New Jersey City University Athletics

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GAME NOTES/PROGRAM
SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY
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JERSEY CITY, NJ…Montclair State University jumped out to a 10-0 lead and withstood two big offensive innings by New Jersey City University as the Red Hawks downed the Gothic Knights, 12-8, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference baseball game on April 24 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. It was Senior Day at NJCU as the Knights played their final home game of the 2009 season.

 

Montclair won its third consecutive game and improves to 20-13 overall and 11-5 in the NJAC. MSU reaches 20 wins in a season for the fourth consecutive year and the 26^th time in 28 years dating to 1982. The Hawks, who lead the all-time series 95-12-1 and have won the last nine meetings since 2004, also moved into a second place tie with The College of New Jersey in the NJAC race with 22 points. NJCU falls to 13-23-1 and 3-13 in the NJAC after opening the conference slate at 2-1.

Prior to the game, NJCU honored six seniors—catcher KRISTOPHER BRUS (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial), first baseman JOSE COLON (Brooklyn, NJ/LaSalle Academy (NY)), first baseman DAVID FLEISCHMAN (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), right-handed pitcher STEVE HALLAM (Harrison, NJ/Harrison), center fielder MARK HOYER (Irvine, CA/Woodbridge (CA) and left fielder JORGE PARDO (West New York, NJ/Memorial).

Hallam broke his own single-season record by making his 21^st relief appearance of the season. Meanwhile, NJCU sophomore third baseman MICHAEL FIORENTINO (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant) went 2-for-5 with a run to notch his 50^th hit of the year. With rookie second baseman/left fielder ROB GONZALEZ (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) increasing his hits total to 57 it marks only the fifth time in program history that two players have pounded out 50 hits in the same year.

 

Montclair, which scored six runs in the fourth inning to break the game open, sandwiched between two-run innings in the third and fifth frames, had 22 players see action in the game as the Red Hawks outhit NJCU, 19-15.

 

Junior centerfielder Michael Boggi (Towaco, NJ/Montville) led MSU, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, including his third homerun of the year and one run. Sophomore shortstop Jay Bionde (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) was 2-for-4 with his first career homerun, a run and RBI. Junior Joseph Zembryski (Rutherford, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) had three RBIs, going 2-for-3 in a reserve role.

 

Also for MSU, freshman leftfielder Mickey McGraw (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) was 2-for-3 with two runs and finished a combined 4-for-5 with four runs in two games against NJCU this year. Junior right fielder Scott Evangelist (Northfield, NJ/Holy Spirit) went 2-for-4.

 

For NJCU, freshman right fielder

3.jpg" />RBI while Brus slammed a two-run homerun in the three-run fifth inning, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.

 

Hoyer, who is attempting to become just the second player in school history to record 100 hits in a two-year career, finished 2-for-3 with one run and now has 47 hits for the season and 99 overall with three games remaining. Only 28 players in the 62-year history of the program have amassed 100 hits. He needs three more hits to join Gonzalez and Fiorentino as the only trio of Knights to have 50 in the same season.

 

Also for NJCU, Colon was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run and Pardo belted a solo homerun, joining Colon, Steinberger and junior catcher ALEX MENA (North Bergen, NJ/Hudson Catholic) with a team-high four homers this year.

Gonzalez broke a 14-year-old single-season record with his 159^th at bat, passing the mark of 156 by Carmine Turso in 1995. He scored once, leaving him one shy of the eighth 40-run season in school history.

 

Senior left-hander Nick Recchia (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) earned the win for MSU (3-1). In 5.1 innings, he allowed three runs and seven hits, struck out eight and walked two.

 

Freshman lefty Sean Hille (Edison, NJ/St. Joseph's (Metuchen), the third MSU pitcher, entered with his team up 11-8 in the eighth and allowed one hit with three Ks and a walk in 2.0 innings to earn the save,

 

Hallam pitched 2.0 innings of relief and extended his career school record by finishing his 16^th game. He struck out five, walked one and allowed just one unearned run and two hits in relief. Junior lefty CHRIS SMITH (Linden, NJ/Rahway) is 3-3 overall, taking the loss. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits with five Ks and three walks in 4.0 innings.

 

After a scoreless first inning, each stranded two runners in the second. Biondi put MSU on the board in the third inning when he snuck a 3-2 pitch inside the leftfield foul pole. Boggi added an RBI single to bring home McGraw, who had singled.

 

In the fourth, MSU brought 10 men to the plate, scoring six times on six hits. After MSU scored on an outfield error, Evangelist had an RBI single and McGraw, who singled, scored on a sac fly. Boggi drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer that made it 7-0 before an RBI double by senior first baseman Jason Lopez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) made it 8-0. A two-run double by Zembryski with two outs in the fifth inning made it 10-0, and provided the eventual winning runs.

 

NJCU began to mount a comeback in the fifth inning. Pardo slammed the first pitch of the inning to left field, Hoyer was hit by a pitch and with two outs, Brus launched the first pitch he saw to deep left, and the Knights trailed 10-3. MSU expanded its lead to 11-3 with an RBI single by Zembryski in the seventh.

 

In the bottom of the seventh, NJCU climbed back into the contest with five runs and seven hits—all singles. NJCU opened the inning with six consecutive singles. Gonzalez singled and then stole his 18^th base in 20 tries and Fiorentino notched his 50^th hit of the year. Hoyer followed with an RBI single for his 99^th career hit. Brus singled and Colon followed by ripping a two-run hit into center and the deficit was 11-6.

 

Steinberger drove a pitch up the middle for an RBI and freshman second baseman KEVIN FLOREZ (West New York, NJ/Memorial), who entered as a sub, had the first hit of his career—an RBI single through the left side that made it an 11-8 game. While NJCU sent 10 men to the plate in the inning, two were stranded and the Knights couldn't get closer than three runs. MSU added a ninth-inning run for insurance, and prevailed by four runs. MSU won despite leaving 15 men on base; the Knights left 10.

 

NJCU will close the NJAC calendar on Saturday, April 25 at 4 p.m. when it plays a twilight doubleheader against Rutgers University-Camden at Campbell's Field. MSU visits Rowan at 12 p.m. in an important doubleheader for both playoff-bound teams.