The Vikings open play Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern time against Brunswick CC of North Carolina.
WEST WINDSOR -- The Mercer County Community College baseball team is back on track. Like a locomotive.
After the regular season wound down with a couple of lopsided losses, the No. 2 junior college team in the nation had to regroup. They did so in impressive fashion, winning the Regional 19 championship two weeks ago and then sweeping the districts last weekend.
As a result they are back in the Junior College Division II World Series.
The Vikings open play Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern time against Brunswick CC (40-16) of North Carolina. MCCC goes into the double-elimination tournament having won 25 of its last 29 games.
"We got to working, refocused everybody and have been able to handle our business in the playoffs,'' head coach Kevin Kerins said.
Kevin Kerins They did more than handle business in the districts, advancing to the Series by outscoring Region 20 champ Essex Community College of Baltimore 32-9 in two games.
"I was happy that in the first game we had five hits and a couple of home runs and counted on the long ball,'' Kerins said about the 7-1 victory. "Then in the second game we had 27 hits and didn't hit a home run. So I was happy we weren't sitting back and relying on the long ball.''
The 27 hits led to a 25-8 win, giving the team a 48-8 record.
The Vikings will throw pitcher Andrew DiPiazza in the opener. The 6-7, 240-pound University of Alabama transfer is 9-1. Kerins hasn't announced who the Game 2 pitcher will be for Monday's game.
The games will be streamed live on www.njcaatv.com.
DiPiazza pitched six innings against Essex, allowing only a single. D.J. Endler led the offense with one of the home runs and drove in three. The other home run was by Hamilton's Anthony Peroni.
In the clincher, nine players had multiple hits, led by Vinnie Vaccone's four hits and two RBI, and Jordan Gonzalez going 3-for-3 with five ribbies. Endler and Anthony Boselli each drove in three runs.
"The first thing I told the guys at a team meeting,'' Kerins said, "was that there are two types of teams that go to the World Series. There are teams that are happy to be there and teams that still want to put work in and keep grinding. We've had a tough week of practice; we were in the weight room Monday.''
Playing no small role in the team's success have been five assistant coaches: Shawn Reindel, Russ Stupienski, Matt Zegari, Fred Carella and Matt Weckerle.
MCCC appeared in the JUCO Division II World Series two years ago, going 1-2 in Enid, Okla. Kerins felt the experience could help this year's team.
"I spoke about the umpires, because last time the strike zone seemed to be a little tighter. I talked about adjusting early and getting a feel of that the first couple of innings and not getting frustrated.
"And I talked about diet, and eating right when you're living in a hotel for seven-eight days. The biggest thing is that every team there is good, but it's not necessarily the most talented team but the toughest team that advances.''
This season, Mercer has usually been both.
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