Box Score THROGGS NECK, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Sophomore first baseman Dan Berardi (Bridgewater, NJ/Middlesex) had a two-run game-tying double as part of a five-run outburst in the seventh inning as the New Jersey City University baseball team overcame a 5-2 deficit and won for the 11th time with a 7-5 victory over Maritime College under the lights on March 30.
 
At 11-4 overall, NJCU owns its best record after 15 games since opening the 1980 season 11-3-1 (and 12-3-1 after 16 games). It's the second best start to a season in the 69-year history of the program. The 1962 conference championship team was 9-3 in a 12-game season. The Knights have won four consecutive games and for the fifth time in six games. The Privateers fell to 11-6.
 
In a game originally scheduled to be played in Jersey City but moved to Maritime's Reinhart Baseball Field to accommodate the Privateers' academic schedule, the clubs were even at 2-2 through five innings before Maritime scored three in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Sophomore righty Anthony Keri (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), who was the third of five pitchers used, made his ninth relief appearance of the season, entering the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Keri was credited with the win (1-0) after he struck out the only batter he faced looking on a 2-2 pitch.
 
Berardi batted 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs and was the lone Gothic Knight with multiple hits. Senior designated hitter Andrew Niech (Avenel, NJ/Colonia) reached base twice and his 178th career hit gave him sole possession of third place in school history.
 
Junior right fielder Joe Coutinho (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) walked twice. Junior third baseman Zach Buchholz (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) extended his on-base streak to 32 consecutive games.
 
Once NJCU gained the lead, junior righty Joe Stone (Piscataway, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) bridged the seventh and eighth innings. In those two frames, he did not allow a hit, striking out two with two walks (one hit batter).
 
Last week's New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie Pitcher of the Week, freshman righty Ray Liguori (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South), claimed his first collegiate save when he mowed down the Privateers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth, including two strikeouts.
 
Sophomore righty Jason Szurlej (Linden, NJ/Linden) started for NJCU, lasting 5.0 innings (three earned runs, four hits, five walks, two strikeouts) in a no decision.
 
Maritime designated hitter Stephen Semier was the lone Privateer with multiple hits (2-for-4). Nick Fortunato, the fourth of five pitchers used for Maritime, lost for the first time (3-1). In 2.2 innings, he allowed two runs and three hits with a walk.

 
How It Happened:
NJCU got on the board in the top of the second inning as Berardi and junior left fielder Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) singled back-to-back with two outs and Berardi scored on a third straight single, the latter by junior second baseman Jeff Reinecke (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex).
 
Maritime went in front 2-1 in the bottom of the inning, tying it on a wild pitch before an RBI single by Semier knocked in the lead run. An RBI single by sophomore center fielder Dmitri Rueger (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) with two outs in the fourth evened it at 2-2, as he knocked in Ruscingno who walked with one out.
 
Maritime pulled in front, 5-2, when it plated three runs on four hits in the sixth. After a single and walk, shortstop Jimmy Guerriero had an RBI single to put the hosts in front. An error kept the inning alive and allowed Maritime to score two unearned runs—the latter coming in on an RBI single by second baseman Chris Deddo. After another hit loaded the bases, Keri came in and struck out first baseman Bruce Tyler to get NJCU out of the frame.
 
In the seventh, NJCU responded. Niech singled, Coutinho walked and Buchholz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior catcher CJ Pulcine (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) walked on four pitches to push across a run and Berardi doubled down the left field line to tie it. Junior Taylor Born (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) pinch hit and his ground out scored Pulcine with the go-ahead run before freshman shortstop Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, NJ/Spotswood) had a two-out infield single to shortstop to knock in Berardi with an insurance run.
 
OF NOTE:

• Zach Buchholz extends his on-base streak to 32 consecutive games. It's the longest since 2015 senior Michael Martucci (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) ended his record-breaking career with an active 34-game on-base streak—the third longest streak in NJCU history and sixth best on record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference's annals.  
• Andrew Niech claimed sole possession of third place in school history with 178 hits in 127 games. He surpassed Rob Gonzalez who had 177 hits from 2009-11. Niech has a 15-game hitting streak to open the season and 16 games overall.

 
#NextKnightTime:
On Thursday, March 31, NJCU looks to close its most successful month in school history with a dozen wins when it hosts Marywood University at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex at 3:30 p.m. The Pacers, based in Scranton, Pa. and members of the Colonial States Athletic Conference, enter with a 4-8 ledger. Follow the live broadcast (https://www.youtube.com/user/NJCUGothicKnights/Live) and live stats (http://www.sidearmstats.com/njcu/baseball/).