NEW ORLEANS — After trailing 7-0 through three complete innings, Delgado completed a come-from-behind 10-9 victory over Nunez Community College to claim the 2022 NJCAA Region XXIII Division I title Sunday at Baton Rouge’s Pete Goldsby Field.
Nunez plated the game’s first run on Alex Roux’s double in the first inning and added a run on Harrison Boudreaux’s single.
The Pelicans batted around in the second to add four runs on three hits, including another two run double by Harrison Boudreaux to make it a 6-0 game.
Alex Roux added a run in the third on a sacrifice fly to add a seventh run. In the fourth, Josh Alexander led off with a double and Cade Pregeant reached as a hit batter. Brayden Caskey walked to load the bases with two outs before Ethan Lege was hit by a pitch to score Alexander as the first run. Singletary walked to plate Pregeant for a second run.
In the fifth, back-to-back singles by Josh Alexander and Cade Pregeant and a walk by Jake Fury loaded the bases before a double by Bryan Broussard scored two to cut the Nunez lead.
Caskey doubled to score Fury and Broussard. Caskey scored on a single by Ethan Lege as Delgado took a 9-7 lead over Nunez. In the sixth, Nunez reached on a leadoff error and Collin Zeringue singled before Collin Zeringue’s sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice tied the game at nine through six innings of play.
Ethan Lege led off the seventh with a single before Jacob Singletary homered to centerfield to tie the game at nine.
Michael Stutes doubled and scored on another double by Josh Alexander for the go-ahead tenth run. Nunez left two runners stranded in the seventh and eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Landon LeBlanc led off with a walk and Alex Roux singled before both runners were erased on a fielder’s choice. Collin Zeringue singled to advance Roux to third before an infield popup ended the game and secured Delgado’s 10-9 win in a game that saw a combined thirty-one hits.
Kaile Levatino picked up the win in an impressive six innings of relief of starter Jeremy Martin and Tyler Velino.
With the win, Delgado secured its twelfth consecutive Region XXIII Division I title and the program’s fifteenth in the past sixteen seasons. As Region XXIII champion, Delgado (35-14) earns the right to host the NJCAA South Central District Championship in New Orleans on May 20-22.
The tournament will feature Delgado and the champions from Region II (Missouri) and Region XVI (Oklahoma) with the winner of the three team, double elimination tournament advancing to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.
{Courtesy: Delgado Athletics}
