GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A leadoff walk, base hit and homer to left-center field made it a 3-0 Kean advantage during the top half of the first inning.
- The Pioneers got two of those runs back during their first at-bat. Senior center fielder Steven DiGirolamo opened the frame with a ground-rule double to left-center field, and senior shortstop Matt Ferrara followed with an RBI-single through the right side. After a popup, Ferrara was awarded second base when the catcher used his mask to scoop up a pitch that had settled on the turf, and Ferrara later tagged and went to third when junior designated hitter Steve Yelin flied out to right field. Senior first baseman Carson Weis delivered a base hit to center field, plating Ferrara for a 3-2 score.
- Kean tacked on three in the third with two base hits, a sac fly and two more singles, extending its lead to 6-2.
- WP crossed the plate twice during the home half of the third when senior catcher Dylan Habeeb hit a one-out single up the middle, Yelin doubled down the left-field line and Weis delivered both runners with a base hit up the middle.
- The Cougars pushed their advantage to 10-4 with a four-run fifth frame, stringing together a walk, double, triple, squeeze single, base hit, fielder's choice and error.
- A bases-loaded double made it a 13-4 score during the top half of the sixth inning.
- William Paterson manufactured a two-out run in the eighth when senior left fielder Frankie Deane walked, stole second and scored via junior right fielder Adrian Alarcon's single to center field.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Weis was 2-for-3 while driving in three runs. Ferrara and Alarcon each contributed an RBI.
- Junior Jordan Manne fell to 0-2 after allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks, striking out three over 3.2 innings.
- Classmate Matt Lawler pitched the next 4.1 innings and gave up seven runs (six earned), six hits and one walk. Junior Tyler Searles struck out one batter and surrendered a hit during 1.0 inning of action.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Kean opened up a 3-0 lead by the second inning, using a double, error and sac fly for one run during its first at-bat, and a solo homer and three base hits for a pair of runs in the top of the second.
- WP scored twice during the home half of the fourth. Habeeb was issued a one-out walk and moved to second via a wild pitch, setting up a Weis run-scoring double down the left-field line. Deane's infield single was mishandled by the second baseman, allowing Weis to race home and make it a 3-2 margin.
- Liriano and Lombardo opened the fifth frame with consecutive doubles, knotting the score at 3-3.
- KU threatened in the seventh with two on and one out, but senior southpaw Zac Polzer rang up two batters to keep it a 3-3 game.
- A Liriano base hit, DiGirolamo single and Ferrara hit by pitch loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, and Habeeb delivered a base hit off the glove of the diving shortstop, plating two runs and handing WP a 5-3 edge.
- With runners on the corners and two outs during the top of the ninth inning, Kean plated one run with a base hit to right field, but Pioneer junior Dan Carter ended the opportunity when he induced a game-ending groundout.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Liriano was 2-for-3 while hitting a double and scoring twice, and Weis went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.
- Senior Jack DeFouw provided the first 6.1 innings, giving up seven hits, one walk and three runs with two strikeouts.
- Polzer (1-0) went 2.1 innings and was charged with one run and three hits while striking out two. Carter earned his first career save by registering one hit allowed and one out recorded.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson hosts New Jersey City Thursday, April 15, at 3:30 p.m.
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