Four Baseball Players and Coach Kevin Kerins Earn All-Region Honors; Vikings Enter Region 19 Tournament as No. 1 Seed
5/3/13
West Windsor, N.J. – With a record of 31-14, the Mercer County Community College Vikings enter the post season as the no. 1 seed in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 19 Division II baseball, earning a bye in the play-in round.
The Final Four Tournament will be held at Del Tech Owens May 10-12. The Vikings will face the winner of this weekend’s play-in game – either Del Tech-Owens or Morris County College. Other teams participating in the double-elimination tournament are Burlington County College and Lackawanna College.
According to Head Coach Kevin Kerins, the Vikings are playing some of their best ball of the year, having won 8 of their last 10 games. They closed out the regular season with an 11-4 win over Rutgers-Camden JV May 2.
Two members of the MCCC roster have been named among Region 19's top five players: outfielder Mark Tomei (no. 3) and pitcher Paul Piromalli (no. 5). Head Coach Kevin Kerins, who is completing his first full year at the helm, has been named Coach of the Year.
Sophomore Paul Piromalli on the mound, with outfielder Heath Fillmyer in the outfield. Both have been named to the First Team All Region.
Both Tomei and Piromalli have been selected to the First Team All Region, along with infielder Heath Fillmyer. Outfielder Dan Denton has been named to the Second Team All Region.
Kerins says the Vikings, who reached the Region 19 finals for the past two years, are focused on coming away with the title this time around.
He credits his players with working hard in the offseason and in the fall, which enabled them to be competitive from the very first game.
“This group of athletes has grown and improved by working together as a team,” Kerins said. He notes that many times they are coming from high schools where they faced off as rivals, but that quickly falls away when they put on their green-and-gold Mercer uniforms.
For the full schedule and game results, visit www.mccc.edu/athletics. Vist the NJCAA Region 19 website here.