EWING, N.J. – The No. 4/11 TCNJ baseball team swept New Jersey City in a Saturday NJAC doubleheader at George Ackerman Park, winning both games in shutout fashion. The Lions won game one, 3-0, before taking the nightcap, 9-0.
 
With the shutouts, the Lions' pitching staff has allowed just one earned run in the past six games, and no earned runs in the last four games. Those four games were all NJAC contests.
 
Game One: TCNJ 3, NJCU 0
In game one, Peter Nielsen threw a complete-game shutout as the Lions won, 3-0. It's Nielsen's first shutout of the year, but it's his second complete game. He was masterful, allowing just four hits and one walk in nine innings of work. He also struck out nine hitters, one off his season-high 10 against Concordia last month.
 
The TCNJ offense had its streak of double-digit scoring efforts stopped at three, but the three runs pushed across were more than enough for the Lions to earn their sixth-straight victory.
 
The Lions scored two runs in the second inning off the strength of three straight hits to start the frame. Ryan Fischer led off with a double just inside the third-base bag, and he moved to third on Cameron Cane's single. Matt Giacose singled home Fischer to make it 1-0, and Cane later scored on Thomas Persichetti's sacrifice fly to right.
 
The score stayed 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth. David Cardona III walked with one out, and he moved to third on a single and a fly out. He scored via a throwing error to push the lead to 3-0.
 
Jacob Simon led the TCNJ offense with two hits in game one.
 
Game Two: TCNJ 9, NJCU 0
The big inning that was lacking from the offense in game one came unexpectedly in game two. After scoring two runs in the bottom of the second on a Fischer sacrifice fly and a Giacose fielder's choice, the game stayed at 2-0 until there were two outs in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Chris Reeder singled to right on a 1-2 count to get things started, and the inning didn't stop until eight straight Lions reached base to plate six runs, effectively ending any drama at that time.
 
Giacose singled after Reeder. Danny Borup doubled home Reeder, and Persichetti doubled home Borup to make it 5-0. Cardona and Simon walked to load the bases, and Tommy McCarthy's two-run single to right made it 7-0. Gary Otten singled home Simon to make it 8-0.
 
The Lions made it 9-0 with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch to Cardona, the second hit batsman of the inning.
 
Michael Walley cruised to a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and two walks in nine innings. He joined Matt Volpe and Andrew Rowan with 4-0 records.
 
Borup led the offense with three hits, and McCarthy had two. Borup had two doubles while Persichetti and Grant Sible each had one.
 
The Lions return to action on Monday at Gwynedd Mercy in a non-conference game.