New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score GAME PROGRAM/NOTES
GOTHIC VISION: Gothic Knight Insights Interview: MATTHEW WAGNER and Mark Petrucelli

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior MATTHEW WAGNER (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) had played in 89 games in his three-year Gothic Knight baseball career, primarily as the starting right or center fielder, while pitching only 3.0 innings in a relief role as a collegian and had struggled, with an 18.00 ERA. He had never started a game on the mound in college, and described himself as an occasional starting pitcher in high school. All this makes Wagner's accomplishment on April 7 that much more impressive.
 
In his first collegiate start at pitcher, Wagner, a right-hander, was sensational, and freshman righty MARK PETRUCELLI (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Queen of Peace) retired all five batters he faced after entering the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning for a hard-fought save as NJCU upset first-place Rutgers University-Camden, 4-3, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 
The game, a makeup of an April 4 rainout, capped a home-and-home series which opened on April 3 when Camden (13-6-1, 4-2 NJAC) downed the Gothic Knights (8-12, 2-4 NJAC) in Camden, NJ (15-5). The Raptors had their four-game winning streak end while NJCU snapped a three-game skid. On a chilly, windy spring day, threatening skies eventually opened up and the final two-plus innings of the game were played under a steady rain.
 
With NJCU's starting rotation taxed after five conference games in four days, Wagner being used as a starting pitcher may have seemed like a surprise but the move by third-year head coach Jerry Smith paid off. Wagner (1-0) struck out three, walked one and allowed just two earned runs (three total) and eight hits over 118 pitches while facing 31 batters; he coaxed 12 fly outs and six groundouts.
 
"We always say we look to recruit tough competitors and athletes," Smith noted. "With five games in three days, players needed to step outside their traditional roles and do what's in the best interest of the team. And that's really what athletics is all about—teamwork and doing your job, whatever it might be. that particular day. Wags had performed well in recent relief appearances and we felt he gave us the best chance. His past two performances in relief indicated he had control of multiple pitches. And that's a lot of what starting pitching is about. We took it pitch-by-pitch and inning-by-inning and he did more than we ever expected. Now we need to use this to propel us into next week."
 
Meanwhile, Petrucelli earned his first career save after inheriting two runners with no outs in the top of the eighth. Freshman designated hitter Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), the league's runs leader (26) singled on a 0-2 pitch and with the rain coming down, senior right fielder Adrian Gonzalez (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken), the NJAC leader with 26 RBIs, was hit by a pitch. Petrucelli entered and on a 3-2 pitch, the seventh thrown to junior first baseman Connor Hall (Delran, NJ/Delran), forced a 4-6-3 double play. Brooks, the tying run, advanced to third with two outs before freshman left fielder Doug Carter (Union, NJ/Union) popped up a 0-2 pitch to the mound which Petrucelli squeezed into his wet glove.
 
In the top of the ninth, Petrucelli set down the Raptors 1-2-3 to secure the one-run win—a strikeout looking with a brilliant pitch on the outside corner, a pop up to first and a fly ball to right.
 
"Petrucelli is another indicator of what makes good teams," praised Smith. "A walk-on infielder who we converted [into a pitcher] accepted a role outside of his expectation to be a part of what we are doing. He has been extremely coachable and he, coach [Nick] Cesare and coach [Connor] Medler have been working day in and day out. Each day he gets better and his primary role is to induce double plays by getting ground balls and attacking the zone. On the mound we discussed just that— they are going to bunt, then we will intentional walk, then do what we worked on and get the ground ball. To our benefit we got the double play first. And ironically four of the outs there after were in the air."
 
Offensively, three of four NJCU runs were unearned as the Knights took advantage of three Camden errors. NJCU did not score again after taking a 4-2 lead in the third inning with a three-run effort, as its pitching did the job the rest of the way. Camden scored twice in the third inning to briefly grab a 2-1 lead and added one in the fifth to make it a 4-3 game.
 
Sophomore catcher ANDREW NIECH (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) was 2-for-4 with one run and freshman left fielder ERIC GIORDANO (Metuchen, NJ/JFK-Iselin) batted 2-for-3 while making several key putouts in left. Junior center fielder MIGUEL AVILES (Union City, NJ/Saint Mary's (Jersey City)) had a run and RBI.
 
Camden received a solid pitching performance in defeat (1-3) from senior righty Ryan Martin (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) who went the distance (8.0 innings), allowing three unearned runs (four total) and eight hits with nine strikeouts and two walks over 115 pitches.
 
For RUC, sophomore third baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Brooks batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Sophomore second baseman Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) finished 2-for-4 with a run scored as the first three batters in the lineup accounted for six of the eight hits.
 
After NJCU stranded two runners in the first, the Knights got on the board in the second. Junior first baseman ALEX WEINSTEIN (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin) walked, advanced to second on a fielding error at third and a wild pitch before scoring on a ground ball by freshman right fielder JOE COUTINHO (Colonia, NJ/Colonia).
 
RUC moved ahead briefly in the third when Tenuto and Sigismondi had back-to-back one-out singles and scored on a double down the left field line by Brooks.
 
But NJCU reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third. After a one-out error allowed rookie second baseman TAYLOR BORN (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) to reach, Niech had a single the opposite way, and both players advanced on a sac bunt by Giordano. Aviles deposited a single through the left side to score Born with the tying run before Weinstein grounded out to knock in Niech with a 3-2 advantage.  With two outs, junior designated hitter PAT SHELDRICK (Ocean Gate, NJ/Central Regional) singled to right and when the ball was misplayed by Gonzalez, Aviles alertly raced home from third with what proved to be the winning run.
 
NJCU committed two errors in the top of the fifth but it only led to one run as Tenuto, who led off with a single, scored on a bad throw with two outs.
 
The Knights are right back at it on Tuesday, April 8 at 3:30 p.m. with a non-conference home game against College of Mount Saint Vincent—the fourth of five straight home contests.