Game 1: Box score

Game 2: Box score

Wayne, NJ... The College of New Jersey baseball team excelled in all facets of the game as they hit, pitched, and fielded their way to a huge double-header sweep at William Paterson in New Jersey Athletic Conference play.

The Lions (15-13, 8-3) won a tight game in the opener 3-2 while the bats came alive to ignite an 11-5 triumph in nightcap. The pair of wins moves TCNJ into second place in the NJAC a 1/2 game behind Rowan University. TCNJ has now won six consecutive conference match-ups and raised its overall record above .500 for the first time in 2010. 

TCNJ received timely hitting, pitched superbly, and made just one error in 18 innings as they've now won seven of their last eight games.

Game 1

Head coach Dean Glus handed the ball to Connor Henderson (Monmouth Jct., NJ/ South Brunswick) in the opener and the junior right-hander did exactly what he's done throughout his career as a Lion. He threw strikes, recorded outs, and won the game. Henderson (6-0) pitched another gem allowing two runs on seven hits over seven innings. He walked one batter and struck out four.

Henderson registered the 100th strikeout of his career when he caught James Gregory looking in the seventh. He is now 14-1 in 18 career starts at TCNJ.

The Lions took advantage of a couple swings from sophomore Jimmy Ruzich (Verona, NJ/Montclair Kimberly) to generate enough run production for Henderson. Ruzich ripped a double in the first inning to drive in two, and laced another run-scoring single in the third.

That would be all TCNJ needed. The Pioneers touched Henderson for a pair of runs in the fifth, but that would be all they could get. Senior A.J. Adamczyk (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan) slammed the door shut in the eighth and ninth innings facing just seven batters to earn his first save of the season.

Sophomore Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) had three hits while Ruzich and sophomore Ed Zakrzewski (Three Bridges, NJ/Hunterdon Central) punched two hits in the win.

Game 2

Developing into one of the most formidable one-two punches in the conference, senior Greg Spatz (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Township) followed up Henderson's effort with the first complete game win of his career.

Spatz showed character battling through a three-run, first inning by the WPU offense. He settled in and allowed just two hits over the next eight innings to earn his fourth win of the year.

The Lions offense exploded for three runs in the second and three more in the third. Run-scoring doubles off the bats of freshman Mike Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) and Galeotafiore tied the score at 4 before Ruzich struck with another momentous hit as he blasted a two-run home run to left field to five TCNJ the lead for good.

Ruzich is on an absolute tear in his last five NJAC games. He is hitting .652 (15-for-23) with three home runs, 14 RBIs, seven runs scored, and seven runs scored. The Lions have won six straight conference games.

Galeotafiore also had a big game homering for the second time this season, driving in three, and scoring four runs. Murphy also finished with three hits and three runs batted in.

TCNJ has another important week of conference play as they host Kean University on Friday before taking on Rutgers University-Newark in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 24.