CUMBERLAND — No. 5 seed CCBC Essex was the better team from the start, defeating fourth seed Allegany College of Maryland 14-4 in seven innings in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 20 playoffs held at Steve Bazarnic Field on Tuesday.
The Knights (20-27) never trailed and ended the game scoring seven unanswered runs.
The Trojans (28-21) kept it close early on, but several mistakes prevented any chance of a comeback.
“It’s a tough game,” Allegany head coach Mason Heyne said. “I think that week layoff hurt us a little bit. They just outplayed us, they came ready to play. It’s unfortunate but it’s baseball, it happens.”
Daniel Silgado led off the game for Essex and went deep for a solo home run, giving the Knights an early 1-0 lead.
After Allegany tied the game on a groundout in the first, Essex began to pull away. A throwing error in right field allowed two runs to score in the second to give the Knights a 3-1 lead.
Essex scored four runs in the third inning. JD Robinson singled, Gregory Tulloch doubled and Colin Miller tripled, all driving in runs. The Knights led 7-1 in the third inning.
“I knew if we kept it within four, we had a chance just because of our bats,” Heyne said. “When they start getting ahead six runs, it’s tough for anybody.”
The Trojans responded in the third inning with a pair of home runs. Greg Borges and Christian Toledo each went deep to left and both hit the scoreboard. Allegany cut its deficit to 7-4.
“There’s an old saying that the home run kills rallies,” Heyne said. “With this group, it doesn’t seem to matter because I feel our line-up’s pretty solid. We’re gonna miss a lot of these guys.”
Shais Roman singled in the fourth driving in a run and an error at third base the following inning drove in Essex’s ninth run.
The Knights sealed the game in the seventh with five runs. A fielder’s choice and sacrifice fly each drove in a run. Silgado doubled driving in two and Waskar Vicente Martinez singled driving in one.
Errors were a problem for the Trojans who committed four in the game. Two errors led to runs scored. They also had several other defensive mistakes that allowed Essex to pull away.
“We had untimely errors,” Heyne said. “A lot of their runs were unearned. We made those errors and a couple guys get on. If we eliminate those errors, I think it’s a different game. We’re probably still playing right now.”
Allegany used four pitchers, none lasting more than two innings. John Dhima was the bright spot, going 1 1/3 innings. He allowed one hit, one unearned run and one walk with two strikeouts.
“When you get in the playoffs, sometimes you roll the dice and not throw your number one,” Heyne said. “That’s what we did today, JR (Luttrell) started and in April I think he had a 3.00 ERA. I thought he’d be a solid pick but they just had our number.”
Borges, Hunter Fiori and Joel Wise each had two hits for the Trojans.
“Greg’s been solid all year,” Heyne said. “Great player, hopefully he has a good career after this. It’s gonna be tough to see some of those guys leave.”
Michael Gamble went four innings for Essex, allowing six hits, four runs and two walks with one strikeout. Reed Adams went three innings, allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
Silgado, Vicente Martinez and Robinson each had three hits for the Knights. Miller had two hits including a triple.
The Knights attacked Allegany’s pitching early and often, combining for 17 hits. The Trojans combined for eight.
“They came out swinging,” Heyne said. “I don’t think they combined for 17 hits when we played them at their place in a doubleheader. It happens, it’s part of the game.”
Allegany’s season comes to an end while Essex advances to play No. 1 seed Frederick on Friday at 3 p.m. at Cecil College.
“Up and down year for sure,” Heyne said. “Lot of emotions all year. We played really well and could beat anyone in the country. Then we’ll play and we probably can’t beat a local high school team. It’s just one of those things, but I’m happy we got to host a playoff game. I think it’s been 13 years that we’ve hosted a game, so that was special.”