DAVENPORT, Fla.  — The New Jersey City University baseball team kicked off their 2022 Spring trip at the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 5. The Gothic Knights fell in the first to Anna Maria University, but look forward towards the next five games this upcoming week. Jersey City started off to a blazing 4-0 lead after the first inning, but the AMCATS did not go away, ultimately finishing with the 13-5 victory. The squad was led by senior co-captain Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional) and sophomore infielder Ali Pompey (Belle Meade, N.J./Trenton Catholic). The tandem contributed to three RBI's, three hits and and two runs scored for the NJCU offense. 

Jersey City University (1-2), matched the Florida heat with their bats, starting the game 4-0 heading into the second. Senior Mitchell Leslie (Gibbstown, N.J./Gloucester Tech) led things off for the squad with a 101mph scorching line-drive to left-field. Following the laser from Leslie and a walk from junior Josh Hernandez (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista Community), fellow junior Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) layed down an absolute beautiful bunt down the third-base line to set things up for Voss. Voss did not disappoint, sizzling a ball between the first and second-baseman to take the 2-0 lead. The squad wasn't done, as aggressive base-running from Vizzoni and a walk from sophomore D.J. Dekis (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) pushed the NJCU lead to four runs, heading into the second inning.

Junior right-hander Justin Wiltsey (Hamilton Township, N.J./Hamilton West) shut down the AMCATS through the first three innings. AMU started off with hot-bats as well, but the right-hander got himself out of a bases-loaded one-out jam with no runs on the board. The junior sat down his next six hitters in-order, maintaining the Green & Gold lead, 4-0, heading into the fourth-inning. 

The Anna Maria University bats came alive in the fourth, getting five AMCATS across the board to take the lead. The Gothic Knight defense struggled behind Wiltsey, giving two-errors to the AMCATS, leading to two-unearned runs for Wiltsey. 

AMU did not let up on the Gothic Knights, tacking on at-least one run in each inning to end the game with the 13-5 victory.

NJCU got on the board in the sixth-inning, after three free bases given by the AMCATS, Pompey made it hurt with a single to right-field, bringing in junior Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial). The young Gothic Knight led off the ninth-inning with a double off the right-field fence. The sophomore finished his day with two hits, a career-high for Pompey in one game. 

Up Next:
NJCU baseball will remain in the sunshine state until next Wednesday. They will return to the field tomorrow morning, Sunday, Mar. 6, at 9:30 a.m. to take on Nebraska-Wesleyan University.