Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey baseball team opened its 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a double header sweep of Rutgers-Newark on Sunday afternoon in George Ackerman Park.
 
The Lions moved to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play, topping the Scarlet Raiders 8-1 in the first game and 13-5 in the nightcap. Rutgers-Newark dropped to 10-5 overall and 0-2 in the NJAC.
 
Junior Joe Cirillo (Fairfield, NJ/DePaul Catholic) put together another outstanding effort on the mound, and this time, was rewarded with a win. Cirillo went the distance, striking out a career-high 10 batters to lead the Lions in the opener.
 
Sophomore Michael Fischer (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) followed with his fourth victory of the spring. Fischer went seven innings and struck out six. He limited Rutgers-Newark to five hits and gave up just two runs as the Lions' offense plated 13 runs in the contest.
 
Senior Ben Varone (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) was a run-producing machine out of the nine-hole on Sunday. He drove in six runs in the twin bill, knocking in three in each game. Junior Mike Follet (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) also hit the ball well, going 6-for-8 with four runs scored.
 
The third and often most critical aspect of the game – team defense – was spotless. TCNJ not only played errorless baseball, but they took away baserunners and outs from the Scarlet Raiders. The infield made a number of fine plays, CJ Gearhart (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) threw out two runners attempting to steal, and Cirillo picked a runner off second base.
 
Game 1: TCNJ 8  Rutgers-Newark 1
 
The second half of the line-up accounted for nine of the Lions 11 hits on offense and all seven runs batted in during the opener. Follet and Jacob Simon (Hightstown, NJ/Hightstown) each had three hits, while Varone had a pair of drove in three.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the second, Follet doubled to left-center with one out. Simon singled to center to put runners at first and third. Follet raced home on a wild pitch to tie the game. Varone then drilled a pitch that short-hopped the left field fence to score Simon.
 
Cirillo struck out two in the third to maintain the two-run advantage and the Lions piled on three more in bottom of the inning. Simon had the big blow, hammering a two-run double off the left-center field fence.
 
Rutgers-Newark loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. First baseman Tommy McCarthy (Allentown, NJ/Allentown) and Gearhart combined to make a huge defensive play to get Cirillo out of a jam. McCarthy fielded a sharp ground ball, fired to Gearhart for the force at home. Gearhart delivered a strike back to McCarthy to complete the inning ending 3-2-3 double play.
 
Five straight singles led to three more runs in the eighth. Gearhart singled to left and Follet dropped down a perfect bunt down the third baseline. Simon laced a line drive to left, and with the bases loaded, McCarthy singled to center to score Gearhart. Varone ripped a base hit up the middle to chase home Follet and Simon and Cirillo had an 8-1 cushion for the ninth.
 
Cirillo ended the game with his 10^th strikeout of the game, a career high for the junior right-hander. He now boasts a 15-3 career mark and owns a 2.10 earned run average this season in 34.1 innings of work.
 
Game 2: TCNJ 13  Rutgers-Newark 5
 
The Lions plated three runs in an inning on four separate occasions to give Fischer plenty of run support. They rapped out 14 hits, led by three line drive singles off the bat of Zachary Shindler (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh).
 
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third, McCarthy drive a ball to left that turned around the outfielder for a one-out double. With two on and two out, junior Patrick Anderson (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) lined a ball to the gap that skipped past the diving right fielder. Both runs scored to make it a 2-0 game. Shindler ripped a two-strike pitch back through the box to chase Anderson with the third run.
 
Gearhart opened the fourth inning with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch. With two on, Varone delivered a double to the gap in left-center to put TCNJ up 6-0.
 
An RBI double by Austin Lindsay (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) highlighted a three-run fifth to break the game wide open.
 
Fischer had allowed just three Scarlet Raiders to reach base through the first six frames. A walk and two doubles got RN on the board, but the sophomore right-hander struck out the final two batters he faced to leave the game with a 10-2 lead.
 
After the Scarlet Raiders rallied for three runs in the eighth, TCNJ erased the threat with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Run-scoring singles by Gearhart and McCarthy put the game out of reach. Sophomore Dylan Crowley (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) pitched the eighth, and Matt Curry (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the sweep.
 
Shindler went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases in the win. Follet also had three hits, while Lindsay, McCarthy and  Gearhart finished with two apiece.
 
The Lions will visit Immaculata University on Tuesday before hosting Rutgers University-Camden on Thursday afternoon in George Ackerman Park.