It's playoff time in the Spring of 2021, and expectations are high for Coach Rob Valli and his No. 1 nationally ranked Roadrunner Baseball team.
RCSJ Gloucester will serve as one of two sites for the North Atlantic District Baseball Tournament this weekend, May 21-23. The No. 1 nationally ranked Roadrunners meet Atlantic Cape CC in the opening round at 11 am Friday.
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With a roster that is healthy and has turned in an impressive 31-4-2 overall record, the Roadrunners hope to continue their success in the four-team tournament. Aside from the Runners-Atlantic Cape matchup, No. 2 RCSJ Cumberland will take on Northern Essex Community College in the opening round.
"We feel good going into the weekend," said Valli. "We've seen each of our opponents multiple times. If we play the way we expect to play, then we should have a great chance to win this tournament."
The Roadrunners are hitting .355 as a team and feature a solid lineup led by catcher John Cristino, who has slammed 12 home runs and knocked in 53 runs to go with his lofty .412 batting average.
Additional sluggers include leftfielder Nick Nocella (7 HRs, 28 RBIs, .423), rightfielder Sam Daggers (5 HRs, 38 RBIs, .354), shortstop Sean Szetowicki (7 HRs, 36 RBIs, .493) and infielder Dauri Genao (3 HRs, 41 RBIs, .418) among others.
"We're hitting .355 as a team and all of our starters are in the .300s and .400s," Valli commented about his lineup. "Plus we have some interchangeable parts off the bench, so we have options whenever we put our best nine on the field."
Pitching wise, the Runners are also strong. In Game 1, veteran right-hander Marcus Eusebio (6-1, 3.55 ERA) will get the call while sophomore righty Jack Billings (4-0, 2.06 ERA) will pitch Game 2. The Runners have plenty of depth in the ranks, most notably freshman lefty Chris Widger (7-0, 1.52 ERA), sophomore Rich Racobaldo (5-0, 3.82), sophomore Joe Marino (3-1, 4.15) and freshman southpaw Tom Kane (4-0, 1.32).
The double elimination tournament will be streamed live (weather permitting). Links will be posted once available. Updates will be posted on Twitter via @NJCAARegionXIX and @RCRoadrunners