PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – William Paterson (17-8) crossed the plate five times during the top of the ninth inning to rally for an 8-4 baseball victory April 14 at St. Joseph's-Long Island (13-10).
Two singles and a groundout handed the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, but the Pioneers responded with a two-run fifth. A fielder's choice left sophomore center fielder Mike Abate (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) on first base with two outs, and after he stole second, junior left fielder Tyler Garguilo (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) hit an infield single. A wild pitch allowed Abate to cross home plate, and graduate student first baseman AJ Flores (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) doubled in Garguilo.
Junior right fielder Jimmy Kenny (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex Regional) hit a bases-loaded single to right field to drive in Abate for a 3-1 edge in the seventh.
Two base hits and a pair of doubles resulted in a 4-3 SJ-LI edge after seven innings.
Garguilo started the ninth-inning rally with a leadoff walk and stolen base. Flores followed with an RBI-single to right center, and Kenny and junior shortstop Victor Sanchez (Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) produced base hits. Sophomore Mike Rowe (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) drove in two more scores with his single to left-center field, and junior pinch hitter K.C. Abel (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) delivered the tying run with a fielder's choice. Rowe scored the deciding run thanks to freshman third baseman Rob Eggert's (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) groundout.
Kenny finished 4-for-5 with an RBI and run scored, while Flores went 2-for-4, hit a double and drove in two runs while scoring once. Garguilo added two steals to his pair of hits.
Junior Cavan Penberthy (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) started and allowed one run on six hits over 5.1 innings, striking out two and walking three. Classmate Jon Bujtas (Boonton, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) surrendered four hits and three runs with one strikeout in 1.1 innings, and freshman Corey Martinez (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) earned the victory with 1.1 innings of two-run ball (2-0). Freshman Bryan Kopko (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) tossed a one-hit ninth inning for his third save.
Junior left fielder Joseph Lynn led St. Joseph's-Long Island with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with two runs scored. Classmate Frank Trionfo took the loss (1-2), giving up three runs on two hits.
William Paterson will play at Rutgers-Newark Thursday, April 16, at 3:30 p.m.
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