JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | To paraphrase WWE legend The Rock, finally, the Gothic Knights have come back...to Jersey City. After 10 postponements of its home opener, New Jersey City University finally got back on its home field for the first time in 2017 with a makeup doubleheader against Rutgers-Newark. After falling in the opener, 11-3, NJCU, behind two home runs on the day from sophomore shortstop Nick LoGatto (Helmetta, NJ/Spotswood) (Helmetta, N.J./Spotswood), rallied for seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seize an 11-8 lead before Rutgers-Newark tied it in the seventh and stole it in the eighth, winning the nightcap 14-11.
 
After a five-game winning streak to open its northern schedule, NJCU has now dropped the last five. The Knights are 6-10 overall and 1-5 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Newark, which won four NJAC games this weekend, improves to 15-5 and 4-2 in the league.
 
LoGatto was a combined 3-for-4 with six RBIs, two home runs and one double, scoring twice. He had a 2.500 slugging percentage in the two games and an .800 on-base percentage.  Freshman designated hitter/third baseman Lenin Gomez (Edison, NJ/Edison) (Edison, N.J./Edison) was on base five times, going 3-for-6 with three RBIs, two runs, two doubles and two walks.
 
Junior catcher Justin Marks (South Plainfield, N.J.) led Rutgers-Newark, going 6-for-10 with seven runs, a double and homer in the twinbill. Junior center fielder Anthony Perconte (Westfield, N.J.) had four RBIs, going 4-for-7 with a pair of walks while sophomore shortstop Ryan Zucker (Mountainside, N.J.) hit 5-for-9 with three runs.
 
Newark was the home team on the scoreboard in game two because the doubleheader was a makeup of a pair of rainouts of a previously scheduled home-and-home series on April 6 and 7.
 
Game 1: Rutgers-Newark 11, New Jersey City 3
The Scarlet Raiders scored in every inning except the second and sixth but never more than two in any frame as they took game one. Newark outhit NJCU, 12-9, and the Gothic Knights committed three errors.
 
For NJCU, senior right fielder Joe Coutinho (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) drove in two of the three runs, batting 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Senior third baseman Zach Buchholz (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) (Colonia, N.J./JFK Memorial-Iselin) was 2-for-3 with a run and his 97th and 98th career hits.
 
Newark junior right-handed pitcher Mike Zibrin (Middletown, N.J.) was impressive, improving to 4-1. In 7.0 innings, he struck out seven against one walk, giving up two runs and seven hits. Freshman left-handed pitcher Brandon Terrizzi (Hawthorne, N.J.) struck out two in 2.0 innings. NJCU used six pitchers in the game. Sophomore righty Nate Facey (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) made the start and suffered his first loss (1-1).
 
Marks led the Raiders with three runs and hit 3-for-6 with an RBI as the No. 3 batter. Freshman designated hitter Colin Powers (Secaucus, N.J.) and junior first baseman Ross Halkias (Kinnelon, N.J.) each drove in two runs. Also for RUN, senior left fielder Josh Cote (Wayne, N.J.) walked twice and scored a pair of runs. Zucker had two hits and junior right fielder Adam Tricarico (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) was 2-for-3 with two runs and two walks. Junior third baseman Brian Boulineau (Randolph, N.J.) scored twice.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rutgers-Newark scored twice in the first. With two one, Halkias doubled to deep center and Perconte followed with a sac fly. Coutinho cut the deficit in half on a two-strike, two-out RBI single through the left side in the bottom of the inning.
 
Sophomore righty Anthony Carfora (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South), the 'leveraged starter', came into the game in the third inning and struck out the first two batters. But he hit two of the next three and walked another. With the bases loaded and two outs Powers, on a 3-2 pitch, dropped a two-run single into right center for a 4-1 lead. Marks added a long solo homer to right center in the fourth to make it 5-1.
 
The Raiders gradually added to the lead, scoring two in the fifth when NJCU committed two errors, for a 7-1 lead and two more runs in the eighth to go ahead 10-2. LoGatto chalked up a pinch hit RBI double in the ninth in a preview of the game-two power to come.
 
Game 2: Rutgers-Newark 14, New Jersey City 11
NJCU hit three homeruns and had five extra base hits—its most homers in a game in two years—and trailing 7-4, tied it with three runs in the sixth before scoring four in the seventh. But Newark countered with three runs in the seventh to tie it then scored three go-ahead runs in the eighth when the Knights committed two more errors. NJCU had five errors in the loss.
 
LoGatto, who did not hit a home run as a rookie, had his best collegiate game going 2-for-3 with five RBIs, two runs, two homers and a walk. His two-run homer in the second inning cut it to 3-2 after RUN scored three in the opening frame. He did it again in the seventh, drilling a two-out, 3-2 pitch to deep left that carried the ball and the left fielder, Cote over the fence for an 11-8 advantage.
 
