Jersey City, N.J. (4/13/13) – The Kean University baseball team salvaged a split at New Jersey City University falling in game one, 5-1 and rebounding for a 10-1 win in the nightcap. Head coach Neil Ioviero earned his 500th career coaching victory in game two.
Ioviero has been at the helm of the baseball program since 1998 and now boasts a 500-188-2 mark at Kean, giving him the most wins of any coach in any sport in Kean Athletics history. Ioviero's teams have won at least 20 games in all but one season in his 16 years at Kean, with an impressive nine seasons with 30 wins or more and two seasons over the 40 win plateau.
The #1/2 Cougars (23-6, 7-2 NJAC) had their seven game win streak snapped as the Gothic Knights used a four run third inning in the opener to hold on for a 5-1 win.
In game one, Kean struck first as senior Nick Ramagli lined a double down the leftfield line in their first at-bat, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. The Gothic Knights (14-13, 3-6 NJAC) responded and took the lead for good in the bottom of the third as Pete Senyszyn recorded a bases-loaded RBI single, followed by a two RBI single off the bat of Mike Martucci. Delio Coutinho rounded out the scoring with an RBI single to center as NJCU took a 4-1 lead. The Gothic Knights added insurance with a single run in the fifth as it was Martucci again, this time with a two-out RBI single.
Kean had their opportunities, recording the same amount of hits as NJCU (10), but the Cougars stranded nine on the base paths and were not able to mount a comeback. Starter Wendell Rodriguez (4-2) tossed a complete game allowing just one run and 10 hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Senior Sam Fourre suffered the loss in game one. Fourre (4-2) allowed five runs and nine hits in four and two thirds innings of work.
Offensively, junior Tyler Smarslok was 3-for-4, scoring Kean's only run.
In game two the Cougars got on the board right away Ramagli used a groundball to score junior Shane Alvarez, who reached on a leadoff walk. Smarslok then crossed the plate with Kean's second run of the frame, on an error.
Kean didn't stop there, scoring four more in the fifth and two in the sixth. Junior Joe O'Connor provided the big blow, his first homerun of the season, a two run shot in the fifth. Ramagli added two more in the sixth with a two RBI single to left.
Ramagli finished the nightcap with three RBI while Alvarez proved helpful in the leadoff spot with a 3-for-3 day, three runs scored and three walks.
Southpaw Dan Hansen (3-1) earned the win for Kean. Hansen allowed just five hits of shutout ball in seven innings on the mound.
Kean returns to action on Sunday when they host Rutgers-Newark in a rescheduled matchup at noon.