NIACC edges Northeast CC in tourney opener

WEST BURLINGTON - The fifth-seeded NIACC baseball team advanced to the second round of the NJCAA Region 11 tournament with a come-from-behind 5-4 win over fourth-seed Northeast CC at Community Field, the home of the Burlington Bees.

NIACC, which trailed 3-0 after five innings, trimmed the deficit to 3-2 a pair of runs in the sixth inning and tied the contest with a single run in the seventh inning.

Northeast CC took a 4-3 lead with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

NIACC took a 5-4 lead in its half of the ninth inning on a two-run triple down the left-field line from freshman Eli Anderson.

NIACC's Cooper Mollet held the Hawks scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning for his second save of the season.

NIACC (24-27) now faces top-seed Iowa Central (44-9) in the second round of the regional tournament at 2 p.m. Friday. Northeast CC (37-19) faces DMACC at 7 p.m. Thursday in an elimination game. 

In the Trojans' eighth inning, McCollow was hit by a pitch, Adam Berghult singled and Anderson plated both of them with his fourth triple of the season.

The two runs in the eighth inning made a winner out of southpaw reliever Luke Stevens, who recorded the final two out of the eighth inning for his first career win.

NIACC starter Ben Rosin, a sophomore right-hander, allowed four runs on nine hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in 7 1/3 innings of work. The nine strikeouts matched Rosin's career high.

Rosin now has 107 career strikeouts with 22 walks. Rosin became the 12th pitcher in NIACC history with 100 career strikeouts and he is tied for ninth on the school's career strikeout list with Nick Veale (2013-14).

Rosin wasn't the only NIACC player to reach a milestone in Thursday's tournament win. Sophomore Bennett McCollow collected his 100th career hit with a solo home run in the seventh inning that tied the game at 3-3.

McCollow became the 27th player in school history in the 100-hit club. It was also McCollow's 27th career home run, which ranks fourth on the school's career home run list.

The 1-run win by the Trojans was their first win in the regional tournament since the 2019 season when they topped Ellsworth 13-3 in six innings in an elimination game.

NJCAA REGION 11 TOURNAMENT

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

NIACC 5, Northeast CC 4

Kirkwood 8, DMACC 7 (12)

Northeast CC 8, DMACC 7

FRIDAY'S GAMES

11 a.m. (Game 4) - (2) Southeastern vs. (3) Kirkwood

2 p.m. (Game 5) - (1) Iowa Central vs. (5) NIACC

5 p.m. (Game 6) - Northeast CC vs. the lowest seeded loser in Games 4 and 5

SATURDAY'S GAMES

11 a.m (Game 7) - Game 6 winner vs. highest seeded loser in Games 4 and 5

2 p.m. (Game 8) - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner

5 p.m. (Game 9) - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser

SUNDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1 p.m. (Game 10) - Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner

4 p.m. (Game 11) - If necessary second championship game