New Jersey City University Athletics

WAYNE, NJ…New Jersey City University committed five errors which led to four unearned runs during a close game as William Paterson University defeated NJCU, 11-4, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference baseball game at the Pioneer Baseball Park on Friday.

 

WPU, which was opening its NJAC schedule, improves to 10-6 (1-0 NJAC), while NJCU falls to 0-2 in the NJAC and 7-12 overall.

 

WPU sophomore rightfielder Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, NJ/Northern Highlands) was the game’s top offensive player, going 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Senior third baseman Anthony Perrone (Midland Park, NJ/Bergen Catholic) added three RBIs and two runs in a 1-for-4 showing.

 

Also for the Pioneers, senior catcher Vince Joyce (Franklin, NJ/Wallkill Valley) has two RBIs in a 1-for-4 effort. Senior shortstop Dan Limone (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) and junior first baseman Will Courter (Roseland, NJ/West Essex) each scored twice.

 

NJCU’s top hitter was senior second baseman ANDREW DECIBUS (Carteret, NJ/Carteret), going 2-for-4 with one RBI.

 

NJCU opened a 1-0 lead in the first inning when junior centerfielder MARK HOYER (Irvine, CA/Woodbridge (CA)) led off with a double, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by freshman third baseman TOM BURKE (Edison, NJ/Immaculata) and scored on a throwing error.

 

WPU scored four times in the bottom of the first for a 4-1 lead as Perrone had a two-run single and Joyce followed with a two-RBI double. The Pioneers had four hits in the inning.

 

From there, NJCU senior right-hander JOSE SOTOMAYOR (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), a former WPU pitcher, settled down against his old team, retiring the side in order in the second and third inning, before a game-changing injury forced the Knights to flip their infield defensive set-up. After a leadoff double by junior centerfielder John Elia (Emerson, NJ/Pascack Valley), he was gunned down at third on a fielder’s choice. However, Burke, perhaps NJCU’s top defensive infielder, was injured when Elia slid into third and was forced out of the game. NJCU made three defensive movements to adjust to Burke’s unexpected departure. With two outs, NJCU committed its first error of the game, leading to the first unearned run and a 5-1 WPU lead.

 

NJCU battled back to shave the deficit to one, 5-4. The Knights scored twice in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Decibus and an RBI groundout by sophomore leftfielder LEOMAR PAULINO (Paterson, NJ/Passaic Tech). The Knights added their next run in the top of the seventh as senior rightfielder ANTHONY MACKOW (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) tripled for his 96^th career hit and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hoyer.

 

But two errors by the NJCU infield in the bottom of the seventh led to three WPU runs, as the Pioneers expanded a narrow lead to 8-4. Guadango added a two-RBI double in the eighth inning before WPU tacked on an RBI groundball by Perrone for the 11-4 final.

 

WPU junior righty Dan VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, NJ/Pequannock) won for the Pioneers (2-1). In 7.0 innings, he allowed four runs and six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Senior righty Steve Schlitzer (West New York, NJ/Memorial) pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit.

 

Sotomayor, who entered the game with a 1.45 ERA and .182 opposing batting averaging, suffered the loss (1-2), allowing four earned runs and seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Senior righty BALDWIN VARGAS (New York, NY/Alfred Smith), who returned to the team this season after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in June 2007, made his season debut. He allowed three earned runs but just one hit with two walks and one strikeout in 1.1 innings.

 

NJCU will travel to Pomona, NJ on Saturday, March 29 for an NJAC doubleheader against Richard Stockton College.