JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University baseball team hosted William Paterson University for a non-conference doubleheader at Caven Point on Saturday afternoon and evening, March 27. The Gothic Knights suffered a pair of losses against the Pioneers.
Game one went the way of WPU (9-2) as the Gothic Knights (2-9) fell 8-2 in the opening half of the twin bill. The Pioneers scratched three runs across in the top of the second, but a homer from sophomore
Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) in the home half made it a one-run game at 3-2. Unfortunately NJCU was unable to get any other offense going for the remainder of the game and fell 8-2. Sophomore
Jon Taylor (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow) was on the bump for the start and went 2.0 innings, allowing three earned on three hits in the loss.
The bottom half of the doubleheader was a much higher scoring affair, with the Pioneers coming out on top 15-5. The rookie
Nick Chiappisi (Toms River, N.J./Manchester Township) got the start for the Gothic Knights in this one and went 3.1 innings, allowing two earned on three hits before taking the blemish on his record. After the first three innings of play, the Gothic Knights held the 2-1 lead.
They started by putting a run across in the bottom of the first, trailing 1-0, with a double steal. Rookie
Justin Moreno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Trenton Catholic), in true Willie Mays Hays style, led off with a walk, stole second and was then moved over to third thanks to a bunt single from fellow rookie
Leo Colon (Carteret, N.J./St. Anthony (Jersey City)). Finally, the pair attempted a double steal, with Colon nabbing second and Moreno swiping home plate for the run. Unfortunately that early aggressiveness on the basepads let to a strike-him-out, throw-him-out play the very next at-bat.
After one-and-a-half scoreless innings, NJCU managed another run in the bottom of the third to take the lead. Sophomore
Caleb Ware (Newark, N.J./University) led off with a double to the line in left and made his way to third on a wild pitch.
Elijah Colon (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) then brought him home two at-bats later with a one-out RBI single up the middle. However, the Pioneers managed five runs in the next half inning to take the lead and would not relinquish it for the rest of the evening. They eventually stretched that to a 14-2 lead with an eight-run sixth and made it 15-2 in the seventh.
The Gothic Knights were able to get more offense going in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs on four hits and a WPU error. Senior
Brandon Rivera (Aberdeen, N.J./Matawan Regional) led off with a single, followed by a RBI triple from junior
Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional) — he scored on the play as well due to an error at short. Vizzoni then reached on a single, got to second on a wild pitch and moved over to third following a single through the gap at short by junior
Leo Colon (Carteret, N.J./St. Anthony (Jersey City)). With runners on the corners and two away, freshman
David Duran (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) hit a sac fly to right to score Vizzoni from third to end the scoring for the day.
Highlights:
- Vizzoni finished with a nice day at the plate. He went 3-for-6 overall with a RBI, a homer, two walks and two runs scored.
- Voss, the team's leading hitter, once again was efficient with the bat. He combined to go 3-for-7 with two doubles, a triple, a RBI, a run scored and was hit by a pitch.
What's Next
After roughly three weeks of non-conference baseball to start the season, with all but one game coming against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opponents, the Gothic Knights will officially begin NJAC play for the first time since 2019 when they travel down to Galloway, N.J., for a doubleheader at Stockton University on Saturday, April 3. Game one is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.
