Falcons 8th seed in NJCAA World Series
May 23—The course Lackawanna College will have to take in pursuit of its first national championship in baseball was set Tuesday morning.
Head coach Michael McCarry's East District champion Falcons earned the eighth seed in the 10-team field for the NJCAA Division II World Series and will face ninth-seeded Glendale Community College from Arizona in the first round Saturday at 5 p.m. at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma.
The winner of that game will take on the tournament's top seed, Central District champion Heartland Community College on Sunday at 8:05 p.m.
The surprising champion of the West District, Glendale finished 10th in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference this season, with a 15-23 record. But the Gauchos were 17-5 outside of the conference, upset Chandler-Gilbert Community College in the district final and will be participating in their first Division II World Series since 2003.
Lackawanna was swept out of its last World Series in 2021, but there's hope after a strong run to the district championship last weekend at Scranton High School, this time will be different.
"I think we figured out who we are from an identity type of idea, how we can use everybody's skills to find ways to win," McCarry said as the team bussed to Enid on Tuesday morning. "We're really playing like a unit now and understanding the context of games throughout the day, which really helps us kind of stay stable. It makes me think we have a chance to win a couple of rounds here."
Winners of the 10 districts nationwide will compete between Saturday and June 3 to be crowned Division II national champion in a field stacked even without the nation's No. 1-ranked team in the final NJCAA Top 20 division poll.
Heartland finished the season with a 53-5 record on the way to the top seed, with Lansing Community College ranked second in the field. Both earned first-round byes.
Coming off a stunning upset of No. 1-ranked LSU-Eunice in the Gulf District championship series, third-seeded East Central Community College will face sixth-seed Southeastern Community College. Seventh-seed South Arkansas will face Frederick Community College, the No. 10. Madison College is the No. 4, and will face No. 5 St. Johns River State in the primetime game Saturday.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9125;
@DonnieCollinsTT;
@PennStateTT
