UNION, NJ - The Northampton Baseball team claimed their first-ever Region XIX Championship with an 8-4 victory over Brookdale Community College at Kean University on Tuesday morning.
The Spartans, who clawed their way back through the losers bracket with victories over RCGC (6 to 4) and Brookdale (20 to 7) on Monday, jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the Jersey Blues and held on for the 8-4 victory and the automatic bid to the NJCAA World Series.
Tyler Melko (Knoxville, PA/Cowanesque Valley) was 3 for 5,
Tommy Dunleavy (Bushkill, PA/East Stroudsburg North) was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and
Corey Stouffer (Souderton, PA/North Penn) added 2 hits and 2 RBI for the Spartans, who finished with 16 hits in the game.
Andrew Corso (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) earned the win, coming back after throwing 8 innings on Sunday morning in Northampton's victory over Cumberland. Corso went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits while striking out 3 and walking one.
Drew Jackson (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga),
Dakota George (Palmerton, PA/Pleasant Valley) and
Tommy Dunleavy (Bushkill, PA/East Stroudsburg North) each threw an inning to finish off the game, combining to allow no runs on 5 hits and striking out 3.
Tournament MVP
CJ Peechatka (Henryville, PA/Pocono Mt. East ) finished 1 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.
The Spartans, now 34-13, advance to their second consecutive NJCAA World Series.
Northampton, the #5 seed, will face 4th seeded Oakton Community College (IL) at 9:30am on Saturday in Greeneville, TN at Pioneer Park.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOX SCORE
