed in the Region as well as receiving votes in the Division II National Poll late in the season.  The Vikings made the NJCAA DII World Series in 2022 and have that same goal again this year, which begins with the Region 19 Tournament title.

For the latest on Vikings’ baseball, visit: https://www.mccc.edu/athletics_men_baseball.shtml