Delgado looks to exact revenge in South Central District Championship now set to begin Saturday

Neosho, Mo. – The combatants have familiarity with each other.

Last season, Crowder made the trip to New Orleans to Kirsch-Rooney Stadium.

Both teams defeated Eastern Oklahoma State before the Roughriders downed the Dolphins.

Delgado came back to beat Crowder to force a winner-take-all game.

The Roughriders prevailed 9-1 to advance to the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

It was a very good season for Delgado with a bitter ending.

The Dolphins have a chance to avenge that bitter ending in the South Central District Championship here in Neosho, Missouri.

The three-team tournament now begins Saturday at noon when Delgado faces Seminole State of Seminole, Oklahoma before taking on host Crowder College at 3 p.m. Seminole squares off with Crowder at 7 p.m. You can watch all Delgado games in the tournament live at www.delgadoathletics.com and listen live on Dolphin Radio 99.1 FM.

The schedule has been pushed back a day due to bad weather in Neosho today.

While Eastern Oklahoma State is not here, Seminole State is here and is playing very well.

The Trojans are 41-20 and will face Delgado in game one of the championship series Friday at noon.

Seminole State is led by sophomore Xavier Casserilla, who has been tremendous this season, batting. 401 with 24 home runs, 86 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Sophomore Blake Nichols is hitting .382 with 19 homers and 67 RBI and sophomore Jackson Halter is batting .358 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. On the mound, sophomore Rabert Bavon is 8-1 with a 4.56 ERA and freshman Gio DeGraauw is 8-2 with a 5.29 ERA.

Crowder College has led the Roughriders to four Junior College World Series appearances, including a year ago.

Crowder is outstanding again at 50-11 on the season.

Freshman Kolton Reynolds leads the way at .392 with 18 home runs and 76 RBI, sophomore Josh Livingston is batting .329 with 19 homers and 64 RBI, freshman Joey Morton is hitting .348 with 15 homers and 82 RBI. On the mound, freshman Ashton Branson has been nails, unbeaten at 11-0 with a 3.54 ERA while sophomore Brett Gastman is 6-0 with a 4.31 ERA.

Seminole and Crowder split a pair of regular season games with the Trojans winning 11-4 and the Roughriders winning 14-4.

The Dolphins have played very well, going 42-11 and sweeping through Region 23 play at 17-0.

Freshman Logan O’Neill of John Curtis Christian leads the offense with a .397 average with eight home runs and 30 RBI, sophomore Cade Pregeant of St. Charles Catholic is batting .386 with 45 RBI and freshman Jhonnatan Ferrebus is hitting .377 with four home runs and 37 RBI. On the mound, Samford commit Carson Lore is 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA while sophomore Chris Olivier, a UNO commit, is 10-2 with a 4.26 ERA.

The Dolphins have a host of experience returning from a year ago, including catcher J.T. Singletary of Lakeshore, who has 11 homers and 40 RBI, right fielder Josh Alexander of Assumption, who has 10 homers and 58 RBI and accounted for the only run in the title game loss to Crowder last season with a home run. Tyler Cook of Archbishop Rummel is also back while closer Kaile Levatino of St. Charles Catholic has been excellent with six saves and Cory Cook of De La Salle is back from last year’s team to provide pitching depth, along with Turner Toms and Tyler Velino of Brother Martin.

In 2014, Delgado made the trip to Neosho and emerged as champion, beating host Crowder and defeating Seminole State twice in three games, including a 7-6 thriller to advance to the College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Delgado also defeated Seminole State in the 2015 South Central District championship in reaching the World Series.

In 2017, Delgado beat Seminole State but lost twice to Crowder College in the district championship at Joplin, Missouri.

The Dolphins defeated Seminole State in the 2018 South Central District championship.

In 2019, Delgado downed Crowder College at Joplin.

In 2021, the Roughriders easily defeated the Dolphins at Owasso, Oklahoma.

Delgado coach Joe Scheuermann has taken four teams to the College World Series and would like to make it five.

“We have pretty good memories here,” Scheuermann said. “We were able to get it done here a couple of years ago to get us to the College World Series. I think our kids have seen what the Crowder program is about. Our kids have been there, done that and I hope that pays off for us. Seminole State is a traditionally rich program. You don’t get to the Oklahoma regional if you’re not good.”

Sophomore Bryan Broussard Jr. of Holy Cross is a prominent part of Delgado’s success this season and was a star for the Dolphins a year ago when Crowder downed Delgado to advance to the College World Series. The University of Louisiana commit believes in his team’s chances.

“They’ve got good arms but we’re just as good,” Broussard said. “We’re equal ballclubs but we’re just going to go at it this weekend. I think we’re better this year because we have younger guys in the lineup that are producing just as good as the vets on the team. It’s a team full of vets, to be honest and we’re more mature this year. We’re not going to back down from anybody.”

Scheuermann feels his team is primed and ready for the challenge.

“I think we’re not only better this year, we’re more mature,” Scheuermann said. “Our kids are probably battled tested a little bit. They know what they’re up against. We swing the bat one through nine. I think having a week off is a positive. It gives us a new, fresh start.”