DAYTON — Sinclair Community College, with a 53-12 record, finished the best season in school history with a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division II College World Series.

Making their first ever appearance, the Pride made it to the final day of the World Series with a chance to bring home the national championship. Unfortunately they left 14 runners on base in the 11-4 season-ending game against Jones County, according to the Sinclair athletic department.

A big reason for the Pride’s success was the play of sophomore infielder Chad Roberts of Wilmington, who hit .444 in the World Series. For the season, he hit for a .352 average, a .446 on-base percentage and 74 hits with 13 home runs and 67 runs batted in.

Not only was this Sinclair’s first trip to the World Series, it had been 25 years since an Ohio team made the trip.

The Pride won the first two games of the tournament before getting knocked off by Gateway 6-3. As this was a double elimination tournament, the Pride still had a chance and was back at it Friday.

In a win or go home game and with an opportunity to play on Championship Saturday, Sinclair handled Mercer County with ease Friday night 11-1 to stay alive.

Faced with winning two games on Saturday, Sinclair battled Jones County early and kept the game close until a five run explosion opened up the game. In the end, Sinclair was able to get runner on base but could not get the clutch hits to bring them home and keep pace with Jones County.