EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team took the first game of their doubleheader against New Jersey City on Saturday, but had to settle for a split as they fell short in game two.
Game 1: TCNJ 6, NJCU 1
To take game one, TCNJ relied on a stellar outing on the mound from starter
Jesse Beer. The sophomore went the distance, allowing just five hits and one run in nine innings. He found himself in a bit of trouble in the fifth, where the Gothic Knights scored a run and loaded the bases with two outs. Beer was able to force the next batter into a flyout, however, and held the opponents to just one hit the rest of the way.
Offensively, five of the Lions' six runs game in the second inning. TCNJ loaded the bases after a trio of walks, after which
Jack O'Donnell drove in the first two runs of the game with a single through the left side.
Michael Contiliano and
Tyler Provost then followed up with back-to-back singles of their own, resulting in a four-run lead. After that,
Brian Lovaglio hit a ball that stayed just fair down the third-base line for an RBI double to make it 5-0 in favor of the home team. TCNJ added their sixth and final run of game one in the fourth, where Contiliano got to third on a botched fly ball and scored on an ensuing wild pitch.
STANDOUT LIONS
- Beer: 9.0 IP (CG), 1 ER, 5 HA, 4 Ks
- O'Donnell: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R
- Contiliano: 2-5, 1 RBI, 2 R
Game 2: NJCU 5, TCNJ 3
In what proved to be a close contest, the Lions were unable to secure the sweep in game two. TCNJ ran into some issues early, as NJCU scored the first three runs of the contest. In the fourth, however, TCNJ tied the game up thanks a three-run homer from
Jake Carter. Contiliano led off the inning with a single, and then Provost wore a pitch in the shoulder to put two runners on. Carter then stepped up and blasted a no-doubter over the left-field fence on the second pitch of his at-bat.
The two teams were knotted at 3-3 through the next three innings, as TCNJ's
John DiCostanzo and NJCU's Phil Kramer each held their opposing bats at bay. In the end, however, the Gothic Knights scored a decisive two runs in the top of the eighth to earn the doubleheader sweep.
STANDOUT LIONS
- Contiliano: 3-5, 1 R
- Carter: 2-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
- Nate McLaughlin: 2-4
UP NEXT
- The Lions will go on the road to Keystone College on Tuesday, April 21, for their last non-conference game of the season.
