Cougars Records and Awards

The 2017-2018 season was a historic year for the Camden County College Cougars baseball program.  A number of school records were broken as well as two of the Cougars received All Region XIX selections.

Freshman Infielder Ryan Swift was voted onto 3rd Team All-Region XIX.  Swift had quite the season for the Cougars batting .307 with 11 extra base hits including a homerun in the Region XIX playoffs against the Brookdale Jersey Blues.  Swift also managed to swipe 11 bases for the Cougars this season.  What was truly remarkable was Swift lead the entire NJCAA at the Division III level in walks with 39.  Swifts On-Base Percentage was .470 for the 2018 season.  Ryan not only put up great offensive numbers but he played a very solid defense for the Cougars posting a .950 fielding percentage in 159 chances with only 8 errors while turning 23 double plays in the middle infield.

Sophomore Outfielder Matthew Jefferson was also voted into 3rd Team All-Region XIX. Jefferson had a remarkable season leading the Cougars with a .376 batting average. Jefferson managed to swipe 29 bases for the Cougars while only striking out 11 times in 141 at-bats.  Matt posted an impressive .464 On-Base percentage as well.  Jefferson managed to have 4 assists from the outfield this season.

Coach Merkh had this to say about his two All-Region XIX selections.  "They were our catalyst for a large portion of the season.  Most games those two were our one-two punch at the top of the lineup.  They were always on base, they could run, bunt, do it all really.  Mini (Matt Jefferson) will certainly be missed in our line up next season but Gwynedd Mercy is certainly getting a great young man who I'm sure will make a major impact in their lineup.  Luckily we get to hang onto Swifty for another year.  He's just a flat out gamer.  Shows up day after day, works his tail off and was so consistent in what he brought to the team defensively every day.  Pretty special what he did for us offensively as a freshman, not many young players in this region have the discipline and determination he had this season."

Those two were not the only Cougars who had great years for the Cougars however.  Quite a number of single season and career school records were broken this year. Sophomore pitcher, Peter Berenato broke the school career record for strikeouts fanning 124 batters in 2 seasons.  Sophomore Outfielder Hunter Brelsford played more games than any Cougar in school history playing in 96 games in two seasons. Ryan Swift set the school record with 39 walks in a single season. Sophomore Pitcher Bobby Girgenti finished 2nd in his career in games started with 20 games in two seasons and is now in the top 3 in school history in career strikeouts and career innings pitched.  The 2018 Cougars baseball offense also broke the school walks record with 263 free passes. The pitching staff for the second consecutive season broke the school strikeouts record fanning 367 batters.

With 2018 in the books, the Cougars finished tied for 3rd All Time in Team Wins with 30. Looking ahead to the future with quite a number of returning players next year, 2019 certainly looks to be another great season. Until next year, GO COUGARS!