Persichetti providing a spark for TCNJ
The College of New Jersey baseball team entered the season with high expectations, and they have gone nowhere but up in the first month.
With a strong nucleus of Colonial Valley Conference players helping the cause, the Lions are 19-5 overall and 8-2 and in first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. TCNJ just had an 11-game winning streak snapped by Alvernia.
“We’re looking forward to starting new streaks,” Lions outfielder Tom Persichetti said. “That’s really what college baseball is about, getting hot at right time. It’s been tough with all these weather breaks, we’re taking it one day at a time and we’re continuing to work hard and trying to build these streaks. We want to get hot for conference tournament time.”
The Lions were picked to win the NJAC after coming off a 32-13 season in which they claimed the NJAC Tournament title and won a game in the NCAA Division III tournament.
“We only lost three seniors, so certainly the expectations were high,” Persichetti said. “We’re just trying to control what we can control every day. The amount of effort we put into practice, the days we put in and the grind we go through; you combine with the talent we have, and the cohesion we play with, and we feel we can make a run to a national championship.
“We have a great bunch of guys, a great group not worried about individual stats as much as the entire team. That’s what you need for your team to win.”
Nonetheless, the statistics look pretty good for a lot of familiar names from the CVC.
Leadoff hitter Danny Borup, a West Windsor-Plainsboro South grad, is hitting .366 with six doubles and a teamhigh 27 runs scored. Allentown grad Tommy McCarthy is batting .318 with six doubles, two triples and 23 RBIs (second on the team). Robbinsville’s Ryan Fischer is at .286 with two homers and 12 RBIs, while Hightstown’s Jacob Simon is hitting .259 with 15 runs scored.
New Egypt’s Austin Lindsay is hitting .315 with two homers and a team-high 29 RBI, while Zach Shindler, the reigning NJAC Player of the Year, is hitting .365 with 10 doubles and 18 RBI.
On the mound, Notre Dame grad Mike Walley is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts. Michael Fischer, Ryan’s twin brother, is 3-2 in six starts with a 2.66 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 40 innings.
But perhaps the most significant leap has come from Persichetti, the former Notre Dame standout from Hamilton. After hitting a respectable .276 with 33 runs scored out of the leadoff spot as a freshman, Persichetti leads the Lions in average (.413), slugging percentage (.547), on-base percentage (.505) and stolen bases (13). He is second to Borup with 24 runs after dropping to the No. 2 hole.
“What it boils down to is my approach,” Persichetti said. “Going through my senior year of high school I’m watching Clemson, South Carolina in the College World Series and all these freshmen are hitting 450-feet bombs. Me coming in, 5-foot-10 Tommy thinking he has to hit these bombs.
“I think I came in and tried to hit with too much power. Now I’m back to the Notre Dame way, just trying to hit it hard, get some singles, try to put the ball in the gaps. Watching those guys hitting those 500 footers before I got to college made me try and do things I couldn’t.”
As the No. 2 hitter, he sometimes has to sacrifice himself more often than at leadoff, but he and Borup have been outstanding at setting the table for the meat of the lineup.
“We all understand our jobs and our roles,” he said. “That’s what wins championships.”
ZEGARSKI MILESTONE
The Mercer County Community College softball team is off to a 23-6-1 start overall, and leads the Region XIX Division II standings with a 7-1 record.
The Vikings enjoyed a significant milestone along the way.
On March 29, 14th-year coach Ryan Zegarski won his 400th game when Mercer defeated Onondaga, N.Y. in the Snowbird Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. A former Hamilton West baseball standout who played for Mercer’s 2000 World Series team before going on to star at Stockton, Zegarski’s lifetime record is now 417-161-1 for a .719 winning percentage.
““These wins are a credit to all the players I’ve had over the years,” Zegarski said. “It’s not about me, but about the players and all of the hard work they’ve put in, and the talent I have been fortunate to coach.”
This year’s players include several CVC standouts. Steinert grad Kaley Wise is 9-2 with three saves, a 1.66 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 88.1 innings. Wise is hitting .308 with eight RBI. Allentown’s Carly Bailey is hitting .365 with 21 RBI, while Steinert’s Lauren Bracco is hitting .282.
Bordentown’s Tatum Marshall is hitting .345 with 24 RBI and seven home runs and is also 7-3 on the mound with a 1.89 ERA. Neshaminy’s Cailyn Seely is also a dual threat at 6-0 in the circle while hitting .351. Other heavy hitters are Neshaminy’s Sophia Beretski (.500, 21 RBI, 34 runs), Burlington Township’s Alisha Patel (.421, 16 RBI), Pemberton’s Gabriella Earley (.424, 5 homers, 37 RBI) and Harley Gowdy (.366, 16 RBI).
MCCC BASEBALL FRONTRUNNING
Coming off its strong World Series run in 2017, the Mercer baseball team is tied for first place in the Region XIX Division II standings with Lackawanna. Mercer (22-11-1) is 5-1 in region play while Lackawanna is 6-2. The Vikings were ranked sixth in the NJCAA Division II national rankings in preseason but have since slipped to “also receiving votes.” After a 3-4-1 start, MCC has won 19 of its last 26.
Nottingham grad Sean McGeehan is batting .342 with seven doubles, a triple, four homers and 21 RBI. McGeehan has a .608 slugging percentage. Ewing’s Moses Vigo is hitting .290. Steinert’s Sean O’Boyle is 1-2 with two saves, a 1.21 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 22.1 innings; while former Spartan Dave Stec is 2-0 in three starts with a 1.00 ERA. Nottingham’s Ronnie Voacolo is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 11 appearances.
DAZZLING DEBUT
The College of New Jersey Softball team is 19-5 overall and 7-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, and look no further than freshman Alanna Namit as a major reason.
The Governor Livingston graduate from Mountainside is 9-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 74 strikeouts this year. Namit is second in the NJAC in strikeouts and third in ERA. She has been chosen NJAC Rookie Pitcher of the Week four times, including the past two weeks.
In her latest award-winning week, Namit threw 6.1 innings in a 3-2 win over No. 18 Rowan University and allowed two earned runs and six hits while striking out six. In a 10-2 win over Ramapo, Namit went six innings and allowed one hit and one run while striking out eight.
Steinert grad Gaby Bennett leads the Lions in hitting (.444), runs (26) and on-base percentage (.468). Bennett’s former high school teammate, Jess Giordano, is having a big year for Cabrini, batting .403 with 28 RBI and forging a 7-4 record after winning her sixth straight decision Saturday.