EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat William Paterson, 11-7, on a chilly Good Friday afternoon at George Ackerman Park.
The Lions were down 7-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning after scoring single runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings. In the eighth, it appeared as though the Lions may come away without any runs. The first two hitters of the inning were retired, but Jack Felipe sparked a rally with his single to left.
After Michael Doran singled to move pinch runner Jason Wasko to center, Sebastian JnoBaptiste drove Wasko home with the tying run on his single to left. JnoBaptiste had three hits, including a double, and also scored two runs.
Pinch hitter Zach Hochheiser walked to load the bases, and Zach Weiner followed with another walk to force home the go-ahead run in Doran. Jack O'Donnell delivered a two-run single to make it 10-7, and Justin Marcario singled to score Weiner to make it 11-7.
Alec Schwartz pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the victory.
An early defensive play may have saved this game from going early to the Pioneers. William Paterson led, 3-0, in the top of the second with runners at the corners and one out. On a fly out to right, Weiner gunned down Steve Yelin at the plate to end the inning to keep the lead from expanding beyond three runs.
Michael Schumacher had an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and the Lions tied the score at three in the third on Ryan Goodall's two-run homer into the trees in left. Goodall was 2-for-5 with a walk.
TCNJ took a 4-3 lead in the fifth after Justin Marcario's leadoff single turned into a run when Doran drove him home with a single to center field. Marcario had three hits, and Doran was 2-for-3 with a walk.
William Paterson scored four times in the top of the sixth to take a 7-4 lead, but TCNJ got those single runs in the bottom of the sixth when Weiner scored an unearned run and in the bottom of the seventh when Weiner plated Doran.
Matt Santos earned the victory in relief, tossing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. Starting pitcher Jordan Gray allowed three runs in five innings while picking up a no-decision.
TCNJ returns to action with an NJAC doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m.
