WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (2-0) used a four-run sixth inning to earn a 6-4, come-from-behind victory against Drew (2-2) Feb. 26 during the Pioneers' baseball home opener. The game was called in the middle of the seventh inning due to darkness.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Three singles and a passed ball helped the Rangers cross the plate twice during the top of the second.
- WP used a two-base error, groundout and Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) RBI-double to right field for a 2-1 score after three frames.
- Drew strung together a walk, double and wild pitch to score once during the top half of the fourth, but junior shortstop Greg Cuevas (West New York, N.J./St. Mary (Rutherford)) singled in senior second baseman Matt Ferrara (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) to make it a 3-2 margin after four.
- The Pioneers took their first lead of the game, seizing control with a four-run sixth inning. Junior catcher Dylan Habeeb (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) and junior left fielder Frankie Deane (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) beat of slow choppers for infield singles, and a Cuevas walk loaded the bases for junior center fielder Steven DiGirolamo (Dumont, N.J./Dumont). His blast into the left-center gap drove in all three runners, and he later touched home himself when junior first baseman Carson Weis (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) lifted a sacrifice fly to center.
- Two walks and a single led to a popup that no fielder could handle in front of the plate, allowing the Rangers to add one run to their tally in the top of the seventh.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Yelin went 3-for-4 with a double and RBI, while DiGirolamo drove across three Pioneer runs with his double. In all, eight different WP players recorded a hit.
- Junior Jordan Manne (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) tossed the first 4.0 innings, surrendering three runs (two earned), four hits and two walks with one strikeout. Junior Jason Palmeri (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) earned the win (1-0) with 2.0 hitless innings of relief, posting four punchouts and four walks. Senior Jack DeFouw (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) was credited with his first save of the season, giving up two hits, a run and two walks while striking out a pair during the final 1.0 inning.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson will play a home seven-inning doubleheader against Franklin and Marshall Saturday, Feb. 29, at 12:00 p.m.
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