EWING, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Nationally no. 4/11 ranked The College of New Jersey had two different pitchers throw complete-game shutouts as the Lions swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader from the New Jersey City University baseball team on April 13, winning the opener 3-0 and the nightcap 9-0 at George Ackerman Park.
TCNJ, ranked No. 4 by the American Baseball Coaches Association and No. 11 by D3baseball.com, improved to 22-3 with its seventh consecutive win and is 9-1 with sole possession of first place in the NJAC. NJCU falls below .500 for the first time since game five of its spring trip, falling to 12-13 overall and 2-8 in the NJAC. The Knights have lost five straight.
GAME 1: #4/11 TCNJ 3, NJCU 0
TCNJ scored twice in the second inning, added an insurance run in the fifth and in a well-pitched game for both schools, edged NJCU, 3-0.
Each starter went the distance. Junior right-handed pitcher Peter Nielsen (Freehold, N.J.) was the winner (3-1) for TCNJ, throwing 120 pitches in a complete-game four-hit shutout. He struck out nine and walked one.
Junior righty Ian Ambrose (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) (0-3) allowed just three runs and eight hits over 8.0 innings, striking out five against three walks over 112 pitches. Seven of the eight hits were singles.
Junior left fielder Jacob Simon (Hightstown, N.J.) batted 2-for-4 for TCNJ and six other players had one hit. Senior second baseman Matt Corsi (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) was 2-for-4 for NJCU. Freshman first baseman Ricky Voss (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) was 1-for-3 with a double.
In the second inning, senior second baseman Ryan Fischer (Trenton, N.J.) led off with a double, sophomore designated hitter Cameron Cane (Hopewell, N.J.) singled and TCNJ took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by senior right fielder Matt Giacose (Wykoff, N.J.), before a sac fly by junior center fielder Thomas Persichetti (Hamilton, N.J.) made it 2-0.
Voss led off the third with a double but Nielsen retired the next three batters. NJCU had two more hits in the fourth but couldn't capitalize. In the fifth, junior catcher David Cardona III (Elizabeth, N.J.) walked, Simon singled and a throwing error forced in the third run. TCNJ followed with a single but stranded two on base. NJCU was limited to just one hit in the final five innings—a seventh-inning single by Corsi who was stranded at third.
GAME 2: #4/11 TCNJ 9, NJCU 0
The Lions scored six times in the fourth inning to break open a 2-0 game and received a complete-game three-hit shutout effort from junior righty Michael Walley (Yardley, Pa.) in a 9-0 game two win.
Walley improved to 4-0 on the year, striking out seven and walking two over 116 pitches. NJCU used three pitchers, with sophomore righty Jason Rivera (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) suffering the loss (0-1). Only two of the eight runs he gave up were earned as NJCU committed three errors.
Senior shortstop Danny Borup (Plainsboro, N.J.) was 3-for-5 with two doubles one run and one RBI and senior first baseman Tommy McCarthy (Allentown, N.J.) had two RBIs, batting 2-for-5 with one run. Simon and freshman catcher Chris Reeder (Allentown, N.J.) each scored twice.
TCNJ scored twice in the second inning. After Simon was hit by a pitch and McCarthy singled, a sac fly by Fischer. After an error extended the inning, Giacose had a run-producing ground ball for a 2-0 lead.
Still a close game after three innings, TCNJ pulled away in the bottom of the fourth with the entire rally coming after two quick outs opened the frame. After a pair of singles by Reeder and Giacose kept the inning alive, Borup doubled for a 3-0 lead. After a throwing error extended the inning and made it 4-0 and an RBI double by Persichetti added the fifth run, TCNJ walked back-to-back and McCarthy, the 2018 NJAC Player of the Year, drove in two more runs with an RBI single for a 7-0 margin before the Lions added a sixth run on the sixth hit of the inning. TCNJ added a ninth run in the fifth inning when Cardona III was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
UP NEXT:
NJCU looks to get back over .500 on Wednesday, April 17 when it plays a non-conference mid-week doubleheader against St. Joseph's College (LI) in Patchogue, N.Y. First pitch is 4 p.m. and both contests will be seven innings. Live stats are available for game one and game two.
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