JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | On the first warm northern day of the spring 2017 campaign, a collegiate baseball game with a football score saw the New Jersey City University baseball team claim a wild victory. NJCU trailed FDU-Florham 9-4 and 14-13 after the Gothic Knights scored nine times in the third inning. In a tale of two games, NJCU's bullpen shutdown the Devils in the second half of the game, limiting FDU to just one run in the final five innings as the Knights persevered for a 19-15 non-conference win on April 11 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 
NJCU, which has played 62 innings of baseball and seven games in a four-day window, improved to 8-11 while FDU dropped to 8-10. The Gothic Knights outhit FDU, 19-16, and tallied six doubles. The 34 runs occurred on a nearly 80-degree day with limited wind where neither team hit a home run.
 
Amazingly, on a day where offense ruled, NJCU utilized eight pitchers, but the final four to throw—sophomore right-handed pitchers Sean Gibney (Rutherford, NJ/Saint Mary-Rutherford) (Rutherford, N.J./Saint Mary-Rutherford) and Nate Facey (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick), junior righty Dan Foley (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) and sophomore lefty Kyle Kafer (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown) combined to allow just three hits in the final 5.1 innings. Meanwhile, NJCU cemented the win with three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
   Bill Feehan batted 3-for-6 with two runs, two RBIs and two doubles.NJCU was paced by junior first baseman Dan Berardi (Bridgewater, NJ/Middlesex) (Bridgewater, N.J./Middlesex) who continues to swing at a staggering rate. After hitting a game-winning homer on Monday in game one at Staten Island when he was 4-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs, Berardi did it again in the win over FDU. He chalked up three doubles, four RBIs and was 3-for-6 with a run scored.
 
Over a seven-game hitting streak in the last four days, Berardi is batting .452 with 14 hits (31 at bats), 12 RBIs, eight runs, eight doubles and a homer with an .806 slugging rate. In that span he has three games with three or more hits and three or more RBIs.
 
Meanwhile, freshman designated hitter Bill Feehan (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) broke out of a slump, doubling twice. He was 3-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs.
 
Senior left fielder Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) batted 3-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs and a walk and senior right fielder Joe Coutinho (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) finished 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and two walks. Senior second baseman Jeff Reinecke (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) came on as a reserve and drove in three runs, batting 2-for-5. Senior third baseman Zach Buchholz (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) (Colonia, N.J./JFK Memorial-Iselin), a day after joining the 100-hit club, scored four runs and was 2-for-2. He was hit by three pitches in the game.
 
The 34 combined runs makes this the highest scoring game for NJCU since 41 total runs were scored in a 25-16 spring trip win over Principia in Winter Haven, Fla. on March 10, 2015.
 
Also contributing on a day where seven Gothic Knights had multiple hits and 21 men saw action, sophomore shortstop Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, NJ/Spotswood) (Helmetta, N.J./Spotswood) scored twice, going 2-for-4, and junior center fielder Mike Ramirez (Old Bridge, NJ/Saint Joseph-Metuchen) (Old Bridge, N.J./Saint Joseph-Metuchen) walked three times and scored twice.
 
Gibney, in his 17th collegiate appearance (16th in relief), earned his first career win (1-0). He threw four pitches to get NJCU out of the fourth inning when FDU scored five times to reclaim a 14-13 lead, after the Knights tallied nine in the bottom of the third, sending 14 batters to the plate. Gibney struck out the only batter he faced.
 
Facey came in and threw well for 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run and two hits with a strikeout (two walks) and Foley tossed a quality two-thirds of an inning. Kafer, typically a starter, came on in a 16-15 game and collected his first career save, allowing just one hit over 25 pitches in the final 2.0 innings (two walks)
 
For FDU, five different players had two RBIs apiece. Senior second baseman Nick DeAngelis, Jr. (East Hanover, N.J.) was 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, junior center fielder Garrett Ruoff (Hillsborough, N.J.) walked three times and scored twice, going 2-for-3 and junior first baseman Christopher Franco (Wayne, N.J.) added two RBIs and two runs, going 2-for-4 with two walks.
 
