tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save and preserve the win as the Gothic Knights defeated the Bears, 5-4, in a non-conference baseball game played on Tuesday at MCU Park—the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Sophomore left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI as the Knights (6-22) snapped a five-game losing streak. NJCU improved to 3-0 all-time against St. Joseph's (5-18).
Freshman right-hander #T.J. JANHO# (Somerset, NJ/Timothy Christian) earned the win (2-2), striking out five without walking a batter in seven innings, while allowing just two runs on eight hits. He threw six innings of shutout ball before the Bears managed two runs in the seventh inning.
Junior catcher FRANCISCO RAMIREZ (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Junior shortstop ROB GONZALEZ (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) notched his 158th career hit to pull into a tie for fourth place in school history with Nick Cucinello, who had 158 hits from 1990-93. He is now two shy of the third place total of 160 by Hall-of-Famer Rich Levins (1986-88, 160 hits), who owns the school record for hits in a three-year career. Senior center fielder KEN WITTE (Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional) collected his 92nd career hit in his second full season.
For St. Joseph's, junior third baseman Jon Mendez (Brooklyn, NY) was 3-for-4 with a double and triple and sophomore catcher Danny Zaretsky (Brooklyn, NY) was 2-for-4. Freshman shortstop Chris Pacifico (Brooklyn, NY) knocked in two RBIs.
Freshman Sean Jarocki (Brooklyn, NY) took the loss (0-1), allowing four earned runs and six hits with two walks and one strikeout. Sophomore Joe Chiusano (Brooklyn, NY) struck out three against one walk in two shutout innings of relief, allowing three hits. Sophomore Chris Vargas (Brooklyn, NY) struck out two and allowed two hits in a ninth inning stint.
In a game played under a light rain, NJCU stranded 11 men on base in the game but broke through first with a run in the third inning. Gonzalez singled through the right side, stole second and third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ramirez. NJCU added another run in the fourth inning as Rivera singled with one out and scored on a two-out RBI single by junior third baseman CHRISTOPHER MIRABILE (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan) for a 2-0 edge.
With three runs in the fifth, NJCU obtained the necessary margin to win. Freshman second baseman ROB ROMAN (Hoboken, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) singled and stole second before advancing on a throwing error and Witte walked and also swiped second. Senior designated hitter JORDAN TETRICK (Delray Beach, FL/Radnor (Pa.)) reached on an error to load the bases and senior right fielder JORGE GUTIERREZ (Sewaren, NJ/Hudson Catholic) was hit by a pitch to force home a run. Rivera made it 4-0 with a single to center before a sacrifice fly by sophomore first baseman THOMAS LACIK (Edison, NJ/Bishop George Ahr) accounted for the important fifth run.
After NJCU left the bases full in the top of the seventh inning, the Bears tallied two runs in the bottom of the frame on a two-out single by Pacifico, driving in Mendez and Zaretsky who reached on singles. In the eighth inning, St. Joseph's notched two more runs off the NJCU bullpen, as freshman right fielder Joseph Mendez (Staten Island, NY) deposited an RBI double to center and scored on a triple to right by Jon Mendez, With the tying run on third and one out, sophomore righty MICHAEL KELLY (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic), who had allowed the two runs, worked his way out of trouble with a fly ball and a strikeout. Kelly struck out two of the six batters he faced in the eighth inning.
In the ninth, Ramirez and Witte singled with no outs before Vargas kept the Bears in the game with three straight outs, including two strikeouts as NJCU stranded a pair. That led to the bottom of the ninth. Markle entered in his first career save situation and shut the door on the Bears with a 1-2-3 inning including a groundball to shortstop to end the game.
NJCU returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Thursday, April 21 at 3:30 p.m. when it visits The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ in the opening game of another two-day home-and-home NJAC series.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011 | Coney Island, NY
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New Jersey City University (6-22)
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0
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0
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1
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1
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3
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0
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0
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0
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0
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5
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11
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0
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St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (5-18)
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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2
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0
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4
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11
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4
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