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Allentown, PA … The College of New Jersey baseball team received a solid pitching performance from sophomore Steven Volpe (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional) and 11 hits on offense to coast to its fifth straight victory, defeating Ursinus College 6-1 on Thursday afternoon.

Volpe surrendered a first-inning run before tossing five scoreless innings for his first victory of the year. He scattered four hits and struck out two. Sophomore Joseph DiLorenzo (West Orange, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), junior Michael Correa (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.), and junior Benito Gonzalez (Perth Amboy, NJ/Princeton) were effective out of the bullpen, blanking the Bears during the final three frames.

Junior Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) and Josh Limon (Eastampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) each collected three hits to lead the offense, while junior Mike Murray (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) and sophomore Matt Facas (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) chipped in two hits each.

Trailing 1-0 after the first, TCNJ (10-4) scored an unearned run in the second to tie the game. They scratched out another run in the third when Cocuzza and sophomore Garen Turner (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) stroked back-to-back singles. Cocuzza then raced home on a passed ball.

The Lions held a 2-1 edge until the sixth when they tacked on two more runs. Limon opened the inning with a base hit and Pat Roberts (Hillsborough, NJ/Hilllsborough) reached on an error. A walk to Murray loaded the bases. Facas singled to plate Limon and Roberts came home on the ensuing 6-4-3 double play.

Single runs in the eighth and ninth innings provided some cushion for the bullpen. Cocuzza doubled in the eighth and was chased home by Limon's second hit of the game. In the ninth, Murray singled, stole second and third, and tagged up on a sacrifice fly by freshman Ben Varone (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) for the final run of the contest.

Gonzalez fanned three Ursinus batters in the ninth to close out the victory.

It marks the seventh win the last eight ballgames for TCNJ. They have the day off tomorrow before opening their New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a doubleheader at New Jersey City University on Saturday. The first game is slated to start at 11:30 a.m.