MADISON, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior left-handed ace DELIO COUTINHO (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), the nation's No. 5 ranked pitcher in strikeouts per nine innings, was the winner for the second straight game, striking out eight batters in seven innings and the Gothic Knights used a 15-hit attack to cap its 2014 season with a third consecutive non-conference victory, 7-4, over FDU-Florham on May 6.
Leading 1-0, NJCU (13-25) collected a pair of runs in the fifth before scoring four crucial insurance runs in the top of the seventh. FDU-Florham, which qualified for the ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate Tournament later this week as the No. 2 seed, falls to 21-15, losing its third straight. NJCU has won all three meetings with FDU since Jerry Smithbecame head coach of the Knights in 2012.
Coutinho, the winner in relief against Centenary in NJCU's previous game on May 2, improved to 5-3 on the season while moving into second place in single-season school history with 78 strikeouts—the most by an NJCU pitcher since 1982. Coutinho threw 7.0 innings in the win in his 10th start of the season and allowed just one unearned run and four hits with eight strikeouts and three walks. Coutinho struck out two batters in the first inning and three in the fourth frame with at least one in each of the first five innings.
Smith praised his ace by saying: "Delio did a nice job getting ahead against a team who offensively battled the entire game. FDU did a nice job extending at bats and Delio's eight strikeouts were hard-earned. He did a nice job today executing pitches as opposed to trying to just overpower. It's adjustments like that that shows the maturity of Delioand shows how far he has come to be a pitcher for us. The attributes he displayed today shows why he's a top line pitcher in our rotation."