CCBC Essex Drops Tough One to #1 Seed Chesapeake College in Region 20 Semifinal

Wye Mills, MD — In the first round of the double elimination Final Four Region 20 Tournament, CCBC Essex ran into a red-hot Chesapeake College squad and fell 12-2 on Friday afternoon.

Chesapeake, the tournament's top seed, jumped out early and never looked back. The Skipjacks plated two runs in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer from Smithhart and an RBI walk by Clay. They extended their lead inning by inning, including a three-run third sparked by a two-run triple from Bott.

Freshman Connor Bailey (Salisbury, MD / Parkside) provided a bright spot for the Knights with a solo home run to center field in the fifth. It was his second of the season.

Sophomore Arnaldo Carrion (Wellington, FL / Wellington) started on the mound for CCBC Essex and took the loss. He allowed six runs on six hits over 2.2 innings, striking out two and walking four. Heiser, who defeated Essex for the second time this season, earned the win for Chesapeake. The righty went six innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out three.

Sophomore Maxwell Urena (Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King), Sophomore Jimmy Perez (Queens, NY / HS for Arts and Business), and Bailey each recorded a hit for Essex. Eduardo Zayas (Cidra, PR / Bilingual Education School) and Bailey drove in the Knights' two runs.

Smithhart led Chesapeake's offense with four RBIs, while Bott and Smithhart both had two hits. The Skipjacks were patient at the plate, drawing 13 walks, and played flawless defense without committing an error.

CCBC Essex (28-26) will now play in an elimination game on Saturday with hopes of fighting their way back to the Region 20 title game and a shot at a NJCAA National Tournament berth.