UNION, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior right fielder Joe Coutinho (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) had a go-ahead one-out triple in the top of the ninth inning to break an 8-8 deadlock and senior center fielder Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) had a three-run triple as part of a five-run seventh as the New Jersey City University baseball team opened its 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference slate with a 10-8 road upset of No. 25/25 ranked Kean University on April 1. Kean won game two, 7-2, at Jim Hynes Stadium.
 
NJCU (6-6, 1-1 NJAC) extended its winning streak to five in a row before falling in the nightcap in a doubleheader moved earlier in the week from Jersey City to Union. It was NJCU's first win over a ranked opponent since a 9-5 decision against No. 30 Rowan on April 4, 2015; since then NJCU had lost the last six games against ranked teams. It was also NJCU's first win over Kean since the Knights upset the then No. 1 ranked Cougars, 5-1, on April 13, 2013.
 
Coutinho is now just two hits shy of 100 and was a combined 6-for-8 in the doubleheader with five RBIs while freshman first baseman Lenin Gomez (Edison, N.J./Edison) batted 5-for-8 in the two games. Sophomore designated hitter Steve Santigate (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) combined to go 4-for-7 with four runs, three RBIs and two walks for the Cougars (14-8, 1-1 NJAC). He had a decisive three-run inside-the-park homer in game two that forced Ruscingno out of the game after crashing into the wall trying to track it down.
 
GAME 1: New Jersey City 10, No. 25/25 Kean 8

Kean built a 4-0 lead after a four-run third and 7-2 through six innings before the Gothic Knights plated five in the visitor's seventh. Kean scored once in the bottom of the seventh before NJCU evened it in the eighth, 8-8, leading to Coutinho's heroics in the top of the ninth.
 
Coutinho was 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Ruscingno, one game after establishing a school record with six hits against Mount Saint Mary, was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs. Gomez batted 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
 
Additionally, junior designated hitter Dan Berardi (Bridgewater, N.J./Middlesex) and senior catcher CJ Pulcine (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) each had two hits.
 
Up 10-8, sophomore right-handed pitcher Jose Ortiz (Perth Amboy, N.J./Perth Amboy) nailed down his first save in the ninth inning, facing just four batters.
 
Sophomore righty Anthony Carfora (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) improved to 3-0 for the Knights, coming into the game in the third inning as NJCU's leveraged starter and went six innings. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Facey (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) made his fourth start of the season and junior righty Dan Foley (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) each pitched a scoreless inning to open the game.
 
Kean lost despite hitting three homers and two triples as seven of its 12 hits went for extra bases. NJCU outhit the Cougars, 15-12.
 
Santigate batted 3-for-5 with three RBIs and his second home run of the season while senior second baseman Brock Podgurski (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) was 2-for-3 with three runs, two triples and a pair of walks.
 
Junior first baseman Matt Krupa (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) added a 3-for-3 effort with a homer and walked twice while scoring a pair of runs. Junior left fielder Frank Urso (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) walked twice and hit a three-run homer.
 
Sophomore righty Kyle Gaeb (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) lost in relief, giving up both runs after entering the game with one out in the ninth. Senior left-handed pitcher Richie Ferguson (Flemington, N.J./Immaculata) started and went the first 6.1 innings, allowing five runs and nine hits.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kean jumped on top 4-0 in the third when Urso hit a three-run homer and after a walk to Podgurski, freshman third baseman Mike Fidanza (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a two-out RBI double. NJCU got two runs back in the bottom of the inning as Gomez and Coutinho produced RBI doubles in consecutive at bats.
 
Kean pushed the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Podgurski led off with a triple and scored when Santigate hit a two-run shot over the left field fence. Krupa's solo homer with one out in the sixth expanded it to 7-2.
 
The Knights sent nine men to the plate when they tied the game in the seventh. Berardi and Pulcine singled and a ground ball by sophomore shortstop Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, N.J./Spotswood) plated a run. Junior Mike Ramirez (Old Bridge, N.J./Saint Joseph-Metuchen) had a pinch-hit single and freshman left fielder Bill Feehan (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) walked to load the bases. That brought up Ruscingno with one out, who deposited a three-run bases-clearing triple to left field to trim the lead to 7-6. With the tying run at third, Coutinho fouled out behind first base but it was deep enough to allow a speedy Ruscingno to come home on a sac fly.
 
Kean reclaimed the lead, 8-7, when Podgurski again led off an inning with a triple and scored on a single up the middle by Santigate in the bottom of the seventh. NJCU answered in the top of the eighth as Berardi singled on the first pitch of the frame, stole second and senior  Zach Buchholz (Colonia, N.J./JFK Memorial-Iselin) drove in rookie pinch runner Joe Papamarkos (Lyndhurst, N.J./Paramus Catholic).
 
