The Dominican College baseball team won the 2021 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship on May 15, 2021 with a stunning 6-5 victory over the south second seed, Thomas Jefferson University, in a game played at Alumni Field in Philadelphia, PA. DC’s win secured the 18th CACC Championship in program history

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Dominican struck for a run on the two-out solo home run off the bat of second basemen Carmine Giordano (New Rochelle, N.Y.).  Jefferson would counter in the bottom half of the inning with the RBI single up the middle to make the score 1-1. Dominican scored in their half of the sixth inning as catcher Bobby Garbuio (Chappaqua, N.Y.) singled up the middle to plate Richard Paulino (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic), who had led off the inning with an infield single and had moved into scoring position on an error to re-take a 2-1 advantage. TJU led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run over the left field fence to retie the score at 2-all and the game would remain tied until the ninth inning.

In the top of the ninth, right fielder Brian Sanders (La Ceiba, Honduras) led off the inning with a single up-the-middle and later moved to second as Paulino was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with one out.  A walk issued to Garbuio loaded the bases for freshman left fielder Shane Hewlette (Deer Park, N.Y.) who delivered what would be a game-winning triple to center field that brought home all three runners to lift the Chargers to a 5-2 lead.  Two batters later, designated hitter Benjamin Meza (Miami, Fla.) scored Hewlette with a double down the left field line for the 6-2 lead.

Jefferson rallied in the bottom of the ninth with three runs on two hits and a wild pitch and had the tying run on second base with two outs, but reliever William Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded the game ending strikeout for the win.  Hewlette, Sanders and Paulino all had two hits in the game, while Hewlette had a game best three RBI. Espinal picked up the win in two innings of relief, allowing three runs (none earned) on three hits and collecting five strikeouts. Starter Jaden Diaz-Lambert (Erial, N.J.) went five innings, allowing one run on four hits and recording seven strikeouts.

For his outstanding play in the tournament, Hewlette was named the 2021 CACC Baseball Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP) and to the All-Tournament Team. Joining him on the all-tournament team from DC were: Sanders, Paulino, Diaz-Lambert and Espinal.

The Chargers (19-13) earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament slated to begin on May 27th.

 

 

 

The Dominican College men’s golf team won the 2021 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Golf Championship held April 19, 2021 at White Beeches Golf and Country Club in Haworth, NJ.

This is the program’s fourth CACC Tournament Championship with the others coming in 2001, 2002 and 2018.

As a team, the Chargers finished with a combined score of 305 to win the CACC Championship, while Concordia College took second place with a score of 306.  Golde-Beacom College finished in third place (311), followed by Felician University (330), Chestnut Hill College (340), Thomas Jefferson University (345) and the University of the Sciences (354).

Freshman Alexander Lundvall (Stockholm, Sweden) was the individual medalist with the low round score of 71 (-1).  On the front nine, Lundvall recorded two birdies on holes two and five and added a third on hole 11.  On the front nine, he finished with a 36 (-1) and followed with a 35 (E) on the back nine to earn All-Tournament honors.

Alejandro Gomez Cervantes (Torreon, Mexico) finished in a tie for fifth place overall with a score of 76 (39, 37) to join Lundvall on the All-Tournament Team.  He recorded one birdie on hole 14.

Freshman Nicholas Arrieta (Bucaramanga, Colombia) recorded a 77 to tie for seventh place and finish with three birdies on holes one, 14 and 17.

Juan David Fajardo (Bogota, Columbia) and Daniel Acosta Murguia (Torreon, Mexico) both tied for 12th place after shooting an 81 on the day.  Acosta recorded a birdie on hole 17.

 

Dominican College Head Softball Coach Joseph Burbridge has written a book, Suzi Softball, that he hopes will encourage young people to be more accepting of others.  The book follows the adventure of a young softball determined to make everyone feel included.  Suzi ultimately persuades neighbors – like Franny Football, Bobby Basketball, Vicky Volleyball and others – that they can be friends with people who are different.

“I really think it’s a simple way of saying, ‘Don’t leave anyone out and everyone just get along,’” said Burbridge.

Burbridge has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education.  Prior to coaching at Dominican College, he taught and coached students in elementary school and high school.  Burbridge will be donating $1 from the sale of each Suzi Softball book to the dirt 2 turf campaign, which will fund the construction of a new turf field on campus. For more information about Suzi Softball and to purchase the book, visit www.suzisoftball.com

Dominican College Head Men’s Basketball Coach Joseph S. Clinton has been named the All-Met Division II Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year by the Met Basketball Writers Association.

During the 2019-2020 season, the Chargers captured the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) North Division regular season title.  Clinton then guided his team to a second straight conference playoff championship and a second consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament.  The NCAA cancelled the regional tournament in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Clinton said he considers the Coach of the Year award “a team award” and he credits his coaching staff with doing a great job.   “The assistant coaches and players were awesome.  They put in a lot of hard work and it paid off for us.  We were disappointed they had to cancel the regional because this was a team that had the potential to get to the Elite Eight,” he said.  “I am really going to miss this senior class.  They won a lot of games in their careers and won two championships.”

