New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Eight New Jersey City University pitchers combined on a four-hitter as the Gothic Knights pounded out 14 hitters on a cold, windy afternoon and won a non-conference   game against a school from Madison, NJ for the second consecutive day as NJCU blew by FDU-Florham, 9-2, on April 2 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 
NJCU (11-8) moved three games over .500 and improved to 5-1 at home this season, while snapping the Devils' (10-9) two-game winning streak. NJCU defeated FDU for the second straight year. It was the first meeting in Jersey City in 12 years.
 
Offensively, senior left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) batted 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs and freshman ANDREW NIECH (Avenel, NJ/Colonia), making his first career start at first base, knocked in three runs, batting 2-for-5 with a double, triple and run scored. Senior PETE SENYSZYN (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) , who started at designated hitter before sliding in at third base, was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
 
In a week where NJCU has six games in six days thanks to previous postponements being made up, the coaching staff elected a unique approach to pitching—almost everyone was available to throw, and no one would pitch more than two innings.
 
Freshman right-hander TOMMY TRELA (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) threw the first inning, allowing one hit over 17 pitches before rookie righty JOMAR CASIANO (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) went two innings, allowing one hit with one strikeout over 23 pitches between the second and third frames. Casiano, who has now thrown nine consecutive shutout innings to begin his collegiate career, earned the victory to improve to 2-0, as the game's 'most effective pitcher.'
 
Freshman righty BRANDON CHARLES (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) tossed a 1-2-3 fourth inning before senior left-hander PEDRO GARCIA (North Bergen, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades), who entered the game with the New Jersey Athletic Conference's lowest opposing batting average (.070), ran into trouble in the fifth. He allowed two earned runs but did not give up a hit. However, he walked three and hit one.
 
Freshman righty NICK DEMARCO (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield), who has been perhaps NJCU's most consistent pitcher in the last month, continued to impress, entering the game in relief of Garcia with one out and the bases loaded. DeMarco, pitching for the fifth game in a row, got a fly ball out for the second out (a sac fly) and lineout to left as only one of three inherited runners scored. On the season, only two of 11 inherited runners have scored against DeMarco, as he has become the team's most dependable trouble reliever.
 
Sophomore DELIO COUTINHO (Colonia, NJ/Colonia), who was lost with an arm injury three appearances into last season, continued his remarkable comeback in the sixth inning. After a leadoff walk, he struck out the next three batters. In two innings this year he has retired six batters—all via strikeout.  
 
Sophomore NICHOLAS D'ERRICO (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), who started the game at shortstop and finished at second base, made his second appearance of the season, and pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit before sophomore ALEX WEINSTEIN (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin), who started the game in right field, fired the final two innings, striking out two  against just one hit. Weinstein has allowed just four hits in 6.1 scoreless innings this year, fanning seven.
 
Second-year head coach Jerry Smith, describing the strategy for the eight-pitcher approach said: “Based on the number of games we had, we always had planned on four conference starters with one non-conference starter. With the New Jersey weather, that got scrapped. With the [rain-out] make-up game on Monday against Drew, our non-conference starter [ZACK MARKLE] got pushed up a day so we had an additional game this week. We just wanted to limit the number of innings and get the guys work while getting through this game.”
 
“Without a doubt this shows how much our depth has grown in our pitching staff in one year. If you look at last year's stats, a bulk of innings went to about five guys. Today we went through eight pitchers and all were effective today or have been effective this year.”
 
Other offensive standouts for NJCU included junior second baseman ROB ROMAN (Hoboken, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) who was 3-for-3 while Weinstein batted 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
 
All four hits for FDU were singles and no player had more than one hit. Senior righty Jeff Jacobs (Old Bridge, NJ/St. John Vianney) took the loss (0-2), allowing four runs on six hits in three innings, with two strikeouts and two walks.
 
FDU used six pitchers in the game. Sophomore lefty Joe Hoffman (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) and sophomore Steve Smiegocki (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) each allowed two earned runs. Sophomore righty Chris Wirth-Kenyon (Lawrenceville, NJ/Pennington) allowed one hit with two strikeouts and a walk in 1.2 innings of relief. Sophomore righty Ryan Thurnes (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) struck out two against one hit in the eighth inning.
 
NJCU struck first in the second inning, Weinstein walked, Roman singled him to third base on a hit-and-run, and a suicide squeeze bunt by D'Errico drove in the first run. FDU had a chance to score in the top of the third before Rivera saved a run with a diving catch in left center to end the inning.
 
NJCU distanced itself with three runs in the third and two more in the fourth and fifth innings. The third inning opened with NJCU getting a break. Senyszyn hit a ball over the third base bag that hooked away from the third baseman after taking an odd hop and Rivera singled before Senyszyn scored on a groundout by sophomore third baseman/shortstop MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep). Niech ripped a triple down the right field line for a 3-0 lead to drive in Rivera, before he scored on a single through the left side by Weinstein. NJCU had five hits in the inning.
 
In the fourth, NJCU had two hits, including a single by Rivera that split the right side of the infield before beating the throw to first, and a two-run double to left center by Niech made it 6-0.
 
FDU scored its lone runs in the fifth on a hit batter and three consecutive walks—the third by reigning MAC Freedom Conference Player of the Week and junior first baseman Frank LaGuarina (Somerset, NJ/Immaculata) before a sacrifice fly made it 6-2.
 
The Knights added two in the bottom of the inning for an 8-2 lead. With one out, NJCU had three consecutive walks and with the bases load, Senyszyn dropped down a suicide squeeze to knock in junior catcher MIKE CASIANO (Newark, NJ/North 13^th Street). When first base was not covered on the bunt, Senyszyn reached with a hit and a groundout by Rivera added the next run. NJCU collected its ninth run in the seventh inning on a two-out single through the right side by Rivera after a two-out single by Senyszyn.
 
NJCU will play its third straight home game on Thursday, April 4 at 3:30 p.m. when it hosts Rutgers University-Camden in the first game of a home-and-home NJAC series.