OCC Baseball Team Finds Its Groove

As the Ocean County College baseball team heads into the final 10 games of its season, the Vikings seem to have found a balance.

The Vikings (12-3) hit a bump over the weekend, splitting a doubleheader with Northampton Community College but showed the ability to bounce back. Chris Gehrsitz (Jackson Memorial) suffered his first loss, allowing 16 hits and 11 earned runs in the 14-7 defeat.

But OCC took the second game 7-1, as Matt Daukshus (Howell) struck out four over seven innings for the complete-game victory.

The Vikings have been successful because they get offense throughout their lineup.

Brick graduate John Sullivan has been solid in the leadoff spot for the Vikings, and was 3-for-7 at the plate, scoring four runs, in the doubleheader. He is batting .371 overall with 11 RBI.

CJ Pulcine (Raritan High School) had 3 RBI in the 7-1 win over Northampton. He is batting .326 and has 9 RBI.

Joe Karagiannakis (Toms River North) was 3-for-7 in the doubleheader with a pair of RBI. He is batting .411 with 15 RBI for the season.

Angelo Miragliotta (Henry Hudson) is batting .408 with 17 runs scored, and Jordan Reizer (Howell) is hitting .358 and has seven stolen bases.

The Vikings are headed to Lincroft today for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Brookdale Community College. Then the Vikings host Camden County College on Thursday before a weekend doubleheader at Bergen Community College.

And the first game against Northampton aside, the Vikings’ pitching has kept runners off the board. Gehrsitz had four complete-game victories prior to the loss, Daukshus has given them a solid second pitcher, and Pat Meagher (Wall) has been a solid reliever.