Kean, ranked No. 3 nationally in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)/D3baseball.com Top 25 and ABCA Coaches polls, improved to 24-4 and 7-1 in the league, winning its seventh in a row. NJCU fell to 5-20, 1-7 NJAC with the setbacks. On a cold, windy, overcast day, the game was called after eight innings due to darkness.
Each team had a player reach a career milestone in the contest. For the Cougars, senior designated hitter Nick Nolan (Linden, NJ/Roselle Catholic) was one of three KU players to hit a homerun and his long shot down the left field line in the fourth inning was the 32nd of his career and fourth of the season. That broke Kean's all-time career homeruns record of 31 by Frank Beckhorn from 1996-98.
Junior shortstop ROB GONZALEZ (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI. When he crossed the plate with NJCU's first run in the third inning, he became only the fourth player in program history to score 100 career runs. Additionally, he increased his career hits total to 153—sixth all-time.
In defeat, NJCU was able to collect 14 hits and five runs against a Cougar pitching staff that entered the contest with the second lowest ERA in the nation at 1.88 and ranked eighth nationally in Division III in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.37). NJCU became only the seventh team this season to score five or more runs in a game against the Cougars.
Overall for Kean, 21 players saw action, 14 had hits, 14 scored a run and 10 produced an RBI. Among the offensive leaders was junior first baseman Lee Cavico (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) with five RBIs, including a three-run homerun—his fourth of the year—while scoring twice and batting 2-for-4. Senior left fielder Ken Gregory (Pittstown, NJ/Immaculata) added his fifth homerun of the year, batting 3-for-4 with four RBIs, three runs and his 15th double of the year. Nolan was 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, one homer and a double.
Among the starters, freshman center fielder Shane Alvarez (Franklin, NJ/St. Joseph (Metuchen) walked and scored four times in a 1-for-3 effort. Sophomore third baseman Stephen Nappe (Edison, NJ/Edison) went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, three doubles and two runs. Senior second baseman Chris Carrano (Lincoln Park, NJ/Boonton) was 3-for-5 with three runs, two RBIs and two doubles.
Junior catcher Eddie Jennings (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and senior right fielder Kyle Walker (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) was 2-for-6 with two runs. All eight starting position players had at least one hit.
Several Cougar reserves also produced. Junior designated hitter Dylan Laguna (Edison, NJ/Edison) was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two doubles. Sophomore first baseman Sean Kelly (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and a double.
For NJCU, 20 players logged diamond time. Sophomore left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) was 3-for-4 and rookie second baseman ROB ROMAN (Hoboken, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) had two RBIs, batting 2-for-4. Senior center fielder KEN WITTE (Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional) increased his career hits total to 88 in two seasons, going 2-for-3 with one run. Senior right fielder JORGE GUTIERREZ (Sewaren, NJ/Hudson Catholic) added one RBI in a 2-for-3 showing.
NJCU and Kean each used five pitchers. Freshman right-hander Matt Mantione (Cedar Knolls, NJ/Whippany Park) earned his first NCAA win in relief (1-0) after pitching a 1-2-3 fifth inning with one strikeout. Junior lefty Ryan Zamorsky (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville) tossed the first 4.0 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks in a no-decision. Combined, the five Kean pitchers finished with seven strikeouts.
Senior righty JEFF KARCZEWSKI (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) lost for NJCU (0-4), allowing five earned runs and nine hits with two walks. Freshman ZACK MARKLE (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken), sophomore ALVIN CARRASCO (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)), freshman MATT DELBERT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) and sophomore MICHAEL KELLY (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) each threw in relief.
Kean scored five times in the first inning and three more in the second for an 8-0 lead. NJCU cut the lead in half with four runs in the third inning. It was the second most runs scored against the Cougars in an inning this season. A sacrifice fly by senior first baseman MICHAEL FIORENTINO (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) scored Gonzalez for the 100th career run. Gutierrez had an RBI single and Roman added a two-run hit.
Kean broke it open with 10 runs on eight hits in the fourth inning as 14 men came to the plate. Kean added six runs in the fifth and one in the sixth for 17 unanswered on the board and a 25-4 lead. NJCU added a single run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Gonzalez before Kean tacked on two more in the eighth.
NJCU remains on its home field on Saturday (April 16) at 11:30 a.m. in an NJAC doubleheader against Ramapo College. Kean heads to Pomona, NJ for a doubleheader with Richard Stockton College at the same time.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Friday, April 15, 2011 | Jersey City, NJ
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#3 Kean University (24-4, 7-1 NJAC)
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5
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3
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0
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10
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6
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1
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0
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2
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X
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27
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28
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0
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New Jersey City University (5-20, 1-7 NJAC)
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0
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0
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4
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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X
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5
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14
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3
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WP: Matt Mantione (1-0) LP: JEFF KARCZEWSKI (0-4). HR: K-Lee Cavico (4), Ken Gregory (5), Nick Nolan (4).
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