EWING, N.J. – A dominant offensive performance propelled the TCNJ baseball team to a 14-8 come-from-behind victory over John Jay on Tuesday afternoon at George Ackerman Park. The Lions (3-4) used two big innings to pull away, scoring five runs in the sixth and seventh innings to secure the win after falling behind, 6-4, after the top of the sixth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
John Jay struck first with a run in the top of the first, but TCNJ answered in the third, tying the game on a defensive miscue before
Jack O'Donnell drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. In the fourth, O'Donnell came through again, plating two more with a single up the middle to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Bloodhounds (5-3) stunned the home side with a five-run top of the sixth, punctuated by a bases-clearing triple with two outs.
The Lions broke it open in the bottom half, however, with
Mike LaGravenis delivering a three-run double as part of a five-run frame after John Jay walked the bags full with no outs.
Gianni Marano and
Justin Marcario added RBI singles in the explosion.
Zach Hochheiser's bases-clearing triple in the seventh helped TCNJ put the game away with another five-run inning.
Marano got the start, pitching five strong innings and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out three.
Jack Marchese earned the win, pitching the sixth inning in advance of TCNJ's go-ahead outburst in the bottom half.
The bullpen combined for four innings of work, with
Joe Ferreri throwing two perfect frames and
Jalen Maharaja closing out the ninth in his collegiate debut.
STANDOUT LIONS
- LaGravenis: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2B, 3 R
- O'Donnell: 1-for-4, 3 RBI, R
- Hochheiser: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 3B, R
- Marcario (SS): 3-for-4, 3 RBI
- Marano: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 0 BB
UP NEXT
The Lions head to Auburndale, Florida, for the RussMatt Invitational. There, they will face the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday at 1:30 PM to kick off a stretch of nine games in eight days.