Also for the Devils, senior shortstop Bryan Pieschel (Stamford, Conn.) went 2-for-6 with two RBIs, senior third baseman Josh DellaPietro (Bayville, N.J.) finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two walks and freshman designated hitter TC Weber (Warren, N.J.) provided two RBIs, batting 2-for-5. Sophomore Kevin Smiegocki (Hamilton, N.J.) chipped in two RBIs and two runs. FDU used four pitchers with sophomore Joseph DeFeo (Green Township, N.J.), the second to throw, losing (0-1).
   A key strikeout by Sean Gibney was enough for the first of the four final relievers to secure his first career win.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
FDU scored five times in the top of the first, including a two-run ground-rule double by Smiegocki, before leaving the bases loaded. The Devils stranded 14 runners on base in the loss.
 
NJCU countered with three runs on three hits in the bottom half of the inning as Ruscingno's RBI single followed Buchholz' first hit by pitch and a Feehan double. Coutinho's two-run single up the middle made it 5-3. NJCU added another run in the second on another Ruscingno RBI single. FDU pushed the lead to 9-4 when it tacked on four runs in the third. DeAngelis, Jr. had a two-run single and both Diaz and Pieschel added RBI hits.
 
The complexion of the game shifted in the third when NJCU scored nine runs on nine hits, including four doubles. Berardi doubled twice in the inning, leading off with a two-bagger. A ground-rule double by freshman catcher Lenin Gomez (Edison, NJ/Edison) (Edison, N.J./Edison) started the scoring. Reinecke had a two-run single and Buchholz added an RBI single. A two-run double by Feehan and an RBI single by Ruscingno brought Berardi up again, and he delivered for the second time, doubling to left for two more runs and a 13-9 advantage.
 
FDU answered with five runs on five hits in the fourth, including a two-run single by Franco and an RBI single by DellaPietro that put FDU back on top, 14-13. Gibney came in and struck out Smiegocki to end the threat.

NJCU went back on top to stay in the home fourth. With two outs, Berardi doubled for the third time, as he hit a 1-2 pitch to left center, scoring Buchholz, who singled, and Ruscingno, after walking. The two-run double made it 15-14. A sixth-inning error scored Buchholz, who was hit by a pitch, for a 16-14 edge. A bases loaded two-out error in the seventh allowed the Devils to cut the deficit to one, 16-15, before stranding the bases full. The Knights put the game away in the eighth inning, scoring three times—once on an error, and later on an RBI single by Reinecke and a sacrifice fly by LoGatto.


QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Head Coach Jerry Smith: "The 5.1 scoreless innings by Gibney, Facey, Foley and Kafer should not go unnoticed in a game like this. Our guys have played 62 innings over the last four days, including a late doubleheader last night before playing an afternoon game today."
 
OF NOTE:

• The game marks the second time this year NJCU has won a game with 30 or more combined runs (21-9 at Mount Saint Mary, March 30).
• NJCU has now won the last five games where or 30 or more runs have scored—all in Jerry Smith's six years as head coach. These include a 22-10 win at Staten Island on April 25, 2015 and an 18-12 win over Centenary on February 24, 2013.
• The last time NJCU lost a game with 30 or more total runs was a 20-12 setback to TCNJ on April 22, 2011.
• Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) moved into a share of 13th place in school history, now with 141 hits in 119 games. He matched Brian Veneziano (141 hits, 1997-00) and Michael Fiorentino (141 hits, 2009-11), and passed Ruben Borges (139 hits, 2005-07). Next up: Sean Costello with 143 hits (1984-87) in 12th place.
• Joe Coutinho (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) now has 107 hits in 113 games and is tied for 35th in school history. He moved past Ken Witte (105 hits, 2009-11), Mark Hoyer (105 hits, 2008-09) and Phil Lospalluto (106 hits, 2002-03) and tied Paul Grasso (107 hits, 1991-93) on the hits list.
• Zach Buchholz (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) now has 103 career hits in 117 games and is 40th on the career list.
• Dan Berardi's three doubles are the most since Andrew Niech (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) had three vs. CCNY on April 6, 2015.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU plays for the fifth day in a row when it hosts St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) on Wednesday, April 12 (3:30 p.m.) at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. The Bears come in at 9-12 overall but 8-4 in the Skyline Conference.