Richland Falls to Defending Champs in Semifinals, Await Potential Rematch with Eastfield Tuesday
AUBURN, N.Y. – Dallas College Richland's baseball team fell 8-2 to defending national champion Rowan College South Jersey Gloucester Monday night in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series semifinals.
Richland (42-19) now awaits the winner of Tuesday's 2 p.m. CT elimination game between Dallas College Eastfield and College of DuPage in the elimination semifinals 6 p.m. Tuesday for a crack at RCSJ Gloucester (50-8) in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament at Falcon Park.
The Thunderducks scored the game's first two runs in their first at-bats, taking advantage of a wild pitch that allowed Jouseph Gelpi to race home and Trey Smith's RBI groundout. But the Roadrunners answered in the bottom half of the inning with two of their own to tie it.
Gloucester took the lead for good with two in the third and four in the fourth, and Richland had no answer.
The Thunderducks were held to three hits, while the Roadrunners racked up 14. The three hits were the fewest Richland has had this season.
Smith doubled in four plate appearances. Kelton Phillips went 1-for-3, and Teagan Peeples had a hit in four at-bats. Gloucester's Caden Dulin went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Juan Peralta doubled twice in a three-hit day. Gavin Degnan was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Max D'Alessandro had a two-run home run in the third to put the Roadrunners ahead for good. Wyatt Hoffman was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Gloucester's Thomas Goldberg (4-3) went eight innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk, and struck out 14 in the victory. Doug King pitched a perfect ninth inning. Richland's Daniel Norris (2-4) allowed seven runs, six earned, on seven hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. Devin Jennings worked the final 4.2 innings, giving up seven hits, a run and no walks, and fanned seven.
The two runs were the fewest for the Thunderducks in their last 15 games.