EWING, N.J. – The No. 5/8 TCNJ baseball team battled RV/RV Kean in an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at George Ackerman Park. Prior to the doubleheader, the Lions honored their eight seniors with an on-field ceremony.
 
GAME ONE: TCNJ 4, Kean 3
A pitchers' duel between TCNJ's Peter Nielsen and Kean's Tyler Hopman had a hectic ninth inning with a bizarre ending. The teams were tied, 2-2, heading into the ninth inning when Kean's Nick Pollizano homered to lead off the top half.
 
The Lions, who scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score thanks to Matt Giacose's two-run double, had just two hits off Hopman heading into their last chance in the ninth. The Lions didn't need another hit to win the game.
 
Jacob Simon reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Tommy McCarthy bunted him to second. A groundout put Simon at third, and Giacose followed with a walk. That brought Joe Oczkowski to the plate with runners at the corners, and it also brought that bizarre finish.
 
Giacose took off for second on a stolen base, and the throw went through to the bag. The only problem, at least for Kean, is that nobody covered the bag. The ball rolled into centerfield, allowing Simon to score to tie the game. With the ball still rolling into the outfield, Giacose got up and took off. He rounded third and headed for home, beating the throw to the plate for an improbable 4-3 TCNJ victory.
 
Nielsen earned the victory, allowing just three runs while pitching the complete game. Ryan Fischer had the Lions' only other hit besides Giacose's two-run double, a two-out single up the middle in the second inning.
 
GAME TWO: Kean 14, TCNJ 12
The offenses took over in the second game. The teams combined to hit eight home runs in the game, with Simon hitting a pair for the Lions. It was also a game that saw both teams come back from deficits of at least three runs, with TCNJ overcoming a five-run deficit to take a lead.
 
Kean scored five runs in the top of the second, fueled by a three-run homer. Danny Borup got two of those runs back with a single to left to score Oczkowski and Chris Reeder.
 
Kean extended its lead to 7-2 with a pair of solo shots in the third from Zachary Marzano and Brian Cole. Simon responded with the first of his two home runs in the bottom half to make it 7-3, but Kean hit another homer in the top of the fourth to make it 8-3.
 
TCNJ chipped away with three runs in the fifth inning. Simon singled home Thomas Persichetti, Cardona scored on a double play, and Simon scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-6.
 
The Lions took their first lead of the game with a five-run sixth inning. Simon doubled home Borup to make it 8-7, and after McCarthy walked to load the bases, Ryan Fischer belted a grand slam to pull the Lions into an 11-8 lead.
Kean got two runs in the top of the eighth to make it 11-10, thanks to a bases-loaded infield single followed by a walk to force in a second run. Simon's second homer, an absolute bomb to deep left, got one of those runs back to make it 12-10.
 
The Lions looked to close out the doubleheader sweep in the ninth, and the Lions had two outs with the tying run at first base. A base hit scored a run to make it 12-11, and with Kean down to its final strike, Mike Perone hit his second home run of the game to make it 14-12. TCNJ went down in order in the ninth to settle for the split.
 
Simon went 4-for-5 with the two home runs and a double. He drove in four. Borup was 3-for-6 with the double and two RBIs. Joseph Felipe pitched well in middle relief, allowing just a walk while fanning two in two innings of work.
 
The Lions close out the regular season with a makeup game against Rutgers-Camden on Monday at George Ackerman Park at 3:30 p.m.