GLASSBORO, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team trailed, 6-1, heading into the seventh inning of Wednesday's NJAC game at No. 7 Rowan, but the Lions showed incredible fight in scoring three times in each of the seventh and eighth innings to take a 7-6 lead. Unfortunately for TCNJ, Rowan hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to sneak away with an 8-7 victory.
After losing to Rowan, 11-4, on Friday after falling behind by eight runs in the early going, the Lions got off to a better start on Wednesday.
Justin Marcario gave the Lions a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when he singled home
Ryan Goodall. Marcario had the team's lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Goodall scored three runs after going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
Rowan followed with the next six runs of the game, and the plot from Friday appeared to be repeating itself. Trailing, 5-1, freshman pitcher
Ethan Earley settled the Rowan offense by allowing just an unearned run without allowing a hit in his 2.1 innings of middle relief work.
That allowed the Lions to begin to chip away in the visitors' half of the seventh inning. Each of the first five Lions reached base. Goodall led off by working the second of those two walks, and
Joe Oczkowski followed with a single.
Andrew Fernandez doubled Goodall home, setting up two men in scoring position with the score now 6-2.
Marcario followed with a walk to load the bases, and that proved beneficial when
Joey Cruciata was hit by a pitch to force home Oczkowski to make it 6-3. After two outs, that scenario repeated itself when
Chris Reeder was also hit by a pitch to force home a run. Fernandez crossed to make it 6-4.
Earley and
Michael Silver combined to pitch a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, and the Lions' offense stayed hot in the eighth.
With one out, Goodall was at third after a leadoff single, and Oczkowski stood at second after he was also hit by a pitch. Marcario got the big hit, doubling to score both runs. That tied the game at 6-6, and a pair of errors followed to allow Marcario to score the go-ahead run.
The bottom of the eighth looked like a promising continuation of TCNJ momentum after the first two Rowan hitters made outs, but a single and a home run leapfrogged the Profs back on top of the Lions, 8-7.
TCNJ didn't get the ball out of the infield in the top of the ninth, and Rowan escaped with the win.
The Lions forced four walks and were hit by five pitches, including twice to Reeder.
NJAC play continues on Thursday when TCNJ heads to Stockton for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.
