
The Roadrunner Baseball team will make a return trip to the NJCAA Division 3 World Series -- and Coach Rob Valli points to two players as the catalysts for this success.
They are freshman Aaron Graeber and sophomore Shawn Dougherty, each of whom played key roles in helping the Runners win the Region 19/North Atlantic District Championship Saturday. The Runners rolled by RCSJ Cumberland, 9-1, in the title round to clinch the title and earn an automatic berth to the World Series.
Graeber was selected tournament MVP after rebounding from a rough opening game to the tournament Friday when he went hitless while making a costly error in the outfield. He came back to slam 2 home runs and knock in 4 RBIs to spark a semifinal win over Brookdale, followed by 5 hits and 3 RBIs to highlight the title game win over the Dukes.
"I've never seen someone bounce back in a tournament like Aaron (Graeber) did, and he was the difference maker in helping us win the Region championship," said Valli. "He deserves a lot of credit for showing resiliency and determination."
As for Dougherty, who played a key role in the semifinal win over Brookdale Friday, Valli was equally grateful. The veteran slugger, who has 11 home runs and 58 RBIs this spring, has led a high powered Roadrunner offense the entire season.
"From opening day on, Shawn Dougherty has gotten the job done for us, and we wouldn't be where we are without him," said Valli.
No. 2 seed RCSJ Cumberland advanced to the championship finals after routing No. 3 Brookdale 8-1 in a semifinal earlier. But the Dukes could not match that effort against the Runners on a steamy hot afternoon.
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The host team scored 3 runs in the second and 3 in the third for a 6-0 lead, and they never looked back.
"This was our goal all season to make it to the World Series, and we never stopped working,:" said Graeber, the lead-off hitter. "We have a lot of support throught our lineup, so we were very confident."
Three pitchers -- Ethan Shaub, Mike Racobaldo and Kevin Opanel -- combined to silence the Dukes' bat and preserve the win.
The Runners swept all three teams -- Northampton, Brookdale and RCSJ Cumberland -- over two days to earn the tournament championship.