Camden, NJ … Freshman Joe Cirillo (Fairfield, NJ/Depaul Catholic) and junior Joe DiLorenzo (Bayonne, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) stifled the offense of the top team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference as The College of New Jersey defeated Rutgers University-Camden 6-1 on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Lions improved to 13-12 overall and raised their record in the NJAC to 6-5. The Scarlet Raptors dropped to 15-10 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
 
Cirillo pitched six innings and limited the RUC to just three hits. He was touched for a single run in the fifth and didn't allow a baserunner past first base prior. Cirillo calmly escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth and notched his team-high fourth victory of the season.
 
DiLorenzo tossed three scoreless innings in relief. The left-hander allowed just one hit and struck out two. He has now given up just one earned run in his last 11 innings over four appearances out of the bullpen.
 
TCNJ built a 1-0 lead in the first when junior Patrick Roberts (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) singled to score teammate John Rizzi (Long Hill, NJ/Watchung Hills).
 
Rizzi started things off again in the third with a base hit to the left field. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Shortstop Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) brought Rizzi home with a sacrifice fly to center field.
 
With Cirillo cruising along, the Lions took advantage of some shaky defensive play by the Scarlet Raptors to stretch the lead to 5-0. Sophomore CJ Gearhart (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) and senior Michael Murray (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) opened the inning with back-to-back singles. A Rizzi base hit, a throwing error on the play and a miscue on a ground ball off the bat of Mark Mari (Bayonne, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) allowed three runs to score.
 
RUC finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth, but that would be all they could produce. DiLorenzon entered in the seventh and permitted a single baserunner through his first two innings. A pair of two-out walks put two Scarlet Raptors on base in the ninth, but a ground ball to second base ended the threat and TCNJ captured a big road win.
 
Roberts finished with three hits in the game, while Rizzi and Murray had two apiece. Rizzi scored three of the Lions six runs in the game.
 
The two teams will square off again tomorrow as TCNJ hosts Rutgers-Camden at George Ackerman Park at 3:30 p.m.