The Roadrunner Baseball team will be in familiar territory this weekend when they host the North Atlantic District / Region 19 Championship Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.

Coach Rob Valli's team, the defending NJCAA Division III national champions who are currently ranked No. 1 in the country, will face No. 4 seed Middlesex in an 11 am first pitch in Deptford, NJ.

As second matchup, to take place at 11 am at RCSJ Cumberland, will pit No. 2 Northampton vs. No. 3 Brookdale.

The winners will square off in the winners' bracket in a 3 pm start at site TBD while the losers will also meet in an elimination game at 3 pm with the site TBD.

See the full schedule on the tournament home page at:

https://rcroadrunners.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/releases/20240515vtr0au

The Runners, who finished with a strong 43-7 overall record, will rely on one of the top lineups in the nation, led by Gavin Degnan, Caden Dulin, Max D'Alessandro, Juan Peralta, Ernesto Polanco, and RJ Mustaro. This group combined has assaulted opposing pitchers for 46 home runs and 390 RBIs during the current season.  D'Alessandro is second in the nation with 16 home runs while Dulin leads the nation with 84 RBIs.

On the mound, Valli can go to several top pitchers, including All-Region performer Danny Kerr..

The Colts enter the contest with a 35-20 overall record, including a 21-12 mark in the conference.

Middlesex, which ended the regular season with five straight wins, will rely on sophomore outfielder/pitcher Michael Wansaw, who posted a sizzling .428 batting average with 50 RBIs, 80 hits and 61 runs scored in the regular season. On the mound, the southpaw hurler turned in a 6-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and 108 total strikeouts.

On the mound, the Colts can also rely on right hander Jakob Anderson (8-1 record) and lefty Ryan Tomasula among others.

During the regular season, the Roadrunners won 2 of the 3 games played during a series in March 2024.

Check back for tournament results.