Newark, N.J. (4/17/21) – The Kean University baseball team swept host Rutgers-Newark on Saturday afternoon by the finals of 5-3 and 17-1.
Game One – Kean 5, Rutgers-Newark 3
Back-to-back singles from Timothy Huxen and Christian Pellone with one out set up the Cougars (11-8, 6-4 NJAC) in the top of the first. Phil Marcantonio drove them both in with a single and a 2-0 lead.
Kean doubled their lead with two more in the second as Cristian Corcione led off with a single. After a successful sacrifice, Frank LoGiudice doubled him home for a 3-0 advantage. Huxen added two it with an RBI single one batter later.
The Scarlet Raiders erased the shutout in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly. Rutgers-Newark added one more in the bottom of the sixth after scoring on a miscue.
Leading 4-2, the Cougars added their final run of the opener in the top of the seventh on an RBI sacrifice from Kyle Harrington. The Scarlet Raiders had a small rally in the bottom of the seventh and picked up one with an RBI single. Later in the inning they loaded the bases with two outs, but relief pitcher Matt Baker was able to work into and out of trouble with a strikeout to end the threat.
Offensively LoGiudice was 4-for-5 with an RBI and run scored while Michael Medvetz and Pellone were each 3-for-5.
Justin Diefenbach (3-0) earned the win after tossing six and two thirds innings. He allowed one earned run, recorded four strikeouts and scattered six hits. Justin Hernandez earned his second save of the year as he threw two innings allowing just two hits. He also fanned two.
Game Two – Kean 17, Rutgers-Newark 1
Pellone had a monster nightcap as he was 6-for-6 with five RBI. The Cougars pounded out 21 hits as five Cougars had a multi-hit day.
Kean scored in each of the first five frames and led 15-0 in that time. Starter Collin Kiernan (2-2) limited the Scarlet Raiders to just one run on three hits in seven innings of work. He fanned 11 and walked just one. Miguel Velez and Frank Dente IV combined for two innings of scoreless, hitless relief.
Offensively LoGiudice, Huxen and Dren Gocaj each had three RBI while Huxen and Michael Lapczynski each had three hits.
Kean returns to action on Thursday when they travel to Montclair State University.