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Men's Baseball Team Has Memorable Season
6/19/02
But that's where the "if onlys" come in. The Vikings entered the Region 19 tournament as the second seed, posting a 7 – 1 regular season record against the other three teams in the tournament. In the opener, they had a decisive 15 – 7 win against the defending national champ, Del Tech. They followed it with a crucial win against Brookdale in the semifinal round, 11 – 2. They needed to beat Brookdale just one more time to win Region 19 and advance to the "Super Region" round before heading to the NJCAA World Series. Unfortunately the Vikings suffered a heartbreaking 12 – 5 loss in the championship game and the season was over.
While there may not have been a title at season's end, high achievement was still the mark of this Vikings squad. The team's deep pitching staff was a key reason. No. 1 pitcher was sophomore Shaun Parker (6 – 1). Other pitching stand-outs included Josh Serfass (5 – 1) and Keith Cross (8 – 0), Tom Mower, Beau Burris, Nestor Reyes, Ed Francis and Tom Lagler. First baseman Pat Zegarski was lead scorer, while second baseman Keith Guthrie, shortstop Bob Brundage, catcher Justin Potpinka, centerfielder Adam Rehl, rightfielder Chris Talar, leftfielder Jon Wetzel and third baseman Matt Vibronek all made solid defensive and offensive contributions to the team. Parker, Wetzel, Mower, Zegarski, and Guthrie were selected for the Region 19 and All-GSAC first teams; Cross was named to the All-GSAC team.
This year marked Gallagher’s third successful and final season with the Vikings. He was ably assisted by Randy Voorhees, Gary Shunk and Kip Harrison. Under Gallagher's leadership the team's record was 92 – 35 and included a trip to the NJCAA World Series in 2000. Twelve former players transferred to NCAA Division I, II and III programs. Several members of this year's squad are expected to do the same. At the conclusion of the season, Gallagher announced his resignation.