EWING, N.J. – A pair of big innings and a solid outing from Jordan Gray powered the TCNJ baseball team to an 11-2 victory over Albright in non-conference action on Tuesday.

Nine players had at least one hit and eight scored a run for the Lions (2-0), who put up another lopsided victory before heading south to Florida for spring break.
TCNJ scored four runs in the third and four more in the fifth to blow it open and provide plenty of support for Gray, who delivered a career-high six strikeouts over six strong innings.

Albright got on the board first, but Gray managed to get out of an early jam with minimal damage. After the Lions put men on the corners with no outs, he surrendered only a sacrifice fly and induced a grounder to Zach Hochheiser at third with a runner on second to end the frame with only a single run allowed.
Gray settled in nicely from there, striking out two in the second during a stretch of eight consecutive retired by the right-hander.

Despite drawing five walks in the first two innings, the Lions were unable to push a run across, with two men erased on the base paths, and stranded men on second and third to end the second.

TCNJ made Albright starter Connor Trower pay in the third, capitalizing on a walk and a hit-by-pitch with one out to eventually take the lead. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third for Chris Cote, who laced a two-run double just past the first baseman to give the home side the lead for good and chase Trower from the game.

Chris Reeder greeted Cameron Rodgers with a run-scoring double down the left-field line to score Cote, and Joe Oczkowski followed with a single over the third baseman's head to plate Reeder for a 4-1 lead.

Chris Thomas snapped Gray's roll with a leadoff homer in the fourth, pulling Albright within 4-2.

The Lions padded their lead in the fifth, when a leadoff error paved the way for some unearned insurance. Oczkowski's sacrifice fly preceded a two-out RBI single by Michael Schumacher that made it 6-2 and, after consecutive base hits by Hochheiser and Joey Cruciata loaded the bases, Mike Lagravenis bounced a seeing-eye single through the left side to put TCNJ ahead, 8-2.

TCNJ continued to add on in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs before Oczkowski plated Goodall with his second sacrifice fly of the day. A pinch-hit double by Sebastian JnoBaptiste set up a two-run single by Goodall in the seventh, extending the margin to 11-2.

Gray conceded just three hits and the two earned runs, whiffing a half-dozen while walking two. Joseph Felipe pitched two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts, and Jackson Malouf struck out one in a scoreless ninth for his collegiate debut.  

Goodall finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs, while Reeder was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Oczkowski finished 1-for-1 and drove in three runs, Hochheiser had two hits, and Lagravenis produced two RBIs from the leadoff spot.

TCNJ begins its spring trip to Florida with a matchup against Nebraska Wesleyan at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.