Is it time to call Jeff Mejia’s Knights team a dynasty?
bserver came out earlier 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 the tournament.
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 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 4th straight year, 3 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 Coach Mejia.
“It’s been a great run. These kids always step up. They are a group of baseball players, that the tighter the game is the better they play.” Unfortunately, the Knights winning season would not transfer to NC.
They lost the 2 games they played, leading to an early exit. The 1st game they lost to Tyler Junior College, 5-1, and then 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 including, Coach Mejia winning Coach of the Year, and MacDaniel Singleton, Keith Linnane, Ryley Warnock, and Jake Rayner all winning Gold Glove Players of the Year awards. 7 players made it on the Division III All-New England team as well.
All the sophomores from the team have transferred to 4 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.
