UNION, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team had a lead midway through Monday's NJAC Tournament game at No. 23 Kean, looking to continue its run through the loser's bracket after Sunday big win over No. 4 Rowan. After TCNJ managed to take a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, though, Kean stormed back to score eight runs in its last three at-bats to eliminate the Lions, 10-7.
 
The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to some small ball without the ball ever leaving the infield. Mike Lagravenis led off with an infield single. After moving to second on a wild pitch, he advanced to third on Jack Haynes' groundout. Chris Reeder followed with another groundout to allow Lagravenis to score.
 
After Kean took the lead with a two-run single in the second, TCNJ had a big inning in the fourth. The Lions scored four times to retake the lead, and they set the table by loading the bases with nobody out. After Reeder led off by reaching via an error, Ryan Goodall singled. Chris Cote walked to load the bases, and Joe Oczkowski came through with a two-run single through the left side to score both Reeder and Goodall. That put TCNJ ahead, 3-2.
 
Andrew Fernandez was newly named the NJAC Rookie of the Week earlier on Monday, and he followed with an RBI single of his own to score Cote to make it 4-2. After a Michael Schumacher sacrifice bunt, Joey Cruciata plated Oczkowski with a sacrifice fly. That gave the Lions a 5-2 lead.
 
Kean tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and the Cougars pulled ahead with four more in the seventh to make it 9-5.
 
TCNJ came back with two runs in the top of the eighth. Goodall and Cote led off the inning with singles, and they both scored when Fernandez doubled them home after an out. Fernandez was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Goodall went 2-for-5 with a couple of runs scored. Cote also scored twice.
 
Kean added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and TCNJ couldn't muster a rally in the ninth past a Haynes walk.