This is the third time that Clinton has been named All-Met Division II Coach of the Year.  Clinton, who also serves as Director of Athletics, has 29 seasons and 857 games as the head men’s basketball coach.

 

The 2019-2020 women’s and men’s basketball team got advice on how to be successful on and off the court from former New Jersey Net standout Mike O’Koren at the annual Tip-Off Dinner on October 24, 2019.

O’Koren said that during his career he learned that fundamentals, confidence, and camaraderie are all key to performing well on the basketball court.  At the University of North Carolina, Koren was an All-American athlete and played under legendary head coach Dean Smith.  He was a first round selection of the New Jersey Nets in 1980 and played with the club for ten years.  O’Koren then moved on to coaching as an assistant coach with the Nets, the Washington Wizards, and Rutgers University.

College trustee and former Charger basketball player Michael McLaughlin, ’90, told the athletes in attendance, “As great of a player as he is, off the court he is an even better person.”

O’Koren’s advice to the athletes went beyond tips for a successful athletic career.  He told them to be successful in life they needed discipline and should strive to make their parents proud. “You know the difference between right and wrong,” he said. “Follow that right path and make them proud and good things will certainly happen for you.”

The Tip-Off Dinner was held at the Casa Mia House in Blauvelt, NY.

The Dominican College mens basketball team won the 2018-2019 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship on March 10, 2019 after downing the top seed, Bloomfield College, 70-55, in a game played on Corino Court on the campus of Caldwell University.

With the win, Dominican (23-7) earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA East Regional Tournament. Making their third consecutive CACC Championship Final appearance, DC brings home the crown for the first time since joining the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II back in 2000.

Junior guard Daraja Rodwell (Baldwin, N.Y.) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and to the All-Tournament Team.  Teammates Jonathan Garcia (Springfield, Mass.) and Ian Gardener (Norwalk, Conn.) also joined Rodwell on the All-Tournament Team.

The Chargers opened the game with the first five points, but the Bears rallied to take an 11-9 edge with just under 11 minutes left in the first half.  Gardener tied the game with two free throws and began a 17-1 tear that saw DC jump in front 26-12.  BC would cut the lead to 26-21 in the final two and half minutes, but Rodwell recorded back-to-back trey’s and Tavon Ginyard (Brentwood, N.Y.) closed out the half with a layup to give the Chargers the 34-21 lead at the intermission.

Dominican would lead by as many as 20 points in the second half as Ginyard connected on a three-point bucket (68-48) with 3:31 left in regulation en route to the 70-55 win.

Dominican College’s former Women’s Basketball Head Coach Steve Baxter was posthumously inducted into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Hall of Fame.  The induction ceremony took place before the start of the women’s basketball game on Saturday, February 16, 2019 on the Coach Baxter Court in the Hennessy Center. Baxter passed away in 2006.

“We are extremely proud that the Hall of Fame Committee selected Steve Baxter into this year’s class of inductees,” said Director of Athletics Joseph S. Clinton.  “Steve was one of my best friends for more than 30 years.  We called him ‘the legend’ because he had been a member of our DC family for so long.  He was a guy you could lean on at all times and he truly cared about the student-athletes.”

Baxter served for 29 years at Dominican College in a variety of roles, including 24 years as the women’s basketball head coach. A three-time CACC Coach of the Year, Baxter led the Chargers to 16 CACC Tournament appearances and two trips to the NAIA Division II National Tournament. He compiled a career record of 361-328, and was among the top 15 in career wins among NAIA coaches when he retired in 2001.

Coach Baxter Court serves as the home venue for the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams.  The court was dedicated in the legendary coach’s memory on October 14, 2006.

As the 2018-2019 basketball season was about to get underway, Charger athletes  were told that their character was their most important possession.  They were encouraged to have discipline and stay focused. The words of wisdom came from special guest speaker Frank McLaughlin at the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tip-Off Dinner on October 25, 2018.

Mc Laughlin is a member of the ECAC Hall of Fame and New England Basketball Hall of Fame.  He was a standout basketball athlete at Fordham University and was drafted by the New York Knicks.  His coaching career included serving as assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame and head coach at Harvard University.  McLaughlin then returned to Fordham to take over as athletic director.  In 2012, he was promoted to associate vice president of student affairs for athletic alumni relations at Fordham – a position he still holds.

“Winning is extremely important.  You are getting ready to start the season. You’ve got to understand that winning is important.  I get that because I’m from Fordham and Vince Lombardi was a Fordham man and there was nothing more important than winning – except winning the right way,” said McLaughlin. “I think you’ve got to remember that as the season starts.  Lombardi always preached to his team that it was God, country, family, and then team.”

Trustee and former Charger basketball player Michael McLaughlin ’90 explained that the idea behind the Tip-Off Dinner is to energize the players and have speakers that give insight into what made them successful.  He described his uncle Frank McLaughlin as an incredible human being.  “Were’ trying to give you guys role models, not just on the court, but off the court,” he said.

The Tip-Off Dinner was held at the Casa Mia House in Blauvelt, NY.