Gators fall short in Region/District tournament

The Virginia Peninsula Community College baseball team finished its season with a 14-9 loss to Paul D. Camp in the Region 10/Mid-Atlantic District tournament May 10. The Gators went 1-2 in the tournament, which was played at Hooker Field in Martinsville, and closed with a 15-36 overall record for the year.

The Gators opened the tournament with a 2-0 victory over No.5 seed Rockingham Community College (N.C.) on May 8. Zack Easton (Hermitage High School/Richmond) and Logan Contreraz (Deep Creek/Chesapeake) combined on the shutout. Easton went the first seven innings, holding the Eagles to five hits and striking out seven. Contreraz pitched the final two innings, giving up no hits and striking out one. The only scoring came in the third inning on RBI singles from Brendan Walker (Lancaster) and Justin Bryson (Arbor View/Las Vegas), both with two outs. Marco Fernandez (Spanish River/Fla.) had two of the Gators' eight hits.

That victory put the Gators into the double-elimination portion of the tournament against top-seeded Caldwell Community College (N.C.) on May 9. The teams had met six times in the regular season, with the Gators winning twice. This game came down to the final inning, with the Cobras holding on for a 4-3 victory. The Gators put the potential tying run on base in the top of the ninth. Aiden Feather (Grassfield High School/Chesapeake) hit a two-run home run in the top of the first for an early lead, but Caldwell tied it in the bottom half. The Cobras took a 3-2 lead in the sixth, but Israel Dozier (Kempsville/Virginia Beach) tied it with an RBI single in the seventh. However, the Cobras eked out the deciding run in the bottom of the eighth. Feather and Dozier each had two of VPCC's four hits.

That loss put them in an elimination game May 10 against No.2 seed Paul D. Camp Community College. The Gators went 2-4 against the Hurricanes in the regular season. The Gators fought back after giving up five runs in the first and again after a five-run fourth but lost 14-9. The Gators cut their deficit to 5-4 with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth. Walker had an RBI single, and Fernandez had a sacrifice fly in the third. One inning later, Jayden Alvarez (Woodside/Newport News) drew a bases-loaded walk and Walker had another RBI single.

After Camp scored took a 10-4 lead in the bottom half of the inning, the Gators rallied again, cutting it to 10-7 with a three-run sixth inning. Fernandez drove in a run on a single, and the other two runs scored on an error. But the Gators couldn't score again, and their season ended.

The Gators outhit the Hurricanes 17-10, with Johnson, Walker and Fernandez getting three each. Dozier, Alvarez and Bryson had two each.

Several VPCC players earned Region 10 awards so the Gators didn't leave the tournament empty-handed. Named to the first team were Dozier and Feather; second-team selections were Kaden Hunley (Middlesex), Bryson, Fernandez, Alvarez and Cameron Johnson (Nansemond River/Suffolk); and making the all-defensive team were Dozier (1B), Fernandez (SS), Bryson (3B), Johnson (OF).

Surry, the No.3 seed, won the championship with a 13-9 victory over Caldwell and received a bid to the NJCAA DIII World Series at Falcon Park in Auburn, NY on May 24-29, 2025.

For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu.