EWING, N.J. – The No. 30 William Paterson baseball team (16-8, 4-6 NJAC) suffered a pair of late-game losses at The College of New Jersey (12-10, 5-4 NJAC), 7-6 and 4-3, April 12.
Game One
The Lions came out on top of a back-and-forth opener, scoring the deciding run during the bottom of the eighth inning.
Four straight singles and a sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 TCNJ lead in the first, but the Pioneers seized the advantage with four runs during the top of the fourth inning. Junior shortstop Victor Sanchez (Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) was issued a leadoff walk and stole second before crossing the plate on freshman designated hitter Jordan Aughey's (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) base hit to right center. A wild pitch and RBI-single by sophomore catcher Mike Knauf (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) were followed by another wild pitch and a walk for freshman second baseman Jacob Bailey (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North). Sophomore center fielder Mike Abate (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) singled in Knauf, and two batters later Bailey touched the plate thanks to a groundout by graduate student first baseman AJ Flores (West Orange, N.J./West Orange).
Four hits, an error and an RBI-groundout allowed the Lions to regain the lead, 6-4 after five.
Sanchez walked and Aughey doubled him in during the top half of the seventh inning, and WP tied the game at 6-6 in the eighth. Junior third baseman Justin Ferreira (Elmwood Park, N.J./Elmwood Park Memorial) started the frame by reaching base on an error, advanced to second via a wild pitch and moved to third on Abate's base hit to left. Kenny later drove him in with a single into right field.
TCNJ scored to go-ahead run during the bottom half of the same frame. A one-out double, walk and single loaded the bases, and after a popup, junior left fielder Garen Turner singled to right field to plate the winning score.
Aughey finished 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while Abate, junior left fielder Tyler Garguilo (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) and junior right fielder Jimmy Kenny (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex Regional) each had a pair of hits.
Junior Frankie Colasante (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) allowed 11 hits and six runs (four earned) during 5.2 innings as the starter, posting a strikeout and a walk. Senior Joe Moran (Wharton, N.J./Morris Hills) gave up one run on two hits in 1.2 innings with two strikeouts and a walk (1-1), and freshman Bryan Kopko (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) surrendered a pair of hits in 0.2 inning.
Senior shortstop Anthony Cocuzza finished 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored for the Lions. Sophomore Eric Teesdale threw the final 1.2 shutout innings for the victory (2-0), striking out two and allowing a hit.
Game Two
Two runs during the bottom of the ninth inning allowed the Lions to finish the sweep, 4-3.
Abate led off the game with a single up the middle, stole second, advanced to third when Garguilo sent a base hit into right and scored via a Flores groundout, handing WP an early 1-0 lead.
A hit, a walk and three errors allowed TCNJ to take a 2-1 lead during the bottom of the first, but the Pioneers leveled the score in the third. Abate and Garguilo both hit one-out singles, and Flores followed with a run-scoring base hit.
William Paterson jumped ahead by a 3-2 count during the top of the eighth inning. A two-out error put Kenny aboard, Sanchez was issued a base on balls and Aughey singled in Kenny with a hit to right-center field.
The Lions loaded the bases with one out during the bottom of the ninth. A ground ball hit to second was thrown past the shortstop in an attempt to start a game-ending double play, allowing two runs to score and give TCNJ the victory.
Abate and Garguilo were both 3-for-5 for WP. Junior Jon Padilla (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in 7.2 innings as the starter, striking out three and walking three. Senior Ryan Monaghan (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) fell to 4-2, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a pair of walks over 0.2 inning.
Senior first baseman Josh Limon was 2-for-4 and drove in a run for the Lions. Senior Benito Gonzalez (2-0) tossed 1.1 innings of one-hit ball for the win.
William Paterson will play at St. Joseph's-Long Island Tuesday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m.
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