MCC Sweeps Season-Opening Doubleheader at Roxbury CC

JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass. (March 24) – Sophomore right-handed pitcher/third baseman Nick Jones (EAST WINDSOR) struck out six and allowed one hit over three scoreless relief innings to record his seventh collegiate win in the first game of a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Region XXI doubleheader and freshman right-hander Liam Ohlmann (WALLINGFORD) pitched three scoreless relief innings in the second game for the victory as the Manchester Community College baseball team swept Roxbury Community College, 13-2 and 7-3, in the season opener for both schools Saturday afternoon at Boston English High School.

The Cougars (2-0 overall, 2-0 NJCAA Division III Region XXI), one of 14 teams under the designation of “other teams receiving votes” in the 2007 preseason NJCAA Division III Baseball Poll released on Feb. 16, had 19 hits over 14 innings. The 2006 team had a .348 batting average, the seventh highest in NJCAA Division III baseball.

Jones (1-0), the all-time strikeout and wins leader at Cheney Tech, went 6-0 with a 2.73 earned-run average in 2006 at University of Connecticut at Avery Point, an NJCAA Division I school. He allowed one walk and a hit batsman, facing 11 batters over the fourth through sixth innings. Jones went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three walks, one run and one RBI as a third baseman/pitcher.

Ohlmann, a transfer from Virginia Tech with freshman eligibility, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and one run as the first baseman in the first game.

Sophomore Andrew McKenna (WATERBURY) had a two-run single in the eight-run fifth inning. Sophomore second baseman Aaron Granahan (THOMASTON), a 2006 NJCAA Division III All-Region XXI selection, recorded two hits in three at-bats, three runs and one RBI.

Freshman right-handed starting pitcher Jeff Raymond (HEBRON), a 2006 RHAM High School graduate, pitched three innings and left with a 3-2 lead. He struck out five and allowed no earned runs, three hits and three walks. Freshman right-hander Kevin Garrison (BERLIN) pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two.

In the second game, Ohlmann (1-0) struck out three and allowed three hits, one walk and hit two batters. He relieved starter Shane Legare (WILLINGTON), who missed the 2006 season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. Legare, a 2005 third-team NJCAA Division III All-American with eight home runs, allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits. He struck out five over three innings. Legare pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Roxbury CC in 2005.

Freshman center fielder Bubba Green (TORRINGTON) went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and freshman catcher/first baseman Kevin Clements (VERNON) 3-for-4 with two runs in support of Legare, Ohlmann and freshman right-hander Chris Van Steenbergen (PORTLAND).

Angel Vilerio (0-1) and Rafael Pequeno (0-1) were the losing pitchers for Roxbury Community College (0-2, 0-2).