Port Charlotte, Fla. (3/10/24) – The Kean University baseball team battled to a 7-6 win over seventh ranked Denison University in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Denison (7-2) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first, but starter Mikail Goods-Minor battled back and struck out the side to work out of trouble.
Kean (9-5) broke through in the bottom of the second as Phil Marcantonio led off with a single. Tyler Stone drove him home with a double and after moving to third on a sacrifice, Stone scored on an RBI single from Christian Pellone.
Denison took the lead with a four run fourth inning. The Big Red took advantage of four walks to start the inning. Rob Salvatore entered and quickly got a double play but one batter later Jake Welsch doubled to take the lead, 4-2.
The Cougars got one right back in the bottom of the same inning as Stone hit his second homerun of the season.
Kean took the lead back for good in the bottom of the sixth as Stone led off with a single. Later with the bases loaded, Caleb Rodriguez delivered with a two RBI double for the 6-5 advantage.
The Cougars plated what would be the winning runs in the bottom of the seventh as Gianni Marano walked to lead things off. Marcantonio doubled to put them both in scoring position and Stone loaded the bases with an intentional walk. Tyler Coltenback responded with a two RBI single.
Denison battled and plated a single run in the eighth with an RBI single from Cade Nowik (7-5).
In their final at-bat, Denison added one more with an RBI single off the bat of Jack Lutte. They loaded the bases aided by a Kean miscue, but Salvatore shut the door with a flyout to end the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Stone was 3-for-3, falling a triple short of the cycle. He added two RBI and three runs scored.
Kyle Adorno and Pellone also finished with three hits each as the Cougars outhit Denison, 14-10.
Salvatore earned the win after tossing six innings of relief. He allowed three hits and eight hits while walking one.
UP NEXT:
Kean finishes with one final game in the Snowbird Classic on Tuesday when they face Ohio Wesleyan.