By William Joseph
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Middlesex College defeated Camden County College, 18-16, in baseball on April 22. It was a back-and-forth game that came down to the last two innings.
Before the game, Camden center fielder Billy Bentliff said the team knew this was a big game in Region 19. “We work hard every day. We just want to go out and execute,” Bentliff said.
He finished the game with three runs scored and two runs batted in.
Camden led, 5-4, after three innings. As the game went on, the tension rose through the crowd and players as they knew neither team would go away. After six innings, Camden led, 16-10.
Everything seemed to be going Camden’s way, even after the seventh inning, when Middlesex fought back with five runs to make it a 16-15 game with Camden still in control at home. The momentum shifted to Middlesex’s favor in the top of the eighth inning, as a batter knocked a three-run homerun to give Middlesex the lead for good.
After the game, CCC right fielder Richie Burger spoke about the loss. “We fought hard and executed well throughout most of the game but it can’t just be most of the game. We have to put it all together for all nine innings,” Burger said. “We had chances to make more plays, just didn’t go our way at the end but we will be better going forward.”
He finished the game with one run scored and two RBIs.
After this game, Camden’s record was 22-12 and Middlesex’s record was 24-16.
Camden County College teammates huddle and break down at the end of the game. By William Joseph, CCC Journalism Program