EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team fell behind early in both ends of its Saturday doubleheader against Ramapo in non-conference action, but the Lions roared back in game one to defeat the Roadrunners, 10-6, with 10 unanswered runs. Ramapo held off the Lions, 5-1, in game two.
Game One: TCNJ 10, Ramapo 6
Ramapo led, 6-0, after a two-run homer in the first, three more runs in the third, and another in the fifth. To that point, TCNJ had just an infield single from
Aydon Chavis to lead off the bottom of the first.
That changed in the home half of the fifth.
Grant Sible doubled to lead it off, and he moved to third on
Jack Felipe's infield single. After an out,
Chris Reeder singled home Sible, and Felipe later scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2.
Michael Schumacher lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Reeder. After five, the deficit was cut in half at 6-3.
That was just a prelude to the offense in the bottom of the sixth.
Joe Oczkowski singled, and Sible reached on an error that could have been a double play. The Lions made Ramapo pay for the mistake.
Felipe reached on a bunt single to load the bases, setting up back-to-back run-scoring singles from
Avery Epstein and Reeder to make it 6-5. Schumacher flied out to center again, this time scoring Felipe to tie the game at 6-6.
Two batters later with two outs, Chavis' infield single brought home Epstein to give TCNJ the lead.
Jack Haynes added to it with a two-run single to center, giving the Lions a 9-6 lead.
Chris Cote rounded out the scoring with a sac fly to score Epstein in the bottom of the seventh. That gave TCNJ 10 straight runs after falling behind by six.
Chris Cassini earned the win, pitching 1.2 innings of middle relief without allowing a run or a hit.
Ben Amon picked up the save with three innings of one-hit ball, striking out three.
The Lions pounded out 14 hits. Chavis, Oczkowski, Sible, Felipe and Reeder all had two hits.
Game Two: Ramapo 5, TCNJ 1
Haynes, Oczkowski and Epstein each had two hits to pace the Lions' attack, but the offensive output was muted compared to game one.
The Lions again fell behind, this time 4-0 after a two-run third inning and a two-run homer in the top of the fifth. It felt similar to game one as the Lions got a leadoff double once again in the fifth, this time with Chavis short-hopping the wall in left. Haynes followed with a single to right, bringing home Chavis for a 4-1 Ramapo advantage.
David Stec came in relief in the top of the sixth with bases loaded and one out, and he recorded back-to-back strikeouts to get the Lions out of the jam. He pitched 3.2 innings, striking out six while allowing just an unearned run on two hits.
Ramapo did get another run in the top of the eighth to make it 5-1, but the Lions threatened to pull back into it in the bottom of the frame.
Nicholas Marcelli got plunked to start it, and Epstein singled through the right side to put two men on with nobody out. Two strikeouts and a pop out followed, however, ending the most serious threat to Ramapo's lead.
The Lions return to action with the start of NJAC play next Saturday with a doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark.
