The Bucks County Community College Centurions baseball team went deep as the seventh-seeded team in its first-ever appearance in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Small College World Series.

It was, however, eliminated on May 18, after a heartbreaking one-run loss to top-seeded Penn State DuBois.

The Lions edged the Centurions, 8–7 at Showers Field, a municipal stadium in the city of DuBois, Pa.

The Centurions had suffered their first loss in the opening game of the tournament, a 3–0 shutout to tenth-seed Bryant & Stratton – Albany.

But the local players rebounded the following day with a 12–2 shellacking of No. 6 D’Youville, followed immediately by a 7–4 victory over eighth-seed Southern Maine Community College.

That set up the midweek tight contest with Penn State DuBois.

It was the first time that Bucks had been invited to the tournament and the first baseball team to make the cut from the new Eastern States Athletic Conference (ESAC). The Centurions received the invitation after they won their first ESAC conference championship by defeating Central Penn 14–5 on May 5 in Newtown. 

Led by head coach C.J. Brancato and assistant coach Andrew Lihotz, the Centurions finished the regular season with a record of 26–21–1.

“The USCAA Small College World Series was a wonderful experience for our student-athletes,” said Matt Cipriano, director of student life and athletic programs. “We’re very excited about the future.”

The tournament wrapped up Thursday, May 19, when fifth-seed Apprentice School captured the third title in school history with a wild 23–17 win over fourth-seed Miami-Hamilton.

Bucks County Community College sports is a Division II, non-athletic scholarship program that competes in the USCAA. Bucks offers six intercollegiate sports in the USCAA, in addition to eight club sports.

To more on the Bucks baseball program is online.