Carfora got out of a jam in the bottom of eighth when Kean left the bases loaded but could not push across a run as he struck out Podgurski and then NJCU won it in the ninth. With one out, Ruscingno and Gomez singled back-to-back and with runners on the corners, Coutinho tripled to right center on the first pitch he saw from Gaeb. Ortiz retired the first two batters in the ninth, and after a double, got a fly out to end it.
 
GAME 2: No. 25/25 Kean 7, New Jersey City 2
Kean broke open a 2-1 game on a three-run inside-the-park homer by Santigate in the third and downed NJCU to salvage a split of the twinbill. Kean had an 11-8 edge in hits. Up 5-2, the Cougars added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh.
 
Santigate led Kean with three RBIs in a 2-for-4 effort. Freshman center fielder Derek Walker (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) was 3-for-5 and sophomore shortstop Ivan Rivera (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored twice in a 2-for-5 showing. Freshman right fielder Nick Polizzano (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

 
Coutinho and Gomez accounted for half of NJCU's hits. Each batted 2-for-4 and Coutinho added an RBI with his seventh double in 11 games this season after having just 11 doubles in the first 95 games of his career from 2014-16. Ruscingno was shaken up running into the wall trying to catch the inside-the-park homer and left the game. It was the first time he didn't reach base this season, ending a 15-game on-base streak.
 
Sophomore righty Tyler Hopman (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) won to improve to 4-1. In a complete-game effort he fanned six, walked one and allowed two runs and eight hits over 116 pitches. Sophomore lefty Kyle Kafer (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown) took his first loss (1-1), going the first three innings. Ramirez threw the final 5.0 frames, striking out two while allowing just two runs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kean led 2-0 after an RBI ground ball by Polizzano in the first and an RBI double by Walker in the second. In the third, Pulcine walked with one out, LoGatto and Buchholz singled and Feehan cut the deficit in half (2-1) with a ground ball.
 
But Kean answered in the bottom of the third. Polizzano singled with one out, Podgurski walked with two outs and Santigate hit a long sacrifice fly ball to left center. Ruscingno crashed into the padded fence at full speed trying to catch what likely would have been a bases-clearing double. When he couldn't recover from the collision in time, Santigate alertly rounded the bases for a 5-1 lead on the inside-the-parker.
 
In the sixth, Feehan led off with a bunt single and scored on an RBI double by Coutinho to make to 5-2. But Kean scored twice on four hits in the seventh. One run came in on an error and Polizzano had an RBI single.
 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
 
Head Coach Jerry Smith: "I thought we did a real nice job playing the next pitch. Being down 7-2 didn't seem to faze our guys. We were having good at bats all game but just weren't getting the results. But if we don't waiver from our approach and continue to compete and look to hit the ball hard, good things will happen.
 
From a pitching standpoint we talk about 10-80-10. Ten percent of the time you are going to have all your pitches working, 80 percent you'll be working with two pitches, and

sometimes you just need to battle. No time to make excuses, just compete. Today I thought Anthony [Carfora] did a great job competing, all the way through the eighth when he finished it off with a strikeout, before turning it over to Jose [Ortiz].
 
Not too many times do you let up three home runs, 12 hits, and walk nine against a well-coached perennial power like Kean and leave with a win. But when you compete like our guys did in that first game, it gives us a chance. We showed some toughness. On the flip side, I thought we lacked that same toughness that we had in game one in the second game. Sometimes a good pitching outing like Hopman had can do that to you. We just need to find other ways to win and build consistency. We just need to learn and improve. Forward thinking."
 
OF NOTE:

• Kean ranked No. 25 in both the D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III Top 25 polls.
• NJCU snapped a seven-game losing streak to Kean dating to its win over No. 1 Kean on April 13, 2013.
• Nick Ruscingno upped his career hits total to 133 in 112 games. He remains in 19th place in program history. Next on the list are Romano Lake (134 hits, 1987-90, 18th place), Eric Martinez (135 hits, 1996-98, 16th place) and Andrew Rivera (135 hits, 2010-13, 16th place).
• Joe Coutinho's big day gives him 98 career hits in 106 games. Zach Buchholz now has 95 career hits in 110 games. They look to become the 41st and 42nd members of the NJCU 100 hit club. Currently, five players have joined the 100-hit club in Jerry Smith's six years as head coach, including three of the top six on the list and the No. 1 and No. 2 all-time hitters.
• Nick Ruscingno and Zach Buchholz each made their 100th career starts in game two.
• Joe Coutinho now owns a 15-game on-base streak dating to last season and a 2017 active eight-game hitting streak.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
Conditions-permitting, NJCU will finally look to play its home opener at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex on Sunday, April 2 at 12 p.m. against Baruch College (6-10) in a make-up of a March 28 rainout. Follow live stats.