Montclair, NJ – They say that turnabout is fair play and that's what the Montclair State baseball team did on Friday afternoon. A day after getting blanked by William Paterson, the Red Hawks returned the favor with a 6-0 victory at Yogi Berra Stadium.
Senior righthander Connor Lindsay tossed a three-hit shutout striking out eight as the Red Hawks (14-7, 3-1 NJAC), who lost to WPU in Wayne on Thursday, 2-0, earned a split of the home-and-home series. The Pioneers fell to 12-8 overall, 1-3 in conference play.
Lindsay faced four batters over the minimum improving to 4-1 on the season. The righty, who lowered his ERA to 1.51 on the year, allowed three singles and got seven fly ball outs and 11 ground outs in his 124-pitch effort. Righthander Kyle Weiner (2-1) took the loss for William Paterson.
Lindsay retired the first six hitter he faced but ran into some trouble in the third as WPU put the first two runners on. But catcher Justin Bates picked off the lead runner at second for the first out and two batters later Lindsay was out of the jam with the game still scoreless.
The Red Hawks turned that momentum into runs in its half scoring five times during a two-out rally. Andrew Ollwerther drew a walk and Nick Martinez followed with a base hit. Ian Lynch punched a single through the right side scoring Ollwerther with the first run. After a hit batter loaded the bases, Bates singled to left scoring two more runs for a 3-0 advantage. Hayden Reyes singled into center plating two more runs as Montclair led 5-0.
Meanwhile Lindsay kept things rolling along retiring seven straight before allowing a one-out single in the sixth. He set down the next two batters to end that inning and ran his streak to 10 in a row until an infield single with two outs in the ninth snapped the string. Lindsay secured the win with a comebacker for the final out.
Montclair's final run came in the bottom of the eighth via another two-out rally. Bates singled and moved to second on a walk to Reyes. Connor Kelly followed with a single to left scoring Bates.
Bates and Kelly had two hits apiece for MSU.
The Red Hawks are back in action on Sunday, April 8 as it heads to Glassboro to take on No. 2 Rowan University at 11:30 am. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Saturday but pushed back due to incoming inclement weather.