By PAUL GOTHAM
ENID, OK — One team’s pitching staff is among the leaders in the nation. The other squad’s power numbers rank at the top of the country. Monroe Community College and Iowa Central Community College will square off in the opening game of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II World Series on Saturday. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 10 MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRIBUNES
(37-8/Region 3)
vs.
No. 7 IOWA CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRITONS
(50-10/Region 11)
10 AM (Central), Saturday, May 23rd
David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma.
How they arrived here: Monroe CC opened the postseason with a sweep of Region 19’s UConn-Avery Point (5-3/4-0) in the sub-district series. The Tribunes then topped Westchester CC (11-1) before taking two straight from Mercer County CC (13-3/6-3) to claim the East District Division II Championship.
Iowa Central opened the postseason with wins over Ellsworth CC (11-1) and Kirkwood CC (7-4) before falling to Southeastern CC (5-4). The Tritons rebounded with a win over Des Moines Area CC (11-2) before avenging the previous loss by taking two from Southeastern (17-4/8-7) to claim the Region 11 title. Iowa Central then swept Williston State College (12-3/9-3) to take the North Plains District Championship.
Trends: MCC has won six straight and eight of nine holding opponents to three or fewer runs in seven of those games. Iowa Central has averaged 10.7 runs in its seven postseason wins.
Iowa Central leads all of DII in team runs (818), hits (703), home runs (182), RBI (753), on-base percentage (.515) and slugging (.748). Monroe tops the country in team batting average against (.245), is fifth in earned-run average (4.57) and second in strikeouts per nine innings (11.65). The Tribunes 17 triples are second in DII.
Players to watch for MCC: Zane Barron So. C (.281/.425/ .244 RCS percentage); Cam Bentley Fr. LHP (3.64 ERA, 4 SVs); Tyler Cannon Fr. DH (.398/.468/.546); Aidan Gallagher So. CF (.399/.495/..601); Parker Holden So. RHP (4-2, 4.38 ERA); Tanner Holmes Fr. OF (.329/.427/); Miguel Matos So. 1B (.283/.437); Connor Osier So. RHP (9-1, 14.74 K/9); Aaron Reina Fr. SS (.335/.412/.548); Braedon Reina So. LF (.420/.535/.687); Michael Sardou So. 2B (.453/.554/.799); Jaden Sherwood So. RHP (4-2, 2.83 ERA); Thomas Woodridge Fr. 3B (.374/.523/.450); Cos Zeiser So. RHP (6-0, 2.68 ERA).
Players to watch for Iowa Central: George McIntyre So. INF (.495/.626/1.034/30 HR – leads nation); Sawyer Stein (.456/.567/.1.015/110 RBI – leads nation); Tate Perrin Fr. OF (.399/.540.820); Sam Sejnoha So. OF (.360/.454/.697); Will Specht Fr. OF (.311/.513/.652); Isaiah Brennan So. RHP 8-2, 5.37 ERA, 12.92 K/9); Carter Giesen So. RHP 5-1 6.02 ERA, 14.53 K/9); Maddux Gast 8-1, 4.26 ERA); Maddox Sullivan RS Fr RHP 5-1, 2.52 ERA); Ethan Biggar Fr. RHP (4-0, 5.45 ERA).
Head coaches: Dave Brust (MCC), Eric Stein (Iowa Central).
What’s Next: The winner will face No. 2 Pearl River (Region 23) on Sunday. The double-elimination tournament will continue for the losing team on Monday with the opponent TBA.
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