No. 1 seed RCSJ advanced to the championship round in the NJCA Division III World Series with a 5-1 win over No. 2 seed Dallas College Eastfield in a national semifinal Tuesday.
The Runners are now just one win from winning the 2023 Division III National Championship!
Prior to the premier matchup between perhaps the two top teams in the nation, RCSJ Coach Rob Valli said this was a game the Runners could not wait to play.
"At some point the two best teams have to battle it out on the field and see what happens," said Valli. "This is a game we looked forward to."
Freshman slugger Cole Fowler led the way with two RBIs and a run scored and paced the early scoring attack for the Runners. He slammed an RBI double in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1 and then scored on a wild pitch moments later to give his team a 2-1 lead.
He then added an RBI single in the third inning, scoring Felix Diaz, to boost his team's lead to 4-1 at that point. RCSJ added one more run on an RBI fielder's choice by Scotty Young that brought home A.J. Tropiano from third base for a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth.
Click Here to View Photo Highlights vs. Dallas College Eastfield
Starting pitcher Ethan Shaub enjoyed a solid second straight playoff outing following a clutch performance in the Region 19 championship game on May 21st. The southpaw out of Haddon Township High School scattered four hits, allowed one earned run and struck out four in four innings of work.
"We were confident that Ethan (Shaub) was the right guy to start against a talented team like Dallas Eastfield," said coach Rob Valli about Shaub, an All-American last season.
Winning pitcher Ethan Dodd finished the job, hurling five innings, allowing just four hits and no earned runs while striking out out six batters.
The Runners await their next opponent once the elimination brackets are completed on Wednesday. Niagara County plays Northern Essex in the first elimination game at 3:30 pm with the winner advancing to play Dallas College Eastfield at 7 pm.
Follow results at:
https://www.njcaa.org/sports/bsb/2022-23/div3/national_championship/National_Championship_Results
