Vazquez, Marcano earn World Series honors

Greeneville, TN (June 1, 2023) – Sophomores Jairo Vazquez (Lawrence) and Anthony Marcano (Boston) of the Northern Essex Community College baseball team were both recognized on Thursday evening at the conclusion of the NJCAA World Series with tournament honors.

Vazquez was named the Pitcher of the Tournament, while Marcano was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Vazquez earned a win Sunday night in the Knights tournament opener, a 1-0 win over Joliet Junior College. In that outing he pitched seven shutout innings, striking out six, while scattering five hits. He came back on Wednesday afternoon to close out the win over Niagara County earning his first save of the season pitching the final 1 1/3 innings of the 9-8 victory to secure NECC their top three finish. To earn the save he struck out three of the four batters he faced. He finished the year as the national leader in ERA 0.93 and tied for first in strikeouts with 121.

Marcano earned his spot on the All-Tournament batting .500 with eight hits in 16 at bats. Two of his eight hits were game winning home runs. A solo shot on Sunday night to record the only run of the game, while his second inning three run homer on Tuesday afternoon that cleared the 30 foot scoreboard in left center proved to be the game winner as the Knights hung on for 9-8 victory. On the season Marcano finished with a 1.000 slugging percentage which ranks second in the nation.

As a team, the Knights concluded their season on Wednesday night. After eliminating Niagara County to claim a top three finish, the Knights fell to Dallas-Eastfield one win shy of the championship round and finished the year at 38-8. It was the programs third overall top three finish in their ninth overall appearance in the World Series.