SLCC Bruins Host West District Championship Tournament For First Time

SALT LAKE CITY – SLCC Bruins baseball opened the West District Championship with a bang, dispatching Southeast Community College by a 10-1 score.

The Bruins are hosting the West District Championship for the first time in program history Thursday, May 19 through Saturday, May 21 at Cate Field in West Jordan, Utah. The College of Southern Idaho (40-18) punched their ticket to the tournament by finishing second, behind SLCC, in the Region 18 tournament last weekend. Colorado Springs based Southeast Community College Storm (45-12) clinched their spot by winning the Region IX title. Out of Coolidge, AZ, the Central Arizona College Vaqueros (48-10) took home the District I title in order to advance.

@slccbaseball Welcomes Southeast CC Storm,Central Arizona College Vaqueros,& College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles to Cate Field for the @NJCAABaseball West District Championship. @SCCBASEBALLNE @CAC_BaseballDB9 @CSI_Baseball @PBR_JUCO @BruinAthletics @JUCOWorldSeries #RoadToGJ pic.twitter.com/uLmwctAsLt

— SLCC BASEBALL (@slccbaseball) May 18, 2022

Game 1: SLCC Bruins 10 – SCC Storm 1

Bruin ace Derek Eaquinto went the distance in the Bruins 10-1 run-rule shortened seven inning win over the Storm.

SCC got on the board first with a pair of second inning singles, the latter from designated Eric Anderson that scored Zach Johnson. Eaquinto allowed just four baserunners beyond the second inning while striking out seven Storm hitters.

Bruer Webster and Hunter Swapp combined to go 4-7 at the plate with six runs batted in at the top of the Bruins lineup. Cade Perkins chipped in a pair of base hits while scoring two runs. Dalton Hodge and Jaxon Weatherly added solo home runs. Weatherly’s homer came in a pinch hit appearance.

Caleb Ruter went 3.1 innings in the start for SCC. He gave up five runs on four hits while walking four and hitting two batters.

Game 2: CAC Vaqueros 22 – CSI Golden Eagles 16

The Vaqueros outlasted the Golden Eagles as the two teams slugged their way to 35 base hits and 38 runs scored in this 22-16 Central Arizona win.

A possible explanation for the comically high score in this game could be that for the first time this season, all players were required to use metal bats. This rule will be in place through the JUCO World Series.

Region 18 champion (11) @slccbaseball defeated Region 9 champion @SCCBASEBALLNE 10-1 to open the Western District Tournament on Thursday in West Jordan, UT. In the other matchup, Region 1 champion (6) @CAC_BaseballDB9 won a slugfest with Region 18 runner-up @CSI_Baseball 22-16.

— Dan Cabrera 🎙 (@DanTheVoice) May 20, 2022

Trailing 13-8 to begin the eighth inning, Central Arizona exploded for five extra base hits over the final two frames leading to 14 runs.

All but two starters picked up a hit in the game with Garrett Thomson three home runs keeping CSI close. Kiko Romero and Ashtin Webb finished with three base knocks for CAC. Two of Romero’s three hits were long balls.

Up Next

The West District Tournament resumes on Friday, May 20 at noon with Southern Idaho taking on Southeast CC in the losers bracket.

Here is the Live Stream link for the @NJCAABaseball West District Championship hosted by @slccbaseball at Cate Field, West Jordan, UT—https://t.co/fVFJ6od5Xp@BruinAthletics @SCCBASEBALLNE @CSI_Baseball @CAC_BaseballDB9 @SccstormA @CSIAthletics1 @athletics_cac @PBR_JUCO

— SLCC BASEBALL (@slccbaseball) May 19, 2022

At 3:30 p.m. SLCC faces Central Arizona with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship round while the loser will play the winner of the CSI/SCC matchup. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (MST). Tickets for each day of the tournament can be found at slccbruins.com.

The winner of the West District Tournament will advance to the JUCO World Series scheduled for May 28 – June 4, 2022. The JUCO World Series will be played at Sam Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, CO.

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