AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The New Jersey City University baseball team captured its first victory on their 2022 Spring Trip after defeating the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears 19-9. It was the most runs this offense has scored since March 24, 2019, against The College of Staten Island, in which they also won 19-9. In this offensive explosion for the Gothic Knights, the squad had four different hitters record two or more hits and five different NJCU sluggers knock in two or more runs. Freshman first baseman Matt Kaliske (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township) had a career day for Jersey City, finishing with four hits and five RBI. These were all career marks for the young Gothic Knight, who now leads the team in batting (.463) and RBI (7), despite missing two games.

Head coach Jerry Smith turned to the one of the leaders of the JC pitching rotation, senior Paul Tannucilli (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge), and the captain put on a career performance on the bump. The knuckleballer went 6.0 strong innings, allowing only three hits and surrendering just one ONU run.

NJCU (2-4) exploded in the first inning, giving Tannucilli a 6-0 lead before he even stepped on the mound. To begin the game, the outfield duo of junior Josh Hernandez (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista Community) and senior Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional), followed by sophomore infielder Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic), led things off with three consecutive free-bases to set the stage for Kaliske. The freshman started his career day with a rocket up-the-middle, scoring Hernandez and Voss. Following the RBI knock, NJCU took advantage of a eight-pitch-walk by junior Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) and a hit-by-pitch from sophomore Ali Pompey (Belle Meade, N.J./Trenton Catholic), extending the lead to 3-0. Jersey City wasn't finished just yet, as the freshman joined in on the run-parade. Rookie backstop Nick Vaughn (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) knocked in a RBI with a fielder's choice and sophomore shortstop Justin Moreno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Trenton Catholic) finished the scoring affair with a two-out, two-run opposite-field knock, but was thrown out trying to advance to second.

After the long first inning, it was Tannucilli time. The senior captain was near-perfect in his first four innings of work. Tannucilli had hitters all over the place with his floater of a knuckleball and only gave up one hit through four innings, which came by an infield dribbler down the third base line. 

NJCU's offense did not cool down in the beautiful 89-degree weather, scoring five more runs between the third and fourth innings. After Voss was clunked with another fastball and Vizzoni singled, this set the stage for the big man Kaliske. Continuing his scorching day, the rookie knocked in Voss with a line-drive through the left-side. Fernandez gave Tannucilli even more insurance with a double to left field, brining home Kaliske and senior Mitchell Leslie (Gibbstown, N.J./Gloucester Tech), improving the lead to 12-0. 

This was all the support that Tannucilli needed, as he finished his next three innings only allowing one earned run, two hits and striking out three Polar Bear hitters.

After surrendering one run in the bottom half of the fifth, Vizzoni led off the inning by hitting a double over the left fielder's head. Leslie made the ONU defense work, hitting a rocket at the second baseman that got through and advanced Vizzoni home. Kaliske captured his third RBI of the afternoon, following a fielders choice which allowed Leslie to cross the plate, extending the Gothic Knight lead to 14-1. The Polar Bears didn't melt in the heat, scoring eight runs between the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, keeping the game alive and cutting the lead to 14-9. 

But, NJCU continued to have success at the plate in the top of the eighth, adding on another insurance run. Again, Voss stayed with his patient approach by drawing a walk and then aggressively stole two bases for a chance with a man in scoring position for Kaliske, who hit another lazer through the right-side to give Jersey City the 15-9 lead with two innings left. The Gothic Knights were not finished mashing, scoring four more runs in the top half of the ninth to push the lead to 19-9. This rally was started by Pompey, after he delivered a single up-the-middle, followed by two stolen bases, putting him at third with no outs. Pompey didn't have to wait long, as his fellow infield partner Moreno knocked in his second run of the day with a base-hit to left. It was Leslie's turn to knock in his teammates, lining a ball down the left field line to score Voss. To finish the high-scoring battle, who else but Kaliske singled in junior two-way player Jon Taylor (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow), finishing his afternoon with four hits, five RBI and scoring three runs.

Closing out the game for the squad was junior Ronnie Wallraff (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) and he made sure that the game stayed in the hands of the Gothic Knights. The right-hander finished the final 2.1 innings without allowing a run or any ONU hits in his outing, closing the door for the squad and finishing the victory 19-9.

Up Next:
NJCU looks to bring the hot bats back tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9, for the Spring finale against the University of Massachusets-Dartmouth. First pitch at the Northeast Regional Park (Field 3) is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.