JERSEY CITY, N.J. — For the first time since since April 23, 1989, when Jersey City State College swept Trenton State College in a doubleheader, the New Jersey City University baseball team split a home twin bill with The College of New Jersey on Sunday, April 2, to start New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play with a victory — it is NJCU's first win in its NJAC opener since 2018. Additionally, graduate student first baseman Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional) blasted his first home run of the season in game one, giving him 18 for his career, which ties the all-time mark, set back in 1988 by Hall of Famer Rich Levens.

Game 1: NJCU 9, TCNJ 2
Not to be outdone by the headline maker in Voss, rookie Dom Yarson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) posted the best start of his young collegiate career for NJCU (9-10, 1-1 NJAC), going the distance for the 9.0-inning complete game, striking out five Lions (10-11, 1-1 NJAC) and allowing just two earned runs on nine hits. It is the first time since 2018 that a Gothic Knight pitcher has gone the full 9.0 innings on the mound — Kyle Kater '18 accomplished the feat twice that season, both in NJAC victories.

Jersey City fell behind in the top of the first as TCNJ knocked in a one-run single with one out to take a 1-0 lead, however that would be the only occasion in which the Lions held the lead in the top half of the doubleheader. Neither squad managed any noise offensively until the bottom of the third. With two outs, the Lions allowed senior rightfielder Josh Hernandez (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista Community) to reach on an error at short. In the next at-bat, Voss launched his first round-tripper of the season — a two-run shot — to put NJCU up 2-1. The Green and Gold got one more from the same duo with two outs in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez doubled to the gap in right before Voss plated him with a single to the gap in left for what ultimately was the game-winner, making it 3-1.

The Gothic Knights next manufactured a run in the bottom of the sixth. Yarson — who also had a stellar game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a RBI and two runs — led off with a single. Senior second baseman Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) sacrificed him over to second in the next at-bat before senior leftfielder Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) flew out to center, allowing Yarson to tag up and advance to third. Finally, sophomore backstop Nick Vaughn (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) managed to reach on an infield single to the left side of second base, which plated Yarson for the RBI, making it 4-1.

Leading by three, NJCU blew it open in the bottom of the seventh, scoring five runs on five hits, along with a TCNJ error. Freshman shortstop Arian Lunar (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) led off via that error at second before Voss hit a single to put two runners on. Junior third baseman Garrett Allo (Monroe, N.J./East Brunswick Tech) got in on the action with the first NJAC RBI of his career, knocking in Lunar from second to make it 5-1. Yarson did the same in the following at-bat, singling to left to score Voss from second. With two outs, Fernandez launched a double to left to score two runs and make it 8-1 before Vaughn closed it out with his second RBI of the afternoon via a single to right.

Game 1 Highlights:
- Vaughn was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Allo, Yarson and Fernandez all had at least one RBI, as well.
- Voss finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs to accompany his homer.
RECORD WATCH: Not only is Voss tied for the all-time program lead in home runs with 18, but he also boasts 108 RBI for his career, which ranks second all-time behind Levens (126). Additionally, his 166 hits ranks sixth all-time with the top spot of 205 belonging to Andrew Niech '16.

Game 2: TCNJ 15, NJCU 0
The second half of the doubleheader was a tough one for the Gothic Knights as they were never able to get things going offensively. Five errors, along with just five hits, while the Lions scored 15 on 14 hits pushed the momentum to TCNJ's favor for the NJAC-opening split. Hernandez did go 2-for-4, while Allo was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Vizzoni also went 1-for-3 with a walk.

Up Next:
NJCU returns to action on Tuesday, April 4, back at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex for a non-conference single game against Manhattanville College, with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Gothic Knights dropped the Valiants, 12-4, in Purchase, N.Y., in the last meeting between the two programs on March 19, 2022. Voss was 4-for-4 that day with four RBI, four runs, two doubles, a walk, a stolen base and — of course — a home run.