Montclair, NJ – Freshman rightfielder Ryan Long (Washington Township, NJ, Washington Township) scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning of the second game as Montclair State edged New Jersey City University, 4-3 to sweep at doubleheader at Yogi Berra Stadium on Saturday.

Long's dash home helped the Red Hawks, who won the opener 7-1, to their fourth straight victory and more importantly the No. 3 seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament. MSU (20-15, 13-5 NJAC), winners in 12 of its last 14 contests, hosts fourth-seeded Kean University in the opening round at home on Tuesday, April 29 at 3:30 pm.

Montclair State entered the day tied with Kean for third place in the NJAC and the Red Hawks moved a half-game in front following its first-game win while the Cougars fell at Rowan 8-5 in their first contest.  A victory by Montclair in the second game would give the Red Hawks the No. 3 seed and home game however it trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Meanwhile Kean slipped past Rowan 5-4 which forced MSU to either pull out a win or head to Union for Tuesday's first round.

It appeared as though the latter would happen as the Red Hawks were down to their final out before quickly rallying for the win. Senior third baseman Connor Abreu (Piscataway, NJ, Piscataway) singled back through the middle and got into scoring position with a swipe of second base. Long stepped to the plate and lined a ball to right field that eluded Miguel Aviles and rolled toward the wall. Abreu scored easily to tie the game and Long became the winning run with his triple.

NJCU reliever Michael Martucci was brought in to face Lou Martini (Flemington, NJ, North Hunterdon). His first offering went for a strike however the ball got past the catcher and skipped to the backstop allowing Long to come home with the game-winning run.

Long, who had a hand in all four MSU runs in the game, gave Montclair a 1-0 lead in the third inning with an RBI single. The Gothic Knights tied the game in fourth inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Nick Ruscingno who later teamed with Martucci for a successful double steal with Martucci taking home for a 2-1 NJCU advantage.

Zach Buchholz made it 3-1 for NJCU in the seventh with a RBI ground out however Montclair answered that in the bottom of the inning as Anderson Rosa (Perth Amboy, NJ, Perth Amboy) scampered home on a wild pitch making the score 3-2. The Red Hawks loaded the bases but Matthew Wagner fanned the next hitter to end the inning.

Senior lefthander John Silvestri (Livingston, NJ, Seton Hall Prep) picked up the win in relief. Silvestri (4-2) struck out two in two scoreless innings. Freshman righthander Connor Lindsay (New Egypt, NJ, New Egypt) fanned six and allowed five hits and two runs in the first six innings for MSU. Wagner (1-2), who allowed just four hits through the first eight innings, struck out six, walked four and gave up six hits in 8 2/3 innings.

Prior to the first game, Montclair State celebrated Senior Day for its 12 players and also paid tribute to longtime head coach Norm Schoenig, who announced his retirement earlier in the week after 26 seasons at the helm. MSU then went out and paid tribute to its coach executing all the facets Schoenig's teams had been known for – solid pitching, timely hitting and great defense.

Senior lefthander Dylan Papa (South Plainfield, NJ, South Plainfield) improved to 4-2 as he scattered around 10 hits in 8 1/3 innings, keeping NJCU off the board until the eighth. Freshman Nick Listro registered the final two outs, including a strikeout to end the game. Delio Cutinho (3-3) took the loss for the Gothic Knights going 2 2/3 innings before leaving the game with an injury.

Montclair grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as senior catcher Jayson Stolz (Iselin, NJ, John F. Kennedy) singled scoring senior P.J. Jennings (Morris Plains, NJ, Morristown), who had walked with one out and went to second on a ground out. The Gothic Knights nearly tied the game in the top of the third as Taylor Born singled to left with two outs. Alex Weinstein, who singled with two outs and stole second, raced around third. Jennings scooped up the ball and fired home to Stolz, who tagged Weinstein at the plate to end the inning.

The Red Hawks would get a run in the third on a fielder's choice by Philip Scott (Paulsboro, NJ, Paulsboro) and a two-out error by NJCU in the fourth led to two more runs as the lead jumped to 4-0.

New Jersey City threatened in the seventh putting runners on first and third with one out, but Papa ended that snaring a line drive by Nicholas D'Errrico and firing the ball back to first for the inning-ending double play. Jennings added a two-run double and senior shortstop Cody Pace (Milltown, NJ, Spotswood) singled home a run in the seventh for a 7-0 lead.

Martucci broke up the Papa shutout bid in the eighth with an RBI ground out.

Long, Pace and Christopher Reynolds (Randolph, NJ, Randolph) each had two hits Montclair State while Weinstein, Eric Giordano, Ruscingno and Buchholz had two apiece for NJCU.