EWING, N.J. – The No. 5/8 TCNJ baseball team concluded its regular season with a 17-5 victory over Rutgers-Camden on Monday afternoon. The Lions will now travel to Ramapo on Tuesday in the first round of the NJAC Tournament.
 
The Lions (27-9, 13-5) pounded out 17 hits, and 16 of them were singles. The lone extra-base hit came on an RBI double from Tommy McCarthy in the nine-run fifth inning. Nothing unusual there, except the double came on a bunt. McCarthy laid the bunt perfectly to the first-base side of the mound, and he hit it firmly enough to evade the charging defenders. With nobody covering second, McCarthy found his way safely into an unlikely double.
 
The nine-run fifth inning broke open a 1-1 game. Rutgers-Camden starter Colin Carr pitched effectively through the first four innings, but a comebacker off his foot that ended the fourth prevented him from returning in the fifth. The first six hitter of the inning reached against the beleaguered bullpen, and the Lions took advantage with six hits and four walks in the inning to take a 10-1 lead.
 
In the inning, David Cardona III singled twice to drive home a total of three runs. He went 4-for-5 with five RBIs. Danny Borup and Thomas Persichetti also reached base twice each in the inning, both with a single and a walk apiece.
 
Matt Giacose had three hits, and Joe Oczkowski drove in three runs. Matt Volpe improved to 5-0 in his freshman season with five innings of two-hit baseball.
 
TCNJ will now open the NJAC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon as the No. 4 seed at No. 3 seed Ramapo. The teams split their doubleheader on April 6.
 
Following Tuesday's game, the Lions will continue in the NJAC Tournament on Friday at Kean against an opponent that will be determined by the outcomes of the first-round contests.