Box Score


Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball team used a six-run second inning to surge to a 10-7 victory over Rutgers University-Camden in New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Lions (16-12, 4-3) rapped out seven doubles in the game, four of which drove in runs. Junior Michael Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) led the attack with three hits and three runs batted in. Freshman Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) also had two hits, a run scored, and an RBI in the game.
 
Sophomore Brendan Kelly (Butler, NJ/Butler) picked up his team-leading fourth win of the season, pitching seven solid innings. He surrendered a two-run home run in the second inning, and that was all he would allow for the game. Kelly (4-2) limited Rutgers-Camden to seven hits, two runs, and struck out one.
 
After junior Jonathan Gabriel (Orefield, PA/Parkland) put the Lions on the board with an RBI-double in the first, sophomore Ryan Griffith popped his first home run of the season to left field to give the Scarlet Raptors a 2-1 lead.
 
TCNJ responded with a six-run second inning. They sent 10 batters to the plate, stroking five hits. Cocuzza lined a run-scoring single to right-center to tie the game. Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-North) drilled a double to left-center field to score Cocuzza. With the bases loaded, senior Jimmy Ruzich (Verona, NJ/Montclair Kimberly Academy) ripped a two-run single to left and Murphy capped the scoring with a long, two-run double to left-center.
 
Brendan Kelly continued to cruise along and received some insurance runs in the sixth. Senior Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) had a terrific at bat that culminated with a double over the right fielder's head. Murphy followed with his third RBI of the game with a base hit to right field.
 
The Scarlet Raptors made it a tight game as they rallied to score five runs in the eighth inning. Jon Hydock and CJ Mooney singled to start the inning. After a walk and hit batsmen, Albert Rivera lined a base hit to left field to make it a 9-4 game. Senior Joe Merlino delivered the big blow in the inning with a bases-clearing double to left-center field.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Murphy doubled and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Senior Ed Zakrzewski (Three Bridges, NJ/Hunterdon Central) lifted a sacrifice fly to left to give TCNJ and closer Mike Ham (Sparta, NJ/Pope John Paul XIII) a three-run lead.
 
Ham completed a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth, striking out two batters looking for his sixth save.
 
Kelly swiped his 30^th base of the season, which leads the conference. The junior second baseman now has 66 career stolen bases at TCNJ, ranking him fourth all-time. Former Lion C.J. Rockhill '88 holds the record with 77.
 
TCNJ's defense continues to play a major role in the team's success. They made three exceptional plays in the field to aid the win. Left fielder Joe Dispoto (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) came in on a sinking line drive to make a diving catch in the third inning. In the fourth, shortstop Anthony Cocuzza jumped high to spear a line drive up the middle. He landed and fired to first, where Jimmy Ruzich stretched to make a backhand pick to complete the double play and end the inning.
 
Finally in the seventh, Cocuzza laid out to his backhand side to make a diving stop. He jumped to his feet and fired to Ruzich at first to get the runner by half a step.
 
TCNJ visits Rutgers-Camden for the second game of their home-and-home series. The Lions continue conference play on Saturday at William Paterson University for a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m.