Game 1: Box score
Game 2: Box score
Mahwah, NJ... The College of New Jersey baseball team received outstanding pitching over 20 innings of play to sweep a pair of wins at Ramapo College in a New Jersey Athletic Conference double header.
The Lions (8-10, 2-2 NJAC) were the beneficiary of a great pitching performance from senior Greg Spatz (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) to go along with a 10-run fourth inning to down the Roadrunners (7-8, 1-3 NJAC) in the opener. Freshman Robert Graber (Franklin Lakes, Ramapo) followed with the biggest performance of his young career throwing seven innings allowing just one run. TCNJ would need extra innings, however, to complete the sweep as they won the nightcap 4-1 in 11 innings.
Game one
Needing to rebound from conference defeats the two previous days, Spatz (3-1) took the team on his shoulders to put forth his best effort of the season to date. The senior right-hander threw eight innings limiting the Roadrunners to just two hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out six. Spatz kept Ramapo in check long enough to allow his offense to explode as the Lions seized control of the game with ten runs in the fourth inning.
Senior Chris Esperon (Union, NJ/Union Catholic) joined Spatz in displaying veteran leadership by knocking out three hits, scoring four runs, and driving in three. Senior Ryan Anzelone (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Twp.) also showed a sense of urgency for a conference win collecting a pair of hits and driving in two.
Sophomore Ed Zakrzewski (Three Bridges, NJ/Hunterdon Central) posted his second, 3-hit game in just over a week while freshmen Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor North) and Nick Cifelli (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) also chipped in with a pair of hits.
Rookie Matt Rawson (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) pitched a scoreless ninth inning as the Lions notched their first NJAC win of 2010.
Game two
Graber followed Spatz with a gutty performance of his own allowing just a first-inning run over seven innings. The freshman worked in out and out of trouble throughout the game, but made big pitches when he needed them scattering eight hits while not walking a batter in the 25 that he faced.
After putting up 14 runs in the opener, the Lions had to scratch and claw for offense in the second game as starting Ramapo pitcher Travis Zilg went 10 innings allowing just four hits. Zilg did not factor into the decision, but now owns a 0.51 ERA in seven appearances this season.
Down 1-0 in the fourth, Esperon laced an RB I single to center field to score Kelly, who had singled to start the inning. Graber kept the game tied at one before handing the ball off to senior A.J. Adamczyk (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan). Adamczyk was greeted with a base hit, but catcher Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) threw out Nicholas DiGirolamo attempting to steal second.
The score remained 1-1 until the top of the 11th when TCNJ capitalized on three walks, a hit batsman, two passed balls, and a ground out to plate three runs.
Junior Joe Marchitelli (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) took the ball for the final three innings and was near-perfect. Marchitelli (1-1) surrendered just one hit while striking out three to earn his first win of the season.
The Lions travel to Widener University on Tuesday, April 6 before returning home for a rematch with Rowan University on Thursday, April 8.
