Game 1 Box score

Game 2 Box score

Union, NJ... The College of New Jersey baseball team split a doubleheader with Kean University in its New Jersey Athletic Conference opening games on Saturday in Union, NJ. The #5 Cougars (17-4) won the first game 8-4 while the Lions (14-4) claimed the second game 5-4.

Senior Joe Marchitelli (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season. Marchitelli, who has five saves on the season, took over a 4-4 game in the eighth inning. TCNJ plated the winning run in the ninth and the closer retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame to secure the Lions first conference win of the season.

The team that played better defense and capitalized on mistakes was the team that came out on the winning side in the doubleheader. TCNJ was guilty of four errors and left 13 runners on base in the opener, but the Cougars were equally generous in the back-end of the doubleheader making four miscues in the field as the Lions earned a split.


Game 1 – Kean 8  TCNJ 4

In the opening game, the Lions had opportunities in the first two innings and failed to capitalize. The Cougars also had opportunities in the opening two frames and plated five runs to take command of the contest.

TCNJ out hit Kean 12-10 and also worked six walks, but they left 13 on base and were down by eight runs before they put any runs on the board. The Cougars also took advantage of four Lion errors in the field as they tallied runs in each of the first four innings.

TCNJ had a golden opportunity to put up runs early when sophomore Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor North) singled to lead off the game and advanced to third when senior Jason Zegarski (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) doubled to left field. But right-hander Kevin Hergett (4-0) was able to work his way out of a bases loaded jam to keep TCNJ off the board.

Trailing 1-0 in the second, sophomore Nick Cifelli (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) and senior Anthony Palmiotto (Manchester, NJ/Manchester Township) stroked singles to put runners in scoring position with one out. But Hergett was able to get a pair of groundouts to end the threat. The Cougars then crossed the plate four times in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-0 lead.

The 8-4 loss was the first of the season for senior Connor Henderson (Monmouth Jct., NJ/South Brunswick). He gave up seven earned runs in five innings of work and struck out four. While Henderson (4-1) didn't have his best day, the veteran right-hander will be anxious to turn the tables in his next start.

Sophomore Rob Schneider (Township of Washington, NJ/Westwood Regional) did an excellent job in relief for the Lions. He held Kean hitless during three innings of scoreless relief and struck out two. Schneider was sharp, especially considering it was his first appearance since throwing four and one-third innings of relief against Rockford College on March 8.

Kelly, Zegarski, Cifelli, and Michael Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) each had two hits in the opener. Murphy knocked in a pair of runs and Ruzich scored twice.

Game 2 – TCNJ 5  Kean 4

TCNJ did the best thing it could have done in game two and that was to get on top early. The Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead to pick themselves up after dropping the opener.

Zegarski doubled down the left-field line in the top of the first and came around to score on Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) fielder's choice. The Lions tacked on two more in the second when Jon Gabriel and Cifelli scored on wild pitches.

A Galeotafiore RBI single made it a 4-0 game in the third when he knocked in Zegarski.

TCNJ sophomore Robert Graber (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo) was cruising along tossing four hitless innings until Kean heated up with three runs in the fifth. With two runners on, Vinny Gayla tripled to knock in two. A sacrifice fly by Dylan Laguna made closed the gap to 4-3.

In the sixth, the Cougars tied the game on a Sean Kelly run-scoring single. Graber left the game after six innings, limiting Kean to five hits while striking out five. Although Graber did not figure into the decision, his performance was a major contribution to the win.

Junior Mike Ham (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) retired all three batters he faced in the seventh before handing the ball over to Marchitelli in the eighth.

In the ninth, TCNJ scored the winning run without the luxury of a hit. Cifelli was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a throwing error to give the Lions a 5-4 lead. Marchitelli got two groundouts before ending the game on a strikeout looking.

Zegarski and Cifelli each had a pair of safeties for TCNJ. Zegarski now has 99 career hits. Galeotafiore knocked in two runs in the win.

On the day, the Lions' bullpen threw six shutout innings and did not allow a hit.

TCNJ will host their next game against Widener University (16-6) on Tuesday, April 5 in a 3:30 game at George Ackerman Park.