Little Falls, N.J. (4/3/14) – Senior Cody Pace collected a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth as Montclair State slipped past third-ranked Kean University, 4-3 on Thursday afternoon in NJAC action.
MSU took advantage of a leadoff walk in their first at-bat as Christopher Reynolds lined a two out single to left to score rookie Ryan Long. Kean evened things up at the top of the second as sophomore Sal Taormina jumped out with a leadoff double. A single from senior Joe O'Connor put runners on the corners and senior Shane Alvarez knotted the game at one-all with a fielder's choice.
P.J. Jennings made it 2-1 in the bottom of the second frame as he led off the inning with a walk. An error allowed him to reach second safely and he moved to third on small ball. A fielder's choice from Long scored Jennings for the one run Red Hawk advantage.
MSU tacked on another single run in the fifth as Reynolds crossed the plate on a wild pitch. The Cougars edged closer in the sixth as Taormina lined a single into left for an RBI. Senior Tyler Smarslok tied things up in the seventh as he lined a two out single to center.
Long led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk. Lou Martini sacrificed Long to second and a base hit by catcher Anderson Rosa put runners at the corners. Reynolds then lined a ball to short that was scooped up by Ryan Reitmeyer who then fired a strike to home plate to nail Long for the second out of the inning. Pace then got behind in the count before drilling a 1-2 pitch into deep centerfield. Alvarez made an all-out effort to track the ball however the ball was just out of his diving reach allowing pinch runner Matt Long to score with the winning run.
Senior Nick Zucchero got the start and no decision as he went the first 6 2/3 innings giving up three runs (one earned) and five hits, striking out 12 and walking five.
Taormina finished with a 3-for-4 day at the plate for Kean, including a key 3-6-3 double play in the field.
The two teams will be right back at it tomorrow at Jim Hynes Stadium at 3:30 p.m.