LoGatto was also the hard luck losing pitcher. Making just his second career relief appearance, he gave up three runs in the eighth but two were unearned when the Knights had consecutive throwing errors. He struck out two in an inning of work (0-1).
 
Offensively for NJCU, Gomez as 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs, two doubles and a walk. He tied the game with a three-run double in the sixth. Coutinho hit his first home run since his freshman season (2014), tallying two RBIs and two runs. Junior first baseman Dan Berardi (Bridgewater, NJ/Middlesex) (Bridgewater, N.J./Middlesex) scored twice and senior second baseman Jeff Reinecke (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) walked twice.
 
Cote paced RUN with four RBIs, batting 2-for-5 with a double and triple, and Perconte added three RBIs in a 4-for-5 showing. Zucker scored three runs and batted 3-for-4 and Marks scored four runs in a 3-for-4 effort (one RBI). The Raiders outhit NJCU, 19-9.
 
Adding to the effort for Newark was freshman second baseman JC Ball (Elizabeth, N.J.) with three runs in a 3-for-5 game. Boulineau drove in two runs and walked twice. RUN won despite stranding 13 runners on base.
 
Junior righty Dan Murphy (South Amboy, N.J.) collected the win in relief, allowing two unearned runs and two hits in a 1.1 innings, improving to 3-1. Sophomore righty Luis Rojas, a 6-foot-6 closer, faced four batters for his fourth save of the season.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Batting as the home team, the Raiders scored three in the bottom of the first when Cote deposited a two-run triple to right center for a 2-0 lead before Powers added a bases-loaded single through the right side with two outs. A rundown play at second ended the frame.
 
With one out in the second, Gomez doubled and LoGatto unloaded on a long homer to left field—his third of the year—to draw within 3-2.
RUN answered in the bottom of the inning with three consecutive hits on 3-2 counts. Zucker and Marks singled and Cote hit another long extra-base hit, a two-run double to straightaway center, for a 5-2 lead.
 
NJCU used the long ball again in the third. Senior center/left fielder Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) walked and Coutinho hit his first homer of the season, bouncing off the top of the fence in left center to trim the deficit to 5-4. Boulineau responded with a solo homer to left in the bottom of the third. Another run scored on a self-inflicted wound in the third. Ball reached on an error then scored on an error checking him at third.
 
Down 7-4 in the 6th, Coutinho walked, Berardi singled and junior center fielder Mike Ramirez (Old Bridge, NJ/Saint Joseph-Metuchen) (Old Bridge, N.J./Saint Joseph-Metuchen) dropped down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Gomez drilled an 0-2 pitch to the deepest part of the park in straightaway center, clearing the bases with a three-run double, and tying the game, 7-7. NJCU left the bases loaded in the inning.
 
RUN regained an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Perconte led off with a double, moved to third on another throwing error on a checked runner and scored on a sac fly by Boulineau.
 
NJCU countered in the seventh. Berardi reached on an error and stole second with two outs before Gomez was intentionally walked to get to senior catcher CJ Pulcine (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan), who made the Raiders pay for that decision, lining a game-tying single to left center. Even at 8-8, LoGatto came up and when his pop foul ball couldn't be caught, he also made the Raiders pay on the next pitch. He hit a long fly ball to left field; Cote could not make the catch leaning up against the fence as it carried over the wall for LoGatto's second homer of the game and a three-run shot to grab an 11-8 lead.
 
In the bottom of the seventh Rutgers loaded the bases on two singles and a hit batter and with one out, freshman Connor Clare (Rutherford, N.J.), in his first at bat of the game, blooped a single to right for an RBI (11-9) and Perconte laced a two-run single up the middle off the mound to tie the game at 11-11.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Powers hit a long line drive to the gap in left center but Ramirez laid out to make at the time a game-saving diving catch to keep it tied.
 
Ultimately, NJCU threw itself out of the eighth inning and the game. Ball singled and after a sacrifice, Marks drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right. With runners on first and second and two outs, Pulcine's throw down to second to check the runner hit Marks in the back of the leg and caromed into left field. Marks came all the way around from second on the error and a subsequent throwing error pushed Clare into scoring position where he later scored the 14th run on a Perconte infield single.
 
OF NOTE:

• The three home runs were the most in a game since NJCU hit four against CCNY on April 6, 2015.
• Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) had one hit in the doubleheader and now has 135 for his career, tying him for 16th place with Eric Martinez (135 hits, 1996-98) and Andrew Rivera (135 hits, 2010-13).
• Joe Coutinho (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) now has 103 career hits in 110 games. He extended his on-base streak to 19 games dating to last season and a 2017 active 12-game hitting streak.
• Zach Buchholz (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial-Iselin) now has 98 career hits in 114 games. He looks to become the 42nd member of the NJCU 100 hit club.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU plays its third doubleheader in three days when it faces the College of Staten Island in two seven-inning games on Monday, April 10 in Staten Island, N.Y. at 4 p.m.