New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Senior second baseman ANDREW DECIBUS (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) went 5-for-5 with five RBIs as New Jersey City University scored in each of the first five innings and jumped out to an 11-0 lead, en route to an easy 14-3 victory over Baruch College in a non-conference game on Tuesday, at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.

 

NJCU improves to 5-10 overall, while Baruch drops to 1-5. Originally a home game for Baruch, the contest was moved to NJCU’s Gerrity Complex—the first at the facility this year—but the Bearcats were the home team on the scoreboard. NJCU finished with 16 hits, marking the fifth time this year the team has notched double figures in hits. Eight of nine starters for the Knights had at least one hit.

 

Freshman right-hander WESTLEY LOPEZ (West New York, NJ/Memorial) earned his first collegiate win as he tossed a seven-inning five-hitter. He struck out 10, walked three and did not allow a run over 116 pitches.

 

Decibus, who previously had three hits in a game five times, had a career day, doubling twice with one run. It was the first five-hit performance by an NJCU player since another second baseman, RUBEN BORGES (Union, NJ/Union) had five vs. Lincoln University on March 19, 2005.

 

Junior catcher KRISTOPHER BRUS (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) broke out of a 1-for-25 slump with a huge effort, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. Junior leftfielder MARK HOYER (Irvine, CA/Woodbridge (CA) scored three times, going 2-for-6, while sophomore rightfielder LEOMAR PAULINO (Paterson, NJ/Passaic Tech) also scored three times, finishing 2-for-3.

 

Senior shortstop JOSE FULGENCIO (Bronx, NY/San Rafael (Dominican Republic) reached base for the 51^st time in 52 career games, hitting safely for the 41^st time in 42 games, as he collected two runs, two RBIs and went 1-for-5. Freshman third baseman/shortstop TOM BURKE (Edison, NJ/Immaculata) scored twice.

 

Baruch junior outfielder Ronnie Rojas (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) and sophomore catcher Paul Masone (Shirley, NY/Our Saviour) each went 2-for-3 in defeat.

 

Sophomore righty STEVE HERNANDEZ (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for NJCU, allowing one hit with one strikeout. In all, three NJCU pitchers combined for 12 Ks. Baruch senior Greg Polius (Brooklyn, NY/St. Mary’s) took the loss (1-2), allowing five earned runs and eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 4.0 innings.

 

After NJCU scored in the opening inning on a fielding error, the Knights gained a 2-0 lead the next inning when Burke doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brus.

 

NJCU put the game away in the third inning, scoring five times as nine batters came to the plate. Fulgencio had a two-run double to score Hoyer and Decibus who had singled. Fulgencio stole third and scored on a sac fly. Burke walked and scored on an RBI single by Brus, before an error allowed a fifth run to come home.

 

NJCU scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, as Decibus had an RBI double and Brus added an RBI double of his own. After not scoring in the sixth, the Knights tagged on two more runs in the seventh for an 11-0 margin, as Decibus laced a two-run single through the left side.

 

Baruch scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the eighth—two of which were unearned. Rojas had the lone RBI for the Bearcats as the final two runs came in off a throwing error. NJCU got all three runs back in the ninth as Decibus capped his day with a two RBI double that followed an RBI single by Hoyer.

 

Weather permitting, NJCU is back in action on Wednesday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m. in a road non-conference game at Drew University in Madison, NJ.