MIDDLESEX COLLEGE BASEBALL RANKED #15 IN WEEK 1 NJCAA D3 NATIONAL POLL
Middlesex College Baseball is off to another fantastic start and people around the country have taken notice.
The Colts, who are off to a 7-4 start under Head Coach CJ Mooney and have been ranked as the #15 team in the country in Week 1 of the NJCAA Division 3 National Poll.
The team's biggest win of the young season was a 6-2 victory over RCSJ-Gloucester, the nation's number one team and defending NJCAA Division III National Champions.
Middlesex just completed a 4-2 trip to the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach with victories over Minnesota North-Itasca, Illinois Valley CC (twice), and Clark State of Ohio.
The national attention for the Middlesex baseball program is nothing new as the team has appeared in the rankings each of the past two seasons. Middlesex won a total of 73 games over the past two seasons, one of the highest totals among NJCAA Division III teams in the country.
Through 11 games this season, Middlesex has already achieved a number of highlights. Among them was the performance of Ryan Tomasula (Sophomore/Edison, NJ) against Illinois Valley CC. The lefty threw a no-hitter with five strikeouts in a 12-0 victory.
Among teams who have played less than 15 games, Middlesex is 11th in the country with 90 runs scored. They are 23rd in the nation among qualifying teams with a .284 team batting average and 17th in the nation among qualifying teams with a .435 slugging percentage.
Pitching has been a strong suit for the Colts as well. Currently, Middlesex ranks 8th in the nation among NJCAA Division III teams with a 4.07 team ERA and 13th among qualifying teams with a 1.52 WHIP.
Michael Wansaw (Sophomore/Elizabeth, NJ) is among a number of Colts who are off to a hot start with the bat. He is leading the team through 11 games with a .516 batting average (16-31), which is good for sixth overall in the country among players with at least 30 at bats. Wansaw also leads the Colts in hits (16), doubles (3), runs (13), stolen bases (5) and slugging percentage (.774).
John Oranchak (Freshman/East Brunswick, NJ) is second on the team in hits (13) and runs (12) and is one of just five NJCAA Division III players in the country to have three triples in the young season.
Dylan Lugo (Freshman/East Brunswick, NJ), Brett Lukachyk (Freshman/Woodbridge, NJ), Gavin McBeath (Indianapolis, IN) and Matthew Troche (Sophomore/Fords, NJ) all have batting averages over .300 as well. Sal Della Fave (Freshman/Edison, NJ) currently paces the Colts with 12 RBIs.
The pitching staff has been led by Jakob Anderson (Freshman/Middlesex, NJ). The righty is 3-0 on the season with a 2.40 ERA. He has struck out 15 batters in 15 innings. Anderson was the winning pitcher against #1 RCSJ-Gloucester, allowing just three hits while striking out four in five innings of work.
Ryan Rzepinski (Freshman/Bayonne, NJ), Della Fave and Wansaw have also been key members of the staff.
Middlesex joins RCSJ-Gloucester, Brookdale CC and Northampton as the four schools from Region 19 who are ranked in the top 15 this week. RCSJ-Cumberland also received a vote for the top 15.
FULL WEEK 1 NJCAA D3 NATIONAL POLL