Golden Eagle Ball Off and Running After Spring Break Trip
Rock Valley College Baseball started off their Spring Break trip in Harrison, AR. The Golden Eagles split with North Arkansas College, winning 5-4 and losing 10-5.
Aaron Cusimano (Machesney Park, IL) impressed on the mound, throwing a complete game in Game 1. At the plate, RVC was lead by the leadoff man,
Joey Kiesau (Appleton, WI), who collected four hits total on the day.
On Day 2, the Golden Eagles collected their first sweep of the year to begin the Texas part of their road trip. RVC defeated Northland Community and Technical College 4-0 and 3-0. Pitching was the focal point of the day with
TJ Chance (Machesney Park, IL) and
Justin Dye (O'Fallon, IL) securing wins.
Drew Behling (Waupun, WI) hit his first collegiate home run, while
James Marcinkowski (Sycamore, IL) added two hits of his own, including a triple.
Golden Eagle Ball split on the next set of games at Richland College (Dallas, TX) on Day 3. RVC fell in 10-0 in Game 1, and rallied to win 10-5 in Game 2. Keisau continued to stay hot, hammering out three hits on the day.
Brenden Alsup (Rockford, IL) added two hits and knocked in three runs to help fuel the RVC offensive attack.
The Golden Eagles played a single game on Day 4 against North Lake College (TX). The RVC bats heated up throughout the ball game, with the offense putting up 21 runs on 24 hits. Keisau reached base on six occasions, and knocked in three runs. Marcinkowski contributed 6 RBI's and his first collegiate home run. Sophomore
Keegan Mickey, however, put together the most impressive numbers of the day in hitting 2 home runs and knocking in 6 RBI's. The final score ended 23-10 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
RVC finished up the trip with 2-9 inning games against #6 Brookhaven College (TX) and Longview Community College (Lee's Summit, MO). Golden Eagle Ball dropped both games, 14-6 and 17-10. Key performers included
Sam Ballano (Rockton, IL), who reached base five times, while Marcinkowski added his second home run of the trip.
"I think we showed stretches of who we are going to try and be late in the season," said Head Baseball Coach
Chad Herren. "For our young guys, there is an adjustment to playing Golden Eagle Ball. We need to build on our "dirt bag" mentality that will allow us to scrape through in tight ball games. We saw some bats come alive, and some strong efforts on the bump. We need to get back to work in our programs to continue to develop."
Rock Valley College Baseball received votes in the NJCAA DIII National Poll released on March 6th. This marks the first time in the
Chad Herren era where Golden Eagle Ball achieved national recognition. The Golden Eagles return to action Tuesday, March 13th on the road at Olive-Harvey College.
