Box Score
Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball fell victim to Montclair State University for the second straight day, dropping a 6-2 decision in George Ackerman Park on Friday afternoon.
 
Five unearned runs haunted the Lions as they'll now look to their conference doubleheader tomorrow at Rutgers University-Camden to get back on track. Their season record now stands at 16-12, while their New Jersey Athletic Conference mark is 5-7. The Red Hawks improved to 14-13 overall and 8-4 in the NJAC.
 
MSU left-hander Jonathan Torregroza tossed the second complete game for the Red Hawks in as many days, improving his record to 3-2. He stranded 11 TCNJ baserunners and limited the Lions to two runs over nine innings.
 
Sophomore Steven Volpe (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional) pitched well for TCNJ, scattering seven hits over six innings. He surrendered three runs (one earned) and struck out three. Junior Michael Correa (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) pitched the final three innings and was touched for three unearned runs in the ninth.
 
The game was scoreless through the first three innings before the Lions got on the scoreboard. Junior Josh Limon (Eastampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) did a great job reading a ball in the dirt and put himself in scoring position by advancing to second. Third baseman Michael Murray (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) followed with two-strike single to left to score Limon and give TCNJ a 1-0 lead.
 
The Red Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Chris Reynolds reached on an error and came around to score when P.J. Jennings belted a double to the base of the wall in center field. Keith Murphy followed with a base hit to left field that scored Jennings. Lions' left fielder Joe Dispoto (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) threw Murphy out at second trying to stretch a double.
 
Murphy drove in his second run of the game with a two-out single up the middle. That scored Lou Martini, who had singled to lead off the inning, and gave the Red Hawks a 3-1 lead.
 
TCNJ cut the deficit to 3-2 with a run in the seventh. Sophomore John Rizzi (Long Hill, NJ/Watchung Hills) hit a routine ground ball to short and hustled down the line to beat the throw for an infield single. After a pair of infield ground ball outs, Garen Turner (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) drew a free pass to put runners at first and second. Sophomore Pat Roberts (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) then delivered a two-out, two-strike single to left-center to make it a one-run game.
 
MSU tallied three runs in the top of the ninth, however, to give Torregroza a four-run cushion. He allowed a lead-off single to Rizzi, but sandwiched two ground outs around an infield pop-up to secure the victory.
 
TCNJ showed signs of breaking out of its offensive funk with 11 hits in the game. Rizzi, Dispoto, Roberts, and Murray all contributed two hits.
 
The Lions  visit the Scarlet Raptors (19-8-1, 8-3 NJAC) for an NJAC twin-bill that starts at 11:30 a.m.