Box Score

Galloway, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball team dropped a pair of 4-3 decisions to Richard Stockton College in New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
 
Despite the two losses, the Lions (17-20, 8-10 NJAC) finished sixth in the conference standings and qualified for the NJAC post-season tournament. They will open up at top-seeded Kean University on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in Union, NJ.
 
The Ospreys (23-16, 11-7 NJAC) finished fourth in the conference and square off at either Rowan University or William Paterson University. Ramapo College defeated Rutgers University-Camden 12-0 in the second game of their doubleheader after the Scarlet Raptors won the opener 5-3. The Lions receive the sixth and final playoff spot due to the fact they defeated Rutgers-Camden in both face-to-face match-ups last weekend.
 
Game 1: Richard Stockton 4  TCNJ 3
 
In the opener, the Ospreys jumped out to a 3-0 lead through four innings. George Eisenhart delivered a run-scoring single to left field in the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead. Three hits in the fourth led to two more runs. A Travis Marra base hit with two outs in the inning scored Shawn Kessler to put the host up by three.
 
After five scoreless frames to open the game, senior Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-North) got the offense going in the sixth when he led off with a single to left field. He stole his 22^nd base of the season and came around to score with two outs on a base hit by classmate Michael Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech).
 
Richard Stockton looked to get that run back in the sixth as Eisenhart collected his third hit of the game and stole second base. With nobody out, Kessler singled to left and Eisenhart attempted to score. But left fielder Joe Dispoto (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) charged and threw a strike to cut-off man Rob Vafiadou (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) who turned and fired to catcher Paul Searles (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) to cut down Eisenhart at the plate.
 
The Ospreys did counter in the bottom of the seventh, scoring an insurance run that would ultimately prove to be the game-winner. After reaching base on an error, junior Mike Bush stole second. Barry Larro then deposited a double to right center to push the Osprey lead to 4-1.
 
The Lions tacked on a second run in the top of the eighth inning when sophomore Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) reached third on a two base error by the Stockton pitcher and then came home on a sacrifice fly by Murphy to draw within a pair of runs.
 
In the ninth, pinch hitter Justin Ely (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) and Vafiadou both singled. Searles moved them over with a sacrifice bunt, and John Rizzi (Long Hill, NJ/Watchung Hills) delivered an RBI ground out. But the Ospreys closed it out with a pop up to secure the final out of the game.
 
Senior Robert Graber (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo) pitched eight innings giving up four runs on 10 hits. He struck out three and walked one.
 
Senior right-hander Gage Mick improved to 5-3, giving up one run on four hits in seven innings.
 
 
Game 2: Richard Stockton 4  TCNJ 3
 
A run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth gave Richard Stockton its second 4-3 win of the day. Lions' starter Evan Edelman (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) put forth a gutty performance and pitched into the ninth. He limited the Ospreys to six hits and three runs, striking out three and walking none. Frehman William Worswick suffered the loss in relief.
 
Tthe Ospreys took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning after Mike Bush and Barry Larro each drove in a run. With runners on first and second, Bush laced a double down the left-field line plating senior Justin Gordon for the game's first run. Larro drove in the second run of the inning with an RBI groundout to second.
 
The Lions got on the scoreboard in the following frame as Murphy singled to left field, followed by a single by Pat Roberts (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough). Murphy would come around to score on an RBI-ground out off the bat of sophomore Jake DeWitt (Florence, NJ/Florence Twp.) to cut the deficit in half.
 
Richard Stockton got the run back on a sacrifice fly by Danser in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Trailing 3-1 in the fifth, TCNJ strung together four straight singles from Kelly, Dispoto, Cocuzza, and Murphy. Runs scored on the base hits by Dispoto and Cocuzza, which tied the game 3-3.
 
The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the ninth. Eisenhart doubled to open the inning and Worswick came on in relief for Edelman. After a fly ball out, Eisenhart advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Lions intentionally walked the next two batters two load the bases and recorded a second out on a failed suicide squeeze attempt. But Gordon singled to end the game and give the Ospreys their second straight 4-3 win.
 
Kelly, Dispoto, and Murphy each finished with two hits in the game. Kelly stole his 23^rd base of the season and 97^th of his career.