Baseball Team Eyeing National Tournament

(May 14, 2012) After winning an NJCAA sectional tournament this past weekend, Oakton’s baseball team is now three wins away from making its first appearance in the NJCAA Division II Baseball National Championship.

The Raiders put themselves in an early hole by losing 7-5 to Prairie State in extra innings to open the double-elimination tournament on May 12. However, Oakton stormed back by defeating Moraine Valley 11-3 later that day to advance to the championship game.

In the finals on May 13, the Raiders pulled out a 5-4 victory over Moraine Valley. In the win, freshman Brett Synek hit his school record ninth home run of the season and finished the day 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. He scored the winning run on a base hit by sophomore Dan Lauria in the seventh inning. Sophomore pitcher Nick Vidas picked up his sixth win of the season by pitching five scoreless innings.

Oakton (41-17) opens the NJCAA Region IV Finals on the road by taking on Madison College (40-11) at 12 p.m., Friday, May 18. The double-elimination tournament also includes Kankakee Community College (38-19) and Black Hawk College (43-9).

“We’re very excited about advancing to the final four,” said Head Coach Bill Fratto. “Our team never gave up and we came back to win in thrilling fashion. Earlier this year we defeated Black Hawk and Madison so we know we can compete with the best teams. It would be pretty special if we made it to the national tournament – that’s never been done before in school history.”

The NJCAA Division II Baseball National Championship takes place May 26 – June 2, in Enid, Oklahoma.