Brookdale Wins Region XIX Tourney, Junior College World Series Up Next

LINCROFT- The Jersey Blues will be making their first appearance in the NJCAA DIII World Series since 2009 after winning the NJCAA Region XIX DIII championship over the weekend, beating RCSJ-Gloucester - ranked No.1 nationally, in Saturday’s championship game.

After losing to Gloucester, 9-4, in the first game, forcing a second game in the double-elimination tournament, Brookdale shook off the loss and immediately pounced on the Roadrunners for four runs in the top of the first inning.

Second-seed Brookdale (40-9) never trailed top-seeded Gloucester (50-6) in the game and went up 9-3 before tacking on another three runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Freshman left-hander Matt Desiderio (2-1), called on to pitch in one of the biggest games in Brookdale baseball history, went seven strong innings for the Blues, allowing three earned runs and nine hits while striking out four and walking two to pick up the win. Sophomore righty Richard Barton picked up his second save of the season in spectacular fashion, holding the heavy-hitting Roadrunners to one run over two innings to close out the game.

“Matt was unbelievable,” said Brookdale head coach Johnny Johnson. “He’s getting better and better every day. He’s only a freshman and will be a big-time player for us down the road here. He competes and he fears nothing; he did a great job. He threw strikes and kept us in the game until we scored some runs.

“I love that kid, he came out of nowhere,” added Johnson of Barton’s effort. “He’s improved a thousand percent; his work ethic has made him what he is now. I’m so happy for him.”

First team All-Region XIX centerfielder Declan Sheehan went 4-for-5 with a double, triple, four runs scored, and three RBI. First team All-Region XIX shortstop Justin Lopez added three hits in six at-bats, including a double, four runs scored, and an RBI. Another first team All-Region XIX selection, catcher Shane Andrus, chipped in with two hits in three at-bats, including a double, an RBI, a run scored, and three walks, while second baseman Clark Christopher added a two-run double. The Blues banged out 15 hits, including six extra-base hits.

"He's probably going to be a first team All-American," Johnson said of Sheehan. "He was struggling a little, maybe a little tired. But I got on his case and tested him; I said, "Listen, you're one of the best players in the region, and for us to win, you've got to step up." And he did that in a big way, really proud of him.

In double-elimination tournaments, it’s in your best interest to win your first game to stay out of the losers' bracket to avoid having to play an extra game and use up your pitchers, and that’s precisely what Brookdale did. Still, it wasn’t easy, beating No.3 seed RCSJ-Cumberland 9-8 in 10 innings.

“It’s very important,” said Johnson, to stay out of the losers' bracket. “You get in the winner’s bracket; you have more of an advantage. You don’t use as much pitching, and you’re less tired, so you play fewer games. It’s very important, I was proud of our guys getting that first win.”

With Brookdale holding an 8-6 lead entering the top of the ninth, Cumberland put up two runs in the inning to tie the game at eight. After a scoreless bottom half of the ninth, the game went into extra innings. With Cumberland threatening in the top of the tenth, sophomore right-hander Tyler Mandez came in to record the final out and put out the fire.

In the bottom half of the frame, first baseman Richard Kernan got on via a walk before freshman right fielder Casey Gardner brought him home for the game-winning run with a long RBI double to right field.

It was a sweet win and maybe a harbinger of things to come, but things got even sweeter when Gloucester fell to fourth-seed Salem, 6-5, later in the day. This put them into the losers' bracket and forced them to play another game on Thursday, which they won 12-1 in five innings against Cumberland.

“That was pretty good; everything fell into place for us,” said Johnson of the Roadrunners' loss to Salem. “Gloucester’s one of the best teams in the country, and you don’t want to play them if you don’t have to. But the truth is, everybody in our region can beat anybody on any given day, and that’s what happened. Salem had the pitcher to keep them in the game, and you take Gloucester off their home field, anything can happen.”

Fresh off the emotional win against Cumberland, the Jersey Blues steamrolled Salem 12-2 in five innings, placing them in the championship round against Gloucester. The Roadrunners would now need to beat Brookdale twice for their sixth-straight Region XIX crown, but Brookdale had other ideas.

In their win against Salem, Mendez went five strong innings for the win, allowing one earned run on six hits, while striking out eight and walking just one batter. Left fielder Gary John Perrone had four hits in four at-bats, including a triple and a home run for four RBI, while Andrus had two hits and two RBI, and second baseman Anthony Martino went 3-for-3 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Kernan had a triple and a run scored in three at-bats.

“We need him; he has the stuff to beat anybody,” Johnson said of Mendez. “If he can just keep it in control and throw the ball over the plate, he’s going to beat a lot of teams. He’s a 90-plus guy with a hard curveball and splitter.

“He did a great job,” Johnson said of Perrone, who was voted the tournament's MVP. “He’s a natural hitter who can hit lefties and righties. The MVP was a toss-up between Perrone and Lopez.”

Brookdale overcame some sloppy defense to win the title, but that will come back to haunt them if it continues in the World Series. Four errors in their win against Cumberland accounted for two unearned runs and in the loss to Gloucester, three errors led to four unearned runs against the Roadrunners. That must be cleaned up, or it will spell doom for Brookdale moving forward.

“It was just one of those things,” said Johnson. “The game was played on turf, so they don’t rub the ball, so you're playing with slippery balls, and the balls were sailing on them. That’s going to win or lose games, defense-wise.”

In 2009, Brookdale (39-8) beat Niagara 12-3 in the first round of the NJCAA DIII World Series. In the second round, they lost to Montgomery-Germantown, putting them in the losers' bracket, where they beat Suffolk Grant, 20-7, and Joliet, 6-2, before falling to Montgomery-Germantown again, 7-4, sending them home. That loss left Brookdale one game away from the championship game.

"These kids just show up and play baseball,” Johnson said of his players. “They don’t fear anybody; they just go out and play. The loss to Gloucester in the first game didn’t faze them. Honestly, I don’t think they even thought about it. We had a big pep talk, got them fired up, and they did the rest. This is one of the most mentally tough teams I’ve ever had. They don’t fear anything, that’s the best part. There’s no quit in them. They don’t rely on one guy; we've got 36 guys in the battle.”

The seedings and schedule will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.