UNION, N.J. – The No. 17 TCNJ baseball team held on for a 4-2 victory against Kean in the second round of the NJAC Tournament on Saturday night, standing as the lone undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination tournament.
 
The Lions earned the victory with timely offense and strong pitching from starter Peter Nielsen. The Lions, designated the home team in the game, got on the board in the bottom of the first. The Lions loaded the bases after two outs, starting with a David Cardona III single. Jacob Simon reached on an error, and Tommy McCarthy walked.
 
Ryan Fischer came to the plate and worked the count full. He came through with a two-run single to center to give the Lions an early 2-0 lead.
 
Nielsen allowed a hit in each of the first two innings, but he held the Cougars off the board through the first seven innings. In the meantime, TCNJ added another run in the home half of the fifth inning. Gary Otten led off the inning with a single, but he was at second base with two outs. The Lions came through with another two-out RBI when Thomas Persichetti singled to center to plate Otten with the third run of the game.
 
Persichetti and Cardona each led the Lions with two hits.
 
The score stayed 3-0 TCNJ until the eighth inning. Kean hit a two-run homer down the left-field line that hooked ever-so-close to the foul pole. It was ruled a fair ball, and Kean was back in the game with its first runs of the night against Nielsen.
 
Cardona got the second of his two hits in the bottom half of the inning, getting one of those runs back with a solo homer to right to make it 4-2 TCNJ.
 
Nielsen hit the leadoff batter in the top of the ninth, and that drew the hook to closer Dylan Crowley. The next hitter singled, putting the tying run at first base.
 
After an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt that led to a strikeout, the game came to a sudden end when Kean botched an attempted double steal. Zach Marzano, the lead runner, was caught in a rundown. He made it back to second base, but Derek Walker, the runner at first, was now also at second.
 
Walker retreated back to first, but he was tagged out. Marzano now tried to get to third for a second time, but the Lions cut him down to end the game.
 
Nielsen struck out five in eight innings, allowing just five hits.
 
The Lions return to action in the NJAC Tournament on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against an opponent to be determined following Saturday's early game.