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AUBURNDALE, FL (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior right-hander WENDELL RODRIGUEZ (Ponce, Puerto Rico/County Prep) won his second game in his fourth appearance of the week, tossing an efficient 94-pitch complete game victory as the Gothic Knights wrapped up a successful 2012 spring baseball trip with a 6-4 triumph on Saturday afternoon, defeating Sewanee University of the South at Lake Myrtle Park's Main Field.

NJCU (5-4) successfully bounced back from two one-run losses to Framingham State University on Friday by scoring four times in the top of the third inning to overcome an early 2-0 deficit, before adding two runs in the seventh. NJCU finished its eight-day stay at the Russ Matt College Spring Break Invitational by posting a 5-3 record on the trip.
 
NJCU won its most games on a spring trip since going 5-5 in Florida in 2009 and finished above .500 in Florida since also posting a 5-3 ledger during the 2002 season.

“This win was special to us just to see that we can lose two games and get swept in a doubleheader and still have the wherewithal to bounce back and forget about it and move on,” said first-year head coach Jerry Smith. We stressed to the boys today that today was a new day. Yesterday is not going to affect what we're trying to do today and we have to move on and move forward and worry about what we can control and that was this game. I thought the kids did a nice job of putting the doubleheader loss behind them and just moving forward.”
 
Rodriguez, who was the winner on March 12 in a 10-1 rout of defending Little East Conference champion Rhode Island College and earned his first career save on March 15 in a 10-8 decision over Mount Saint Mary College, had also pitched a perfect two-thirds of an inning on Friday against Framingham.
 
Showing no fatigue, and pitching against an offensive that rang up a combined 46 runs on Thursday when Sewanee defeated Rust College, 14-1 and 32-4, Rodriguez tossed his first complete game of the season and sixth of his career, improving to 2-1 on the year by striking out three, walking one, and evenly distributing 10 fly outs and 10 ground outs. Rodriguez allowed seven hits and four runs.
 
Six different players had a hit for the Knights with junior left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and he made two diving catches of line drives in the outfield to rob Sewanee of potential extra base hits. Leadoff hitting junior center fielder MICHAEL PATTERSON (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) adding a 2-for-5 showing with one run and one RBI.
 
Freshman JUAN CRUZ (Jersey City, NJ/St. Mary's (Jersey City)) got his first career start at second base and orchestrated three double plays, going 1-for-3 with one run. First-year shortstop MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) and junior catcher RYAN WINTERS (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) each had a hit and run scored and Winters extended his hitting streak to eight games to open his NJCU career. Martucci, who had one RBI, helped Cruz turn two of the three double plays.
 
Sewanee sophomore left-hander Lee Schurlknight (Darlington, SC) took the loss (1-4), allowing four runs, but one earned after he committed an error, in 6.0 innings. He walked six, struck out two and allowed five hits over 105 pitches. Freshman righty Adam Schmidt (Manhassett, NY) pitched two innings, allowing two runs and two hits before sophomore righty Austin Shea (Austin, TX) allowed one hit in the ninth inning.
 
Tiger junior designated hitter Allen Thigpen (Gainesville, FL) was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs while sophomore third baseman Jack Rogers (Atlanta, GA) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Freshman right fielder James Snover (Charlotte, NC) had a triple and run scored.
 
Sewanee drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Two straight singles by Rogers and junior center fielder Alan Komorowski (Rochester, NY) to lead off the inning culminated in an RBI groundout by senior left fielder Ryne Sullivan (Metarie, LA) and a sacrifice fly by Thigpen for a 2-0 edge.
 
But NJCU countered with four runs on four hits in the third. Cruz singled, freshman right fielder MATTHEW WAGNER (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) walked for the first of two times in the game, and both players moved up two bases when junior third baseman BRIAN BUSTILLO (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) dropped a sacrifice bunt that was thrown away for an error, allowing Cruz to score the first run. Patterson pushed home Wagner with the tying run with a groundout before Martucci singled into the deep shortstop hole to bring home Bustillo with the go-ahead run and a 3-2 lead. Freshman first baseman ALEX WEINSTEIN (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin) singled and Rivera followed with a single through the right side to drive in Martucci. The inning finally ended on a delayed double steal, with Weinstein unable to score from third before Rivera was tagged out.
 
Rodriguez limited the Tigers to just one hit between the third and sixth innings and NJCU added two runs in the top of the seventh to seize a 6-2 lead. Patterson singled, Winters walked and both advanced on a Martucci sacrifice. With two outs, Rivera ripped a single off the pitchers leg and on another delayed double steal, Rivera was able to remain untagged on the base paths long enough for Winters to score from third with the sixth run.
 
Sewanee got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Rogers led off with a single and scored on a Thigpen double down the left field line. Sewanee cut the deficit to 6-4 in the eighth. After a diving catch by Rivera prevented the leadoff batter from reaching, Snover tripled to right and scored on a single by freshman shortstop Grant Goodson (Charlotte, NC) before Cruz ended the threat with a 4-6-3 double play. Rivera's defensive gem retired what would have been a fifth run and Rodriguez induced three fly ball outs in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

“What we learned this week is the best team doesn't always win but it's the team that plays the best,” Smith said summarizing his first trip as head coach. “There's going to be teams we already played or will play in the future that we're better than and teams that are better than us, but the thing to keep in perspective is it's the team that plays the best that day that's going to come out on top and we just have to continue with our motto of one pitch at a time and just focusing on winning the next pitch and eventually the results will take care of themselves.”

NJCU returns to New Jersey on Sunday morning before playing the first of six consecutive home games, beginning on Tuesday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. against a talented Neumann University squad that will enter with a 10-game winning streak and 12-3 record.