New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

AUBURNDALE, FL (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman catcher ANDREW NIECH (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) launched a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence in the top of the seventh inning to cap a four-run rally after New Jersey City University had been held scoreless through the first six frames, and the Gothic Knights added four more in the eighth en route to an 8-3 win over Swarthmore College in game three of its 2013 spring trip on March 11 at Lake Myrtle Field Park Field #4.
 
NJCU (6-4) moves two games over .500 for the first time since March 15, 2012 while improving to 3-0 at the Russ Matt College Spring Break Invitational. The Garnet dropped to 3-4. The Knights compiled nine of their 15 hits in the seventh and eighth innings.
 
While offense made the difference in the seventh and eighth innings, NJCU received outstanding pitching from four pitchers in holding an opponent to three or less runs for the third straight game on the trip and scoreless over the final six innings.
 
Freshman TOMMY TRELA (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) earned his first collegiate win (1-1) in a solid 6.2 innings of work. The rookie right-hander allowed just two earned runs against 10 singles with three strikeouts and one walk over 102 pitches.
 
With NJCU leading, 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and Garnet senior center fielder Rory McTear (Marlton, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) on second after a single, sophomore righty KEVIN DEMAURO (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) came on in relief and was able to end the threat on four pitches as sophomore first baseman ALEX WEINSTEIN (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin) made a diving stop to the right of first and flipped to DeMauro.
 
Freshman righty NICK DEMARCO (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning, fanning one over 11 pitches. In the ninth, sophomore left-hander DELIO COUTINHO (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), who hasn't pitched since suffering an injury on March 16, 2012, returned to the mound at the same complex where it occurred, and struck out three batters in the inning, to work out of a two-out bases loaded threat.
 
Four Gothic Knights had multiple hits, led by sophomore shortstop NICHOLAS D'ERRICO (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), who was 3-for-4 with two runs and sophomore third baseman MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep), who added a 3-for-5 effort with two RBIs on the power of a two-run, eighth inning double, with one run scored. Senior second baseman PETE SENYSZYN (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) also was 3-for-4 with one run and a double.
 
Niech drew three walks in the game and was 1-for-2 with his first career homerun and three RBIs. One day after his two-run triple was the highlight of a 5-3 win over Medaille College, senior left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) had another key hit. He was 1-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk and his seventh inning RBI double plated the first run with NJCU trailing, 3-0. Senior center fielder MICHAEL PATTERSON (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) was 2-for-6 with one run. Eight of the nine Gothic Knights in the batting order tallied a hit and all nine reached base via hit or walk.
 
McTear was 3-for-5 with one run for Swarthmore and the top three batters in the lineup accounted for seven of its 12 hits. Senior right fielder Tim Kwilos (Randolph, NJ/Delbarton) was 2-for-5 with a run and junior first baseman Nicko Burnett (Anaheim, CA) went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Rookie third baseman John Lim (Ellicott City, MD) finished 2-for-4.
 
Swarthmore received a solid start from freshman righty Oscar Leong (Los Angeles, CA) who tossed five shutout innings and allowed just five hits over 80 pitches with four walks and two Ks. Freshman lefty Alex Chiang (Oakland, CA) took the loss, allowing four runs and six hits with a strikeout and walk in two innings. Freshman Joe Warren (Fairfax Station, CA) gave up four runs on four hits in the final two innings.
 
NJCU left 11 men stranded on base in the game and at least one in every inning, including one in each of the first four frames when it failed to score. Meanwhile, Swarthmore left 10 on in the game, but was able to jump on top in the bottom of the first when it plated two runs on three hits. Kwilos led off with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Burnett, who advanced on an error that moved him into scoring position before he came home on an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Scoop Ruxin (Lexington, MA).
 
Swarthmore added a third run in the third when McTear, Burnett and sophomore catcher Joe Rizzo (Norwood, NJ/Northern Valley) chalked up three consecutive singles, the latter scoring McTear.
 
The Knights threatened in the fifth when D'Errico and Patterson had back-to-back one-out singles but stranded two runners. NJCU also got two aboard in the sixth but left both on base.
 
The bats finally turned it on in the seventh. A leadoff bunt single by D'Errico started it off and Senyszyn singled before Rivera roped a 2-1 pitch to right center to make it 3-1. Swarthmore made a play at the plate to record the second out before Niech worked the count full and unleashed a three-run homer to right, as NJCU went from 3-1 down to a 4-3 lead on one swing of the bat.
 
After DeMauro and Weinstein teamed up on the final out in the seventh, NJCU added four insurance runs in the eighth. Sophomore right fielder MATTHEW WAGNER (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) led off with a double, D'Errico had an infield single and Patterson dropped down a bunt single to third to load the bags. A force at the plate kept the bases full of Gothic Knights before Rivera walked on four pitches for a 5-3 lead. Martucci doubled to right center for the sixth and seventh runs before Rivera raced home from third on a wild pitch.
 
Day four of the Russ Matt College Spring Break Invitational features NJCU facing Franklin & Marshall College at 1 p.m. at Lake Myrtle Field #2 in Auburndale, FL. Fan can follow the live broadcast of the game on NJCUGothicKnights.com or with live stats, and via Twitter at the @NJCU_Athletics handle.