When the last edition of the Observer came out this past May, the NECC Knights had just finished the regular season with a 25-2 record, winning 16 straight to round up the season. The team qualified for the number 1 seed in the in the Region XXI tournament, where they crushed the competition and won.
On the first day of the competition they defeated Massasoit, 9-1, in a game that would only make it to the 7th inning before the mercy rule was called because the Knights were clobbering the Warriors.
The next day the Knights kept rolling, beating Holyoke 10-4, and then the day after in the championship game of the tournament they went on to win against Holyoke again with a final score of 17-7. The Knights made it to the NJCAA DIII World Series for the fourth straight year, three of those coming under Coach Jeff Mejia.
“It is a new location this year and it should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to getting to North Carolina. We know the routine now and that should definitely help us,” said Mejia prior to the World Series. “It’s been a great run. These kids always step up. The tighter the game is, the better they play.”
Unfortunately, the Knights’ winning season would not transfer to N.C. They lost the two games they played, leading to an early exit. The first game they lost to Tyler Junior College, 5-1, and they lost in the elimination game the next day against Century College, 10-7. Their losses in the World Series did not take away from their amazing season.
The NECC Knights won many individual awards. Mejia won Coach of the Year, and MacDaniel Singleton, Keith Linnane, Ryley Warnock and Jake Rayner all earned Gold Glove Players of the Year awards. Seven players made it on the Division III All-New England team as well. All the sophomores from the team have transferred to four-year colleges which is no easy task.
The NECC Knights are looking forward to their fall practice season, where they will get ready for the regular season in the spring and look to dominate on the field once again.
