Box score

Glassboro, NJ ... The College of New Jersey baseball team advanced to the championship round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament defeated Montclair State University 6-4.

In perhaps one of the greatest individual post-season performances in the storied Lions' baseball program, junior Joe Marchitelli (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) struck out 15 Red Hawk batters in a complete-game win to lift the Lions to a match-up with Kean University tomorrow at noon.

Marchitelli, who has been the Lions closer for the past two seasons, took the ball from head coach Dean Glus to give everything he had in a must-win situation. The gutty right-hander did more than anyone could have asked and seemed to gain strength as the game wore on recording strikeouts in the 10 of the last 12 outs of the game. Marchitelli struck out the side in the sixth, fanned a pair of batters in the seventh and eighth, and then pasted an exclamation point on the game by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

Montclair State jumped out to an early 4-1, but TCNJ responded with three runs in the fifth to knot the score. A two-run double down the left field line by freshman Nick Cifelli (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) highlighted the Lions rally. Cifelli finished the game a perfect 4-for-4.

TCNJ tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth inning to provide Marchitelli all the run support he would need. Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) singled in the eighth to drive in his second run of the game.

The Lions (23-18) now takes on Kean tomorrow and must defeat the Cougars twice to receive an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Championships. TCNJ is the defending NJAC champion winning the tournament in 2009.