UNION, N.J.- The NJAC No. 5 ranked TCNJ baseball team upset NJAC No. 2 ranked Kean on Thursday with an impressive 7-4 win in the opening round of the NJAC Tournament.
Freshman
John DiCostanzo did a great job keeping the Lions in the game in his six innings on the mound. In his outing, he allowed just three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. He also allowed three runs, but all of those were unearned.
Through the first four innings, this one proved to be a pitching duel as there were only three hits between both teams. However, TCNJ threw the first big punch of the fight scoring all three runs with two outs in the top half of the fifth on three hits on the inning.
Chris Reeder beat out a ball down the third base line to score
Jack Haynes, who led the inning off with a single up the middle. The very next batter,
Ryan Goodall crushed his eighth homer of the year off the foul pole in left field scoring himself and Reeder to give the Lions a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, an error followed by a hit and a walk all with two outs led to a bases clearing double from the Cougars tied the game at three after six.
TCNJ immediately answered as they put up another crooked number with four runs scored on five hits. The bases were quickly loaded starting with a
Justin Marcario single, a Reeder double down the left field line and an intentional walk of Goodall. This put
Andrew Fernandez at the plate with a supreme chance to give the Lions the lead. He capitalized on that chance, hitting a two-run double off the fence in left field to give TCNJ a 5-3 lead. After a
Jack Felipe walk and the second out of the inning, Haynes picked up his third hit of the day with an RBI single to left field, scoring Goodall and Fernandez to bring the score to 7-3.
DiCostanzo then handed over pitching duties to
Michael Silver in the seventh. With two outs, after Kean scored a run in the seventh, Coach Glus turned to another lefty in the bullpen,
Ethan Earley to get the last out of the seventh. Earley answered as he got the final out of the seventh to get TCNJ out of the jam.
Earley got through the eighth unscathed and handed the ball over to
Joe Ferreri for the ninth. While the tying run was at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, Ferreri was able to shut the door on the Cougars and seal the opening round upset.
Leading the Lions to victory at the plate on Thursday was Reeder, Goodall, Fernandez and Haynes. Haynes led the team in hits on the day with three and two RBIs as well as a run scored. Fernandez and Reeder each had two hits as Fernandez had 2 RBIs and a run scored to Reeder's one RBI and two runs scored. Goodall's one mighty swing of the bat brought in two runs, one of his own and he also touched home a second time.
TCNJ will now wait to see who the winner will be tomorrow between Montclair St. and William Paterson as the Lions will play the winner of that game on Saturday back in Union at Kean University for the Second Round of the NJAC tournament. First pitch for Saturday is scheduled for 7 PM.
