Tuesday, May 3, 2011 (Baseball)

NELSON MALDONADO TOSSES FIFTH STRAIGHT GOTHIC KNIGHT COMPLETE GAME AS NJCU WINS SEASON FINALE, 3-2

FLEMINGTON, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior right-hander NELSON MALDONADO (Newark, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) hurled the fifth consecutive complete game by a New Jersey City University pitcher in the final week of the season and the Gothic Knights ended the year by winning four of their final five games with a 3-2 non-conference victory over Centenary College on Tuesday afternoon at Diamond Nation.

After struggling for much of the season, particularly in close contests, NJCU reached double figures in victories and finished the season with a 10-28 record. Centenary (11-21) has its four-game winning streak snapped. It was NJCU's second straight win, both by 3-2 margins, to close the season. NJCU led 3-1 before Centenary scored once in the ninth but left the tying run on first base.

Maldonado, who also tossed a complete game in a win over Montclair State University on April 27, picked up his third complete game of the season and fourth of his career while posting his fifth effort this year with six or more strikeouts and fourth outing with at least seven K's in his last five starts. In his nine-inning performance, Maldonado struck out seven, walked four and allowed just two runs and seven hits. He started the game with 100 career strikeouts and in 10^th place in program history, but vaulted into seventh place after three seasons with 107 Ks.

Senior right fielder JORGE GUTIERREZ (Sewaren, NJ/Hudson Catholic) was 2-for-4 and senior designated player JORDAN TETRICK (Delray Beach, FL/Radnor (Pa.)) was 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI while unleashing his sixth homer of the season, becoming just the eighth player in school history with at least six round-trippers in one season.

Junior shortstop ROB GONZALEZ (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) added his 177^th career hit—19 shy of equaling the program career record—and had one RBI. Sophomore left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) was 1-for-4 with one run and two steals.

Junior left-hander Chris Campbell (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) was the losing pitcher for the Cyclones (0-2), allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings, with two strikeouts and one walk. Centenary used four pitchers in the game. Senior righty Dan Chapman (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) walked three and allowed one unearned run in the ninth inning.

Freshman first baseman Nick Miller (Dalton, Pa.) was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and freshman right fielder Mike Crowe (Stroudsburg, Pa.) scored twice, batting 2-for-3 with a double. Sophomore catcher Victor Nunez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) was 2-for-4.

Centenary opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning as Crowe led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Miller. NJCU evened it in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez, scoring Rivera who had a one-out single then successfully stole second and third to manufacture a run. In the fourth, Tetrick put NJCU ahead to stay when he slammed a two-out solo homerun.

Meanwhile, Maldonado struck out one batter in each of the first six innings of the game. In the seventh, he faced his toughest challenge, loading the bases with two outs after allowing two walks sandwiched around a single. But Maldonado maintained the one-run lead and displayed his glove, snaring a line drive back to the mound to end the inning.

In the ninth, NJCU got a necessary insurance run. Tetrick drew a one-out walk and rookie ALEX TERAN (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) pinch ran, advancing to second on a wild pitch.  After another walk to senior first baseman MICHAEL FIORENTINO (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach), Teran advanced to third on a subsequent wild pitch. Rivera grounded a ball to second that could have ended the inning before an error by the second baseman kept the frame alive as Teran scored what proved to be the winning margin as NJCU moved ahead, 3-1. A walk to sophomore third baseman BRIAN BUSTILLO (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) loaded the bases before junior righty Mark Tanis (Pequannock, NJ/DePaul Catholic) came in as a reliever and got a groundout to end the inning as NJCU left the bags full.

In the bottom of the ninth, Crowe was hit by a pitch in a leadoff role, advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a ground ball for the first out of the inning. A sacrifice fly by Miller drove in Crowe to make it a one-run game and junior center fielder Randy Castillo (West New York, NJ/Memorial) drew a two-out walk. But Maldonado got junior shortstop Donny Bunce (Wrightstown, NJ/New Egypt) to send a game and season-ending groundball to shortstop as NJCU prevailed, 3-2.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—