The Bucks County Community College Centurions baseball team went deep as the seventh-seeded team in its first-ever appearance in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series, but was eliminated Wednesday, May 18, after a heartbreaking one-run loss to top-seeded Penn State DuBois.
The Lions edged the Centurions 8-7 at Showers Field, a municipal stadium in the city of DuBois.
The Centurions had suffered their first loss in the opening game of the tournament, a 3-0 shutout to 10th-seed Bryant & Stratton – Albany on Monday. But they rebounded Tuesday with a 12-2 shellacking of No. 6 D’YouVille, followed immediately by a 7-4 victory over eighth-seed Southern Maine Community College. That set up the tight contest with Penn State DuBois Wednesday.
It was the first time that Bucks had been invited to the tournament, and the first baseball team invited from the new Eastern States Athletic Conference. The Centurions received the invitation after they won their first ESAC conference championship by defeating Central Penn 14-5 on May 5 in Newtown.
Led by head coach C.J. Brancato and assistant coach Andrew Lihotz, the Centurions finished the regular season with a record of 26-21-1.
“The USCAA Small College World Series was a wonderful experience for our student athletes,” said Matt Cipriano, director of student life and athletic programs. “We’re very excited about the future.”
The tournament wrapped up May 19, when fifth-seed Apprentice School captured the third title in school history with a 23-17 win over fourth-seed Miami-Hamilton.
Bucks County Community College sports are Division II, non-athletic scholarship and compete in the USCAA. Bucks offers six intercollegiate sports in the USCAA, in addition to eight club sports. Visit bucks.edu/athletics for more information.
