Box Score 1 | Box Score 2


Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball team dropped a pair of one-run games to Montclair State University on the final weekend of New Jersey Athletic Conference play.
 
The Lions 22-18 (10-8) lost a wild opener 11-10 in 10 innings before falling 2-1 in a pitcher's duel in the back-end game. The Red Hawks (27-12) 15-3 clinched the top seed in the NJAC tournament which opens this Tuesday.
 
TCNJ will be the fifth seed in the playoffs and visit second-seeded Kean University for the opening round of the double-elimination tournament. The game is set for Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. The second game of the playoffs will be played on Thursday against an opponent and location that will be determined by the first round of play.
 
Game 1: Montclair State 11  TCNJ 10 (10 innings)
 
TCNJ suffered a setback that was tough to swallow in the opener. The game was a roller-coaster ride full of comebacks, lead exchanges, and big innings. Montclair State tied the game up with a run in the bottom of the ninth before Cody Pace ended the game in the 10^th inning with a walk-off home run to right field.
 
The Lions found themselves in a hole early, trailing 4-0 after two innings of play. The Red Haws scored all four in the second on just two hits.
 
An RBI-single by freshman Josh Limon (Easthampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) got the Lions on the board and after cutting the lead to 4-2, their bats exploded in the fifth.
 
TCNJ scored eight runs on seven hits in the inning. Six run-scoring singles highlighted the outburst as the Lions sent 13 men to the plate. Unfortunately, the Red Hawks came back with five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to close the gap to 10-9.
 
Following their eight-run outburst, TCNJ struggled to generate offense. They did have a quality scoring chance in the seventh when Mike Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) and freshman Jacob Dewitt (Florence, NJ/Florence) singled and senior Ed Zakzrewski (Three Bridges, NJ/Hunterdon Central) moved the runners over with a bunt. Limon hit a line drive to center and Murphy attempted to tag, but Mickey McGraw cut down Murphy at the plate to keep the game at 10-9.
 
The Red Hawks tied the game up in the ninth inning, and held TCNJ scoreless in the tenth. Shortstop Cody Pace led off the inning with a home run to right field to end the game.
 
Murphy, Dewitt, and Zakzrewski each had two hit and an RBI in the game. Senior Jimmy Ruzich (Verona, NJ/Montclair Kimberley Academy) and junior Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-North) also had two hits in the game.
 
Senior Dominic Capuano (Ewing, NJ/Ewing) pitched two innings of scoreless relief and struck out three.
 
Senior Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) singled to extend his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games.
 
Game 2: Montclair State 2  TCNJ 1
 
In the second game, Red Hawk starting pitcher Zach Brown went all nine innings to earn the decision. He kept the Lion offense relatively quiet after a high-scoring opener, limiting the visitors to six hits and striking out four.
 
Senior Eric Lewis (Mantagh, NY/W.C. Mepham) was the tough-luck loser for TCNJ. He pitched seven strong innings giving up just five hits and two runs. Sophomore Alan Genitempo (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) also tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
 
Montclair State manufactured both runs off fly ball outs in the third inning. They loaded the bases with nobody off a leadoff double and two singles that didn't lead the infield. Two fly balls later, the Red Hawks staked Brown with a 2-0 lead.
 
TCNJ finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh. Limon singled with one out and advanced on a wild pitch. Sophomore Joe Dispoto (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) came through with a run-scoring single to draw within a run.
 
Murphy singled to open the ninth and give the Lions some life, but Brown got a fielder's choice, ground out, and strikeout to end the game.
 
Dewitt had a pair of hits in the game and TCNJ played errorless defense after struggling the prior two games.