Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball team was edged 6-5 by Farmingville State College on Tuesday afternoon in George Ackerman Park.
 
The Rams broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the ninth to raise their record to 10-12 on the season. The Lions (12-12) rallied in the bottom of the nine to cut the deficit to one run, but came up short in the non-conference showdown.

TCNJ ran out a young line-up and received a solid performance from freshman pitcher Jacob Andersen (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley). Making his first collegiate appearance, Anderson went six innings, walked one and struck out one. Rookie Zachary Shindler (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) also played well, collecting three hits and throwing out a runner at the plate.
 
The Lions got on the board with an unearned run in the first. Junior John Rizzi (Long Hill, NJ/Watchung Hills) reached on an error and stole second. Senior Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) hit a ball hard to the left side that was misplayed and Rizzi came home with the first run of the game.
 
The Rams came back with a run in the third, but the TCNJ answered back in the bottom of the frame. Freshman Patrick Anderson (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) lined a single to right-center to lead off the inning. He stole second and came around when Cocuzza ripped a double to left.
 
Farmingdale's Dalton McCarthy led off the fourth with a triple to right field. Two batters later, Domenic Palumbo put down a successful sacrifice bunt to score McCarthy to tie the game. The Rams tacked on a run in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.
 
TCNJ evened the score in the sixth on a pair of hits. Junior Garen Turner (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) doubled to deep left to open the inning. He advanced to third on a ground ball to the right side by sophomore Alex Christian (Milltown, NJ/Spotswood). With two outs, Shindler legged out an infield single as Turner scored on the play.
 
The Rams took the lead once again in the seventh. Catcher Ryan Jordan doubled and scored when Anthony Alvino lined a two-bagger to right-center. The Lions avoided further damage when Shindler cut down a runner at the plate attempting to score on a ground ball to third. Turner made a nice tag on the play.
 
Shindler tied the game in the eighth, lining his third hit of the day to right-center. That scored Patrick Roberts (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), who had been hit by a pitch with one out.
 
In the ninth, Domenic Palumbo ripped a two-out single to left to score two runs and give Farmingdale a 6-4 cushion. A double by Rizzi and RBI-single off the bat of Cocuzza cut the margin to one, but closer Alex Pangourelias held on for his second save of the season
 
TCNJ junior Joseph Dilorenzo (West Orange, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) epitched an inning of scoreless relief and struck out one. Senior Josh Limon (Eastampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) tossed two innings out of the bullpen and struck out a pair.
 
The Lions will enjoy a day off from competition on Wednesday and return to New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Thursday when they visit Rutgers University-Camden. They return home to face the Scarlet Raptors on Friday in George Ackerman Park at 3:30 p.m.