JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University baseball squad faced off once again with #14-ranked (d3baseball.com) Kean University on Friday, April 22, at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex for a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) clash.

Junior Jon Taylor (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow) got the start on the bump for the Gothic Knights (9-22, 1-11 NJAC) against the Cougars (28-6, 11-1 NJAC) and he went 3.2 innings before being relieved by a quartet of bullpen arms to close out the final 5.1 innings on the day. On the offensive end, several Jersey City batters had some strong days. Junior rightifleder Josh Hernandez (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista Community) extended his on-base streak to eight straight after he went 2-for-3 with a walk against Kean. Senior centerfielder Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional), riding a 12-game on-base streak of his own, was just 1-for-4 with a walk, however a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the ninth helped him to a four-RBI day.

Things got started as the Cougars scored four total in the first two innings before NJCU answered back in the bottom of the second. Freshman Matt Kaliske (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township), who went 2-for-4, led off with a single to center. Then, with two outs, senior catcher Mitchell Leslie (Gibbstown, N.J./Gloucester Tech) doubled down the line in right to put runners on second and third. Finally, sophomore second baseman Ali Pompey (Belle Meade, N.J./Trenton Catholic) brought Kalieski home with am infield single.

Kean then put up two more runs over the next three innings before the Gothic Knights trimmed the deficit to four. In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore shortstop Justin Moreno