West Windsor, N.J. – The Mercer County Community College (MCCC) baseball team keeps on rolling.  Entering the Region 19 Final Four Tournament last weekend as the no. 1 seed, the team clinched the Region 19 title on Saturday and advances to the Northeast District Tournament, to be played at MCCC May 20 and 21.

In this week's NJCAA poll, the Vikings were named no. 2 in the country.

In the best-of-three tournament this Friday and Saturday, if necessary, the Vikings will face CCBC-Essex (MD). Two games will be played on Friday, May 20, with the first game starting at noon.  Game three, if necessary, will take place on Saturday.

Last weekend’s Region 19 double elimination tournament was played at Del Tech Owens.  In addition to MCCC, the other contenders were The County College of Morris, Valley Forge College and Lackawanna College.  The Vikings were solid in their first two wins, defeating Valley Forge College 8-4 in their first game, with freshman Austin Constantini on the mound, and then defeating Morris County College 9-1 in the second game. Starting pitcher Andrew DiPiazza threw 95 pitches in seven innings and had 11 strikeouts.

In game 3, the Vikings’ second matchup against Morris, the team showed the grit and determination of champions.  Down 5-0 in the 5th inning, Mercer responded with four home runs in the sixth inning.  The Vikings totaled five home runs in the game, scored by Anthony Peroni, Rob Boselli, Jordan Gonzales, Nick Fabrio and Vinny Vaccone.  Pitcher Zach Gakeler earned the win, with John Wilkins getting the save.  The final score was 7-6.  Robert Boselli was named the tournament MVP.

Head Coach Kevin Kerins is more than satisfied with his team’s performance at the Region 19 tournament and delighted to be bringing the title back to Mercer.  “I am extremely proud of how well this team has come together and responded to adversity all year, especially in the playoffs,” he said.

The Vikings last earned the region and district titles in 2014 and advanced to the NJCAA World Series.