JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University senior right-hander WENDELL RODRIGUEZ (Ponce, Puerto Rico/County Prep) now has his own place in Gothic Knight baseball history after becoming the winning pitcher in the 66-year history of the program. Rodriguez fired his 10th career complete game, shutting out Rutgers University-Camden for the final eight innings, as NJCU upended the Scarlet Raptors, 3-2, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference baseball game on April 4 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
Rodriguez, who entered the day in a four-way tie for first place in career victories—a mark of 12 wins that had stood since 1986—matches the number on the back of his jersey with his 13th career win. In his seventh start of the season he threw his second complete game, allowing two earned runs and seven hits including six singles, and struck out three against three walks over 127 pitches in nine innings. Rodriguez improved to 3-2 on the season. It was the second year in a row he threw a complete game in a win over Camden.
NJCU, playing is first NJAC home game of the season, improved to 6-1 at home this season and moved four games over .500 for the second time this year with a 12-8 mark and 1-2 in the NJAC. At the mid-way point of the 2013 regular season, NJCU is one win shy of equaling its total from 2012. Camden, winners of six-of-eight coming in, dropped to 14-9 (1-2 NJAC).
After Rutgers-Camden scored twice in the top of the first, NJCU scored single runs in the second, fifth and seventh innings. Freshman catcher ANDREW NIECH (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) pounded his second homerun and 12th extra base hit over the right field wall with one out in the second inning to make it a one-run game before senior left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) took advantage of a failed fielder's choice earlier in the fifth inning with a game-tying single.
In the seventh inning, Rivera singled to center with one out and advanced to third on a single to right center by sophomore third baseman MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep). With runners on the corners and two outs, Rivera scored on a balk that advanced both runners.
With the tying run on second base in the top of the ninth, Rodriguez induced a line-out to left field, and leaped off the mound with a celebratory fist pump before being swarmed by his teammates in recognition of his milestone.
"I was waiting on this for a long time," Rodriguez admitted. "It was a great win for the team today. After the first inning I just tried to throw more strikes and got into the zone. It's great [to set the record]."
Rodriguez joked; "We have a couple of freshmen that already have two wins so I have to push this record a little bit higher because I know this team is just going to [continue] to get better."
READ MORE: http://www.njcugothicknights.com/news/2013/4/4/04-04-13_BASEBALL_vs_Rutgers-Camden.aspx