HAMPTON — The Virginia Peninsula Community College baseball team’s record in 2025 was just 15-36, but that was the only place it fell short.
“We had personal records. We had team records. We had school records,” coach Shane Harrison said following his third season in charge of the program.
In going 10-14 in Region 10, the Gators set a program record for conference wins and beat every conference foe at least once. His players won 11 of the 33 awards handed out by the region, which consists of five teams.
“It was a great year. It was a history-making year,” Harrison said.
A closer look at the results shows the Gators weren’t far off from a much better record. They lost seven games by one run, eight by two runs, and three by three runs. In total, half of their losses were by three or fewer runs.
“We competed in 90% of our games,” Harrison said. “We could go to a game and know that we can win this game, unlike some of the past teams.”
Harrison saw early on his players were fighters. Even though the Gators lost their first 11 games, five were by one, two or three runs. Then, in a Region 10 series at home against Rockingham Community College (N.C.), the Gators made program history: Their first sweep of a region opponent.
The Gators won the first game 11-3 and the final game 6-2, but it was the second game that stood out to Harrison. They fell behind 2-0, batted back to tie the game, then won it 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“That was something that sticks out a lot in my mind because it was early in the season, and I just knew then that these guys were going to fight,” he said.
That they did all season. In the Region 10/Mid-Atlantic District III tournament opener, the No.4 Gators topped No.5 Rockingham 2-0 for the program’s first NJCAA postseason victory. Facing top-seeded Caldwell Community College next, the Gators lost 4-3 but had the potential tying run on base in the last inning. The following day, the Gators lost 14-9 but rallied from a 5-0 deficit to make it 5-4, and from a 10-4 deficit to make it 10-7.
“We struggled putting together a complete game,” Harrison said of his team’s woes throughout the season. “Either our pitchers were on and our hitters were off, or our hitters were on and our pitching was off.”
Still, many players had standout seasons, posting their best batting average, on-base percentage or fielding percentages, Harrison said. Aidan Feather, an infielder from Grassfield High School in Virginia Beach, led the way. He hit .425 with 15 home runs (the rest of the team hit 14), 15 doubles and 56 runs batted in.
“I don’t know of anybody that’s come close (to his season statistically at VPCC),” said Harrison, adding Feather finished in the top three in the nation in average and home runs.
Feather’s mentoring of the younger players was just as important, according to his coach.
“It was like almost having another coach on the field because he just took over the infield and he helped the younger guys out,” Harrison said.
Other key players on offense were Israel Dozier (Kempsville/Virginia Beach), who hit .371 with 16 doubles and 26 RBIs, Marco Fernandez (Spanish River/Fla., .316, 4 HRs and 37 RBIs), and Brendan Walker (Lancaster, .312, 3 homers and 33 RBIs). The top pitchers were Zack Easton (Hermitage, Richmond, 4-4), Kaden Hunley (Middlesex, 3-1), Logan Contreraz (Deep Creek/Chesapeake, 3-0) and Wilson Estep (Walsingham Academy/Williamsburg, 2-2).
Thirteen of Harrison’s 16 sophomores are moving on to play at the next level, but 16 players return and he’s signed another 19 for next season.
“Next year seems to be shaping up good,” he said.
He’s particularly excited he was able to sign some local recruits, which signifies to him they have seen VPCC’s growth and success and want to be a part of it.
“We’ve always kind of struggled with the local guys,” Harrison said. “We said from the get-go, ‘Success breeds success.'”
Make no mistake, this team was successful. It just didn’t show in its record.
“We got a lot of coverage. People started hearing about us, talking about us, wanting to know about us, coming to the games,” Harrison said. “I told these guys (who) are coming in they have big shoes to fill. The record might not show how much they did for this program.”
For more on the College, visit vpcc.edu.
