MAHWAH, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team on Saturday split the first two games of its best-of-three NJAC Tournament quarterfinal series at Ramapo. The series now comes down to Game 3, scheduled for Sunday at Ramapo.
Game 1: TCNJ 12, Ramapo 7
After the game was suspended heading into the top of the third inning on Friday with Ramapo ahead, 4-2, the Lions used Saturday's resumption to jump ahead in that top of the third.
The Lions loaded the bases with nobody out in the third, using singles from
Chris Cote and
Chris Reeder sandwiched around a
Ryan Goodall walk.
Avery Epstein followed with a sac fly to make it 4-3, but the Lions weren't done there.
Joe Oczkowski singled home Goodall to tie it at 4-4, and
Aydon Chavis pushed TCNJ into the lead with a two-run double to left.
Joey Cruciata reached on a bunt single to move Chavis to third, and that allowed Chavis to score one batter later on
Jack Haynes' fielder's choice to give the Lions a 7-4 lead.
Ramapo got a run back in the sixth to make it 7-5, but TCNJ replied in the top of the seventh with another big inning.
Reeder was at third after a leadoff double, and Epstein was at second after a walk and sacrifice bunt. Chavis followed with an RBI single to make it 8-5. Epstein later scored on an error to make it 9-5, and Haynes capped the inning with an RBI single to score Chavis to make it 10-5.
Ramapo got two of those runs back in the home half of the seventh, but the Lions added again in the top of the ninth. After two outs, Cruciata tripled home Chavis and
Sebastian JnoBaptiste singled home Cruciata.
Haynes originally got the Lions on the board in the top of the second with a two-run single to left. He went 2-for-5 with four RBIs. All nine Lions had at least one hit, and five players had multi-hit games. Chavis and Cruciata each had three hits out of the 8-9 spots in the lineup.
Tim Schumacher earned the win in middle relief, pitching four innings while allowing just one hit.
Game 2: Ramapo 15, TCNJ 8
TCNJ served as the home team in Game 2, and the Lions fell behind, 4-1, heading into the bottom of the third. The Lions used a bases-loaded walk to Cruciata to score Reeder for the Lions' run in the second inning.
Just like Game 1, the Lions scored five runs in the third inning to jump ahead. JnoBaptiste scored on a wild pitch after leading off the inning with a hit-by-pitch, and Cote scored on a Reeder sacrifice fly after singling. That made it 4-3 Ramapo.
The Lions kept the inning alive by loading the bases. With Goodall already aboard, Epstein reached on an infield single, and Oczkowski was hit by a pitch to load them. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Cruciata came through with the clutch two-out hit when he cleared the bases with a three-run double to center. That capped the scoring in the inning, and TCNJ led, 6-4.
Ramapo's offense responded, however, with six runs in the middle three innings to retake the lead, 10-6. TCNJ cut the lead in half in the home half of the sixth on two sacrifice flies. Goodall brought home Haynes, and Epstein brought home JnoBaptiste.
The Lions would get no closer, though, as Ramapo stacked insurance runs late to expand its margin to the final score.
Epstein had three hits to pace the Lions' attack. Oczkowski had a double, and Haynes had two walks to reach base three times.
