Florham Park, NJ … The College of New Jersey won its seventh straight game as they edged FDU-Florham, 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon. The Lions (21-6) extended their longest winning streak of the season, while loss dropped the Devils record to 10-13.
 
Junior Zachary Shindler (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the game and also collected the 100^th hit of his career at TCNJ. He sent an 0-2 pitch back through the middle in the third inning to reach the milestone, as rookie Thomas Perischetti (Hamilton, NJ/Notre Dame) came around to score the first run of the contest.
 
The Devils quickly tied the score in the bottom of the inning, but freshman Jacob Simon (Hightstown, NJ/Hightstown) knocked in junior Mike Follet (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) to bump the Lions ahead, 2-1. Follet had singled to lead off the inning. Simon advanced to second on the hit when the ball was mishandled and raced to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore Tommy McCarthy (Allentown, NJ//Allentown) drove a base hit to center to plate Simon to make it 3-1.
 
FDU closed the gap with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but shaky defense led to two more TCNJ runs in the fifth. Shindler and Austin Lindsay (New Egypt, NJ/New Egpyt) singled and both crossed home plate on an errant pick-off attempt and a wild pitch.
 
Two more runs by the host in the fifth kept the game tight. Freshman Max Guidice (Hillsborough/Hillsborough) pitched into the fifth inning, surrendering four runs overall (two earned) and striking out three. Classmate Nickolas Kleftogiannis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) came in to close out the fifth and held the lead with scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh. Kleftogiannis (1-0) would earn his first collegiate victory and now has a 1.50 ERA in seven appearances.
 
Sophomore Zac deRocco (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South) recorded two outs in the eighth before handing the ball over to Matt Curry (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) with runners on second and third. The long-legged blonde induced a pop-up to end the threat and move the game to the ninth.
 
The Lions would tack on two insurance runs in the ninth. Lindsay and Follet each laced run-scoring singles to left to chase home Perischetti and Shindler. Those runs would become critical as FDU managed to tally a run in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Curry struck out the final batter to end the game and register his sixth save of the year. The run in the ninth was the first earned run permitted by Curry in 13 appearances and 24.0 innings pitched, a tremendous feat. He is currently 5-0 with six saves and a miniscule 0.36 ERA.
 
TCNJ returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Thursday when they visit Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ for a 3:30 math-up.