JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior Day 2019 had a little bit of everything for the New Jersey City University baseball team. Senior ace Fernando Guerrero (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) struck out 10 batters in an abbreviated relief role—one for every senior being honored. Senior Mike Albunia (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) pulled off the elusive defensive cycle, playing all nine positions during a nine-inning game. And two Gothic Knights homered. NJCU wrapped up its 2019 season, defeating a very good New York University squad, 12-3, on May 3 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
NJCU ends its 2019 season with a 16-22 ledger, winning its final two games. NYU fell to 25-12 with its three-game winning streak ending. NJCU led 5-0 after two innings and clutching a 6-3 lead after seven, put up six more runs while batting around in the eighth.
Prior to the game, NJCU honored its 2019 season class—its largest on record—including Albunia, second baseman Matt Corsi (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East), right-handed pitcher Nate Facey (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), righty Sean Gibney (Rutherford, NJ/Saint Mary-Rutherford), Guerrero, center fielder Jesse Kraft (Nutley, NJ/Saint Mary-Rutherford), shortstop Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, NJ/Spotswood), left-handed pitcher Kyle McCabe (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial), third baseman Tom Pulcine (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) and lefty Anthony Zicaro (Linden, NJ/Linden). NJCU also honored former captain Rob Roman, now a detective for the Hoboken (N.J.) Police Department, who played from 2011-13 but gave up his senior season to join the police academy.
In an extremely predetermined pitching rotation, all six pitchers were seniors and while Facey threw the first 1.1 innings and earned the win (3-1) in an abbreviated final appearance, it was Guerrero, the former two-year reliever at Division I Marshall who became NJCU's ace this season who stole the show.
Guerrero entered the game in the fifth inning and fired gas as he struck out the first seven batters he faced and fanned 10 of the 13 batters he faced in the game. In 4.1 perfect innings of relief, he threw 58 pitches, striking out the final two batters in the fifth inning before he K'd the side in the sixth. He opened the seventh inning with back-to-back strikeouts before the frame ended on a liner to center on the only ball the Violets hit in the air. He also recorded a pair of groundouts. He retired the first two outs in the ninth, including the opening batter for his career high 10th K.
Meanwhile, Albunia had an incredibly memorable senior day experience, starting at first base before shifting to a new position every inning—second base in the second, shortstop in the third, third base in the fourth, and left, center and right field in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He committed errors at second and shortstop. Albunia, naturally a catcher, went behind the plate in the eighth inning and returned to right field for the first two outs of the ninth before entering in relief of Guerrero to register the final out of the season with NJCU's 15th strikeout of an NYU batter in the game.
Offensively, junior designated hitter Bill Feehan (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and a solo homer while Kraft doubled twice, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Freshman Miguel Valentin (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris), who entered as a defensive replacement in left fielder, drilled a three-run homer in the eighth for the first three RBIs of his collegiate career after opening the year 2-for-12.
Also for NJCU, junior right fielder Juan Pena (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) was 2-for-4 with one RBI, one run and his 36th stolen base. Albunia was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and Pulcine walked twice.
Facey finished his career with an 8-4 record. In 1.1 innings, he allowed one hit, striking out one (one walk) against six batters. McCabe pitched the next inning before Gibney struck out two over 1.1 shutout innings. Zicaro faced three batters, striking out one with a walk.
NJCU got to NYU's ace early. Junior lefty Ford Ladd (Longwood, Colo.) who fell to 8-3 on the season, allowing five runs on five hits in just 1.1 innings. The Violets used six pitchers in the loss. Sophomore second baseman Chris Cassandra (Freehold, N.J) had two RBIs while senior center fielder Jack Walter (Lubbock, Texas) and senior first baseman Colman Hendershot (Lubbock, Texas) each had a pair of hits.
NJCU scored twice in the bottom of the first inning. Feehan was hit by a pitch, Pulcine walked and Pena singled in a run. A sacrifice fly by LoGatto knocked in Pulcine for a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Kraft and Corsi doubled back-to-back for a 3-0 lead. Albunia singled and a successful squeeze bunt by freshman catcher Anthony Palmisano (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) made it 4-0 before Feehan slipped a single down the right fielder line for the fifth run.
NYU made a game of it in the third, scoring three times, including a pair of unearned runs on a two-out single by Cassandra after an error extended the inning. The Violets would not score again and had just three hits the rest of the game.
Feehan homered to lead off the fifth to increase the margin to 6-3. In the eighth, Pena led off with a double, LoGatto singled and freshman first baseman Ricky Voss (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) made it 7-3 with an RBI single. A two-run double by Kraft to left center pushed the lead to 9-3. Valentin punctuated the victory with a three-run blast over the left field fence.
OF NOTE:
- NJCU's senior class won 70 games over the last four season and at least 15 games each year.
- In his only season for NJCU, Guerrero's 10 Ks are a career high and one more than the nine he fanned in 7.0 against Rutgers-Camden on April 6.
- The last NJCU pitcher to strikeout 10+ batters in a game was Mike Ramirez (Old Bridge, NJ/Saint Joseph-Metuchen) on April 12, 2018 in a complete-game nine-inning victory at Ramapo College.
- Bill Feehan (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro), limited to just 12 games this season due to injury, will enter his senior season in 2020 with 82 hits in 84 games (81 starts). He is already eighth in school history with 59 walks.
- Sean Gibney (Rutherford, NJ/Saint Mary-Rutherford) made his 53rd career appearance, finishing No. 2 in school history in games by a pitcher.
- Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, NJ/Spotswood) finished his career as NJCU's all-time leader in assists with 370. His 128 hits in 138 games (126 starts) are No. 22 all-time.
- Kyle McCabe (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) made his 23rd appearance of the season—second most in a single-season in school history.
- Juan Pena (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) has 96 hits in 76 career games (76 starts) in two seasons at NJCU, and will look for his 100th hit in early 2020.
- Tom Pulcine (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) finished his NJCU career with 92 hits in 77 career games and more than 150 between NJCU and Ocean County College.
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