WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The TCNJ baseball team won its fourth straight game, and fifth game in six at the RussMatt Invitational, with a 15-13 victory over Wisconsin-La Crosse on Thursday afternoon at Chain of Lakes Park. The Lions had 21 hits, and the teams combined for 38.

TCNJ (6-1) got its runs in bunches. The Lions scored 13 of their runs in four innings. They scored three runs in three of the frames and four in the other. 

TCNJ started its offensive onslaught in the top of the first inning. Danny Borup led off the game with a single and went 4-for-6 on the day to raise his season average to .500. He scored on Thomas Persichetti's triple to make it 1-0, and Persichetti scored on David Cardona III's single to make it 2-0. After a couple of outs that included a fielder's choice to put Jacob Simon in Cardona's place, Gary Otten singled to left to score Simon. 

The game moved into the fourth inning with the Lions still ahead, 3-1. After an out, the Lions strung together four hits to score three more runs. Aydon Chavis singled, and three consecutive doubles followed. Matt Giacose doubled to right center to move Chavis to third. Borup doubled them both home to make it 5-1, and Persichetti traded places with Borup to make it 6-1. 

Persichetti was 3-for-5 with a walk and three RBIs. Chavis and Giacose were also both 3-for-5. Chavis scored three times, and Giacose scored twice while adding a pair of RBIs. All three of Giacose's hits went for extra bases with two double and a triple.
Wisconsin-La Crosse got a run in the home half of the fourth and three more in the fifth to cut the TCNJ lead to 6-5. That was the Lions' cue to put together another three-run inning.

Chavis singled, and Giacose tripled him home to make it 7-5. Persichetti singled him home to make it 8-5, and he later scored after back-to-back hits from Tommy McCarthy and Simon. Simon's hit made it 9-5. 

UWL wouldn't give up, though, and it finally tied the score with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It didn't last long as Giacose doubled home Avery Epstein in the top of the seventh to give TCNJ a 10-9 lead.

TCNJ held UWL scoreless in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a top-notch defensive play. After a lead-off single, Brennan Schmitt smoked a liner to Borup at short. He made the catch and caught the runner just far off enough first. He connected with an outstretched McCarthy to turn the 6-3 double play. 

Simon appeared to put the nail in the coffin in the top of the eighth inning with a three-run opposite field homer to right. That made it 13-9. TCNJ made it 14-9 later in the inning when Chavis tripled and scored on a balk.

UWL came back again with a run in the eighth to make it 14-10. TCNJ got that run back in the ninth when Cardona singled home Borup to make it 15-10. Cardona rounded out the five Lions to have at least three hits.

It got interesting in the bottom of the ninth. The first three UWL hitters reached, scoring a run to make it 15-11. After an out, the Lions got the second out on a sacrifice fly to make it 15-12. Down to his final strike, Cal Tully prolonged the game with a single up the middle to score another run to make it 15-13.

Brady Stolzman came to the plate as the tying run, but Zachary Padersky struck him out swinging to end it.

The Lions return to action tomorrow for a pair of games. TCNJ plays McDaniel at 10:15 a.m. and Endicott at 1:45 p.m.