JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University baseball team faced off with #20 (NCBWA/d3baseball.com) Rowan University on Thursday afternoon, April 8, for a single game of New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action. The game was the first played at the Thomas M. Gerrity Complex this season — and the first baseball contest held at the facility since May 3, 2019, which is 706 days. Despite the Gothic Knights falling to the Profs by a final score of 13-3, the game was extremely tight through the top of the sixth inning.
For NJCU (3-11, 1-2 NJAC), junior
John Pudder (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) (0-1) got the nod to make the start on the bump, and the right-hander — a reliever throughout his time as a collegian to this point — made the most of his first-career start. Pudder went a career-high 5.1 innings in the loss, allowing three earned on five hits while striking out a career-best six batters. Additionally, heading into the top of the sixth inning, Pudder had not allowed an earned run — the two that scored for Rowan (5-2, 3-0 NJAC) in the first were unearned — and two of the three earned runs charged to him were actually inherited by a reliever. So, after a tough start to the game in which the Profs scored twice to take an early 2-0 lead in the first, Pudder settled in and cruised through five shutout innings unscathed before leaving with one out in the sixth.
The Gothic Knights, trailing by two, trimmed the lead to one in the home half of the first. With one out, senior second baseman
Brandon Rivera (Aberdeen, N.J./Matawan Regional) reached on an error at short. Junior first baseman
Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional) was next to reach with a walk, putting runners on first and second. Rivera, giving the Rowan hurler fits on the basepads, forced an errant throw by the pitcher for a failed pickoff attempt that allowed him to make his way to third. Sophomore shortstop
Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic), who's been on a tear of late, was up next in the cleanup spot with runners on the corners and plated Rivera with an infield RBI single to short.
Neither squad would score again until NJCU tied it up at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, following a walk and a hit batter, the Gothic Knights chased the Rowan starter. Freshman
Caleb Ware (Newark, N.J./University) entered the game as a pinch runner at second and he again was able to advance on a failed pickoff attempt, this time making it all they way around to home plate for the game-tying run. That's how the score would stay until the top of the sixth.
It was then that the Profs blew it open. First Rowan made it 3-2 with a RBI single to left center with two runners on. Then, after Pudder was relieved by classmate
Tom Paul (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro), a three-run homer broke it open at 6-2. A two-run home run in the top of the seventh made it 8-2, before the Profs put up a five-spot in the eighth, which included a three-run triple to center and a solo shot, to make it 13-2. The Gothic Knights were able to scratch one final run across in the home half of the eighth to make it 13-3 via a bases loaded RBI walk from junior outfielder
Leo Colon (Carteret, N.J./St. Anthony (Jersey City)) to conclude the offense on both sides for the day.
What's Next
NJCU returns to action tomorrow afternoon, Friday, April 9, to complete its regular-season home-and-home series with #20 Rowan down in Glassboro, N.J. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
