Baseball Caps Off Fantastic Season with First NJCAA World Series Berth
Hot on the heels of their best regular season finish in school history, the GateWay Geckos baseball team (40-21) carried their unprecedented success into the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Region I Tournament in May.
GateWay entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but promptly lost the first game of a best-of-three series in Round 1 to Scottsdale Community College. However, the team battled back to defeat Scottsdale the following game by a score of 13-9. In the thrilling series finale, the Geckos rallied from an early deficit, downing Scottsdale 4-2 behind a complete game by sophomore pitcher Danny Victorio.
The following week, GateWay matched up with Paradise Valley Community College in the Regional Championship needing only two wins to secure the team’s first-ever berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Baseball World Series. After defeating Paradise Valley in Game 1 by a score of 15-9, the Geckos utilized a strong performance by sophomore pitcher Kevin Collinge and excellent work by the bullpen to power past the Pumas 3-1 in Game 2. As a result, the Geckos became the first team in school history to reach the NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament, which will begin later this month in Enid, Oklahoma.
Coach Rob Shabansky is incredibly proud of the Geckos success thus far, and he is looking forward to continuing it during the team’s first trip to the NJCAA World Series.
As Region I/Southwest District champions, GateWay is scheduled to begin tournament play on Saturday, May 28 at 9:00am CDT (Central Daylight Time). All games will be played at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma. For complete bracket information, visit the NJCAA Tournament website.
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