New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score CHESTERTOWN, MD (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior left-hander DELIO COUTINHO (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) became the first player on record in school history to register three double-digit strikeout efforts in a career—doing so for the second consecutive outing—and three Gothic Knight pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as NJCU banged out 17 hits and crushed Washington College (Md.), 16-0, in non-conference action on March 22.
 
NJCU (3-8) recorded back-to-back shutouts for only the second time on record and the first time since 1981 as Coutinho (2-1) went 6.2 innings, striking out 10 without issuing a walk (two hit by pitch), scattering four singles. Coutinho, who equaled a program modern-day record with 14 strikeouts in his last start (March 13), struck out three batters in the first inning, one in the second, two in the fourth and fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh before being relieved.
 
Freshman right-hander MARK PETRUCELLI (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Queen of Peace) tossed 1.1 perfect innings of relief with one strikeout while freshman righty JOE STONE (Metuchen, NJ/JFK-Iselin)  threw the ninth inning, striking out one batter as the two rookies did not allow a hit. Washington only had one man reach second base in the entire game—on a fifth inning wild pitch.
 
Meanwhile, NJCU, which had only batted .216 in its first 10 games of the season and had been outscored 71-33, had its bats awaken with authority against a Shoremen (7-7) team it had lost to, 12-3, a year ago. Sophomore catcher ANDREW NIECH (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) batted 4-for-6 with two RBIs, and three runs scored, sparking NJCU to a 10-0 lead after three innings—four runs in the first, and three in the second and third frames—before pouring on a half dozen more runs in the eighth as 12 men came to the plate. In all, 11 different Gothic Knights collected a hit in the win and 18 played.
 
"One thing we stressed to this team since the beginning of the season is to be patient and play one game at a time," said third-year head coach Jerry Smith, whose team started a surprising 1-8 with a number of tight and late losses, after not having a single outdoor practice due to poor weather. "The potential our team has when we are playing all phases of the game is unlimited. Up until this point, we had games where we didn't hit, where we're making errors and it was us beating ourselves much of the time more than anything."
 
Smith commended Coutinho by saying "that's exactly what we expect from him. He attacks hitters and he has good stuff. He's the ace of our staff and we always knew what he was capable of—it was just a matter of getting him healthy [Tommy John surgery, 2012] and it's good to see him out there healthy and pitching for us. Petrucelli and Stone will be vital for us down the stretch. When we play four NJAC and one out-of-conference game [each week] we'll be relying heavily on them. Mark has given up a lot of seeing-eye hits and had a little bad luck but he's been pitching very well. With Joe, we're concentrating on building up his pitch count because he's going to be a conference starter. He also pitched very well. It was good to see them leave on a positive today."
 
While Niech was the top offensive player, a number of Gothic Knights swung a hot stick. Junior right/center fielder MIGUEL AVILES (Union City, NJ/Saint Mary's (Jersey City)) led off and was 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a walk and freshman left fielder ERIC GIORDANO (Metuchen, NJ/JFK-Iselin) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
 
Junior PAT SHELDRICK (Ocean Gate, NJ/Central Regional) had a pinch-hit two-RBI double and a run scored. . Junior center fielder MATTHEW WAGNER (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) and junior third baseman MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) each scored twice.
 
In just the second meeting with Washington, a member of the Centennial Conference, no Shoremen player had more than one hit. Sophomore righty Sam McGovern (Middletown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) suffered the loss in 2.0 innings, allowing eight runs (four earned) and eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks in falling to 2-2. WC used five total pitchers in the loss.
 
NJCU pounced immediately in the first inning. Aviles singled and advanced on an errant fielder's choice before scoring the eventual winning run without an out being recorded, when Niech deposited a hit to right center. WC would commit three errors in the inning, allowing Wagner and Niech to each score before a wild pitch eventually brought home Martucci for a 4-0 margin.
 
Coutinho's three-strikeout performance in the bottom of the first set the tone and NJCU came right back with three more  runs in the second inning as the Knights collected five hits. An RBI single by Niech with the bases loaded—the fourth consecutive hit for NJCU—made it 5-0 before a two-out single to left center by Giordano knocked in two more runs for a 7-0 advantage.
 
Three runs on four hits in the third extended the lead to double figures. After a leadoff single and steal by junior shortstop NICHOLAS D'ERRICO (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), Aviles doubled down the left field line and later scored on a fielding error. An RBI double by Martucci drove in Niech with the second unearned run of the frame.
 
NJCU added some impressive insurance as 12 men batted in the eighth, scoring six times on four hits. After a leadoff single by Niech, NJCU patiently waited out three consecutive walks—the third by freshman first baseman ZACH BUCHHOLZ (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin) forced in a run—before freshman shortstop TAYLOR BORN (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) was hit by a pitch  for the second consecutive inning, pushing across the 12^th run. A two-run pinch hit double by Sheldrick extended the margin to 14-0 before a sacrifice fly by Aviles and an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter JAMES GARDNER (Hoboken, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) capped the scoring.
 
NJCU will look to extend its 18-inning shutout streak and two straight wins when it returns to action on Tuesday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m. in its home opener against Mount Saint Mary College (NY) at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.

 

 

10+ STRIKEOUTS BY NJCU PITCHING (since 2000)
K's	PITCHER	DATE	OPPONENT	SITE	IP	WALKS	TEAM K'S	GAME RESULT
14	DELIO COUTINHO	03/13/2014	vs. Rockford	Auburndale, FL	8.0	5	15	L, 0-4
14	Baldwin Vargas	04/26/2008	Rutgers-Camden	Jersey City, NJ	7.0	3	14	W, 15-2
13	Westley Lopez	03/21/2010	vs. St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 1	Jersey City, NJ	7.0	1	13	W, 3-0
12	Milton Rodriguez	03/12/2007	vs. Scranton	Fort Myers, FL	9.0	3	12	W, 8-2
11	Baldwin Vargas	03/25/2007	at Staten Island  1	Staten Island, NY	7.0	4	11	L, 1-2
11	Pete Amadeo	04/23/2001	at Stevens	Hoboken, NJ	10.0	4	13	W, 10-7 (12)
10	DELIO COUTINHO	03/20/2014	at Washington (Md.)	Chestertown, MD	6.2	0	12	W, 16-0
10	DELIO COUTINHO	03/11/2012	vs. McDaniel	Winter Haven, FL	7.1	3	11	L, 1-7
10	Westley Lopez	03/18/2008	vs. Baruch	Jersey City, NJ	6.0	3	12	W, 14-3
Note: The most strikeouts on record are 17 by Harry Durkee against Jersey City Junior College in 1949.   1 7-inning game