Westchester Community College Athletics

The true definition of road warriors. The 2014 WCC baseball team would not have a home field due to field renovations occurring on the Valhalla Campus. Being a nomadic team, the season would shape up to be a cornerstone of Viking history.
The season would start per the norm for Head Coach Billy McClure, a southern Jersey trip to get a few games in before Westchester’s Florida Spring Training Trip down to Fort Pierce, Florida. The Vikings, 1-2 at the time, would have a hefty schedule down in the sunshine state, playing 11 games in six days going up against East District foe UConn Avery-Point, Division 2 perennial powerhouse Kirkwood Community College, and a handful of Junior Varsity teams of 4-year schools. SUNY WCC would come out of the Sunshine State 7-4 pushing their overall record to 8-6 as they headed back to northeast baseball.
Going into Conference/Regional play, the Vikings were eager to make a statement over 2013 Champions Rockland however, the Hawks would prove otherwise. RCC would take the four-game series 3-1 putting Westchester outside of the top-4 needing to make the playoffs. The Vikings season would of seemed to be skating on thin ice with a 12-9 record just before their next Conference series against SUNY Orange but one game in particular just may have flipped the switch from making a good team into a great team. April 9^th, SUNY WCC would host Globe Tech at Manhattanville College. The Vikings would get on the board with an early 3-0 lead after the first inning, however, no lead would be safe in the innings to come. Globe would belt out 14 unanswered runs in the next two innings. Not to be outdone, the Vikings would put seven runs on the board trailing the Division 1 NJCAA school by four. By now, both offenses would continue to tack on runs until the end of the 8^th inning. Heading into the 9^th, Westchester would lead, 22-20, with 20 hits on the afternoon. Pitcher Steven Gallello would come in and close the door for the Vikings earning his first save of the year.
From that game until the Conference Playoffs, Westchester would go an impressive 13-4 and earn the #2 seed in the double elimination tournament. The Vikings would mercy rule SUNY Orange and SUNY Sullivan to head to the Championship game against the Colts of SUNY Orange. Westchester would win 5-2 over the Colts capturing their second Region 15 title in 3 years and move onto the East District Tournament which ironically, the Vikings would host.
In the East District Tournament hosted at Rockland Community College, SUNY WCC would face familiar foe UConn Avery-Point and Mercyhurst North East in the three-team double elimination tournament. The Vikings would defeat the Pointers in a run-rule shortened game 12-4, putting them a step closer to the College World Series. Then came Mercyhurst. The Saints would quiet the bats of Westchester with a 4-2 victory putting them in the driver’s seat being one win away from Enid, Oklahoma. With their backs against the wall knowing it needed to be 18 innings of baseball, Westchester would forever etch their name in program history. Defeating Mercyhurst 6-3 in game one, the Vikings now set up a win and take all situation. Behind a complete game performance by Steven Gallello, Westchester would take away a 9-2 victory becoming the first Region 15 school to head to the NJCAA Division 2 College World Series and the first time as a Division 2 program.
At the World Series, the Vikings would lose to eventual semi-finalist Madison College from Wisconsin 11-3 putting them in the elimination bracket. Westchester would take on Northern Oklahoma-Enid the following day in front of a full David Allen Memorial Ballpark Stadium but would come up just short, ending their magical season by the score of 8-6 finishing the year at 33-17.
The Vikings 2014 season would be covered by many accolades. Six players would be named to the All-Region Team; pitcher Tyler Allen (1^st team), infielder/pitcher Steven Figueroa (1^st team), outfielder Fabio Ricci (1^st team), outfielder Matt Cassinelli (1^st team), infielder Billy Sabinski (2^nd team), and Region Player of the Year Justin Cassinelli. Both Fabio Ricci and Justin Cassinelli would be named NJCAA All-Americans. Justin who was named on the first team for All-American, would hit .458 on the season with 82 hits, 20 doubles, 59 RBIs, .507 on base percentage, and .615 slugging percentage. Head Coach Billy McClure would be named both Region 15 Coach of the Year and East District Coach of the Year. The Vikings as a team ended up hitting .337, with 512 hits, 362 runs, and had a .421 on-base percentage, all within the top 30 in the nation.