With Three Players over Age 30, DCCC Men’s Baseball Opens Season with 10-2 Win
Delaware and Chester Counties, PA - March 6, 2025)—In the 2002 movie “The Rookie,” actor Dennis Quaid rediscovers his talent and passion for baseball at age 35. The Delaware County Community College Phantoms men’s baseball team, which won its season opener on Feb. 28, boasts three over-30 players on its roster. The Phantoms face a challenging 43-game schedule, competing against seasoned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II and III opponents, along with formidable teams from other conferences.
The 2025 roster introduces returning talent infused with an incoming class of new faces poised to make an impact. Returners Benjamin Beasley and Izaah Perocier, both graduates of Upper Darby High School, are expected to bring veteran leadership, along with Eric Engesser of Downingtown West High School, last year’s team MVP, who aims to add power to the middle of the batting lineup. Kiyon Pinkney, 2024 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and 2024 All-Metropolitan Baseball Team award recipient, is one of three out-of-state players who signed a national letter of intent and made the journey to DCCC to be a part of Coach Ryan Hunter’s first recruiting class, with large expectations of restoring pride in the Phantoms baseball program. He is joined by Landyn Washington, a graduate of Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) and Jackson Davis, a graduate of Saint Elizabeth High School (Wilmington, Del.). They’re joined by Chichester High School graduate Josh Claycomb.
The starting pitching rotation will be led by second-year player and West Chester Henderson alum Hunter Whitten. Whitten led the team and was among leaders in Region XIX in innings pitched in 2024. Projected to join him in the rotation are Davis and Matt Delacruz, a transfer from West Chester University. First-year student Brady Kopishke (Lower Dauphin High School) will also see significant innings on the mound as a reliever, as will Claycomb and Engesser. Newcomers Jeremy Cronin (Penncrest High School) and Talon Mohl (West Chester East High School) will compete for innings on the mound as well.
With a roster loaded with first-year players, the team’s ambitions are high and the DCCC Phantoms are determined to showcase their skills and strive for a successful campaign. For more information on the team and the complete 2025 season schedule, visit dcccphantoms.com
