CAMDEN, N.J.  - The TCNJ baseball team went .500 on the final day of the NJAC Tournament Friday afternoon, topping second-seeded and 13th-ranked Rowan, 6-4, to secure its spot in the Championship Series where the Lions fell to a red-hot Rutgers-Camden team, 5-2.
 
GAME 1: TCNJ 6, #13 Rowan 4
 
The fourth time was the charm for TCNJ (26-17-1), which held off a late comeback attempt by the Profs (31-10) to secure its spot in the NJAC Championship Series for the first time since 2023.
 
The Lions threatened early in Friday's opener, with a Jack O'Donnell double and Gianni Marano single putting two in scoring position with just one out in the first, but an untimely double play ended proceedings abruptly. Instead it was Rowan striking first in the bottom of the second after an RBI single scored Damon Suriani to give the Profs a 1-0 lead.
 
That advantage was short-lived, however, as an RBI single off that bat of Marano leveled the score at two before a three-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Lions the lead for good.
 
Zach Hochheiser and Tyler Provost drew consecutive walks to start the frame, bringing Andrew Fernandez to the plate. Likely the hottest hitter in the postseason, the senior stepped up once again against the Profs, launching a no-doubter to left field – his sixth home run in as many games – to quickly turn a tied game into a 4-1 TCNJ lead.
 
Ben Amon and Rowan's Steven Maiers shored things up in the middle innings before both sides added a run in the seventh – the Lions' coming off a Marano solo shot while the Profs' was scored via an error – to give TCNJ a 5-2 lead heading into the eighth.
 
The Lions capitalized on relief pitcher Christian Rice to build their lead back to four at 6-2 before Rowan made one final comeback attempt in the home half.
 
Amon could only record one out before loading the bases in the eighth, forcing Evan Frank into the game in a tight spot. The sophomore succumbed to the pressure early after a wild pitch scored one run, but regained his composure, allowing just one more run on a sacrifice fly to limit the damage.
 
TCNJ went down in order in the top of the ninth, but Frank coolly returned the favor in the home half to secure the 6-4 win and the Lions a spot in the NJAC Championship Series.
 
STANDOUT LIONS

• Marano: 3-4, 2 RBI, 1 HR
• Fernandez: 1-3, 3 RBIs, 2 R
• Amon: 7.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 K
• Frank: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER

NOTES

• Amon's start was the program record-breaking 48th of his career.

GAME 2: Rutgers-Camden 5, TCNJ 2
The Lions fell victim to a red-hot Scarlet Raptors (29-15) team in Game 1 of the NJAC Championship Series, falling 5-2 to Rutgers-Camden en route to the program's first conference title.
 
Jack Murphy racked up three RBIs in the first three innings to give Rutgers-Camden a 3-0 lead before TCNJ responded with one of their own in the fourth. O'Donnell and Marano singles followed by a walk drawn by Justin Marcario loaded the bases with two outs and brought Hochheiser to the plate. The senior showed poise at the plate, battling to a walk himself to score the Lions' first run of the game. TCNJ had the chance for more with the bases still loaded, but Provost went down swinging to keep it a 3-1 game.
 
As was the case in the Lions' first contest against Rowan, the game's middle innings were quiet prior to a seventh inning in which both teams scored. TCNJ struck first in the top half of the inning, using an RBI grounder off the bat of Brian Lovaglio to trim the lead to one – TCNJ once again had the chance for more but went down via the strikeout to leave the bases loaded for the second time.
 
There with a response, however, were the Scarlet Raptors, who used a two-RBI single from Ryan Joseph in the home half to build the lead back to three at 5-2, where it would hold the rest of the way.
 
UP NEXT

• The Lions await to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.