Brick Grad Sullivan Homers As OCC Baseball Knocks Off 7th-Ranked Brookdale

The Ocean County College baseball team keeps rolling.

After a weekend where its doubleheaders were disrupted by lingering snow, the Vikings took the field Tuesday to face close rival Brookdale Community College of Monmouth County.

The Jersey Blues, consistently one of the best junior college baseball teams in the country, were ranked No. 7 coming into the game. There’s a good chance that ranking could fall some, after Ocean County College treated the Jersey Blues to the one-two punch of Chris Gehrsitz and John Sullivan.

Gehrsitz (Jackson Memorial) kept Brookdale’s hitters in check as pitched his second complete game of the season, and Sullivan smashed a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Vikings won, 6-4, on Tuesday.

Sullivan, the Brick High School graduate, was 3-for-5 at the plate, including the home run, with three RBI. Gehrsitz, meanwhile, struck out five and scattered 11 hits.

Brookdale took a 2-0 lead, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. OCC (4-0) replied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, then tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh to lead 4-2.

Brookdale rallied in the top of the ninth to tie the game, setting up Sullivan’s heroics. Joe Karagiannakis (Toms River North) was 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Brian Pintinics (Brick Memorial), batting ninth, was 2-for-4.

Ocean County College is headed south to play Atlantic Cape Community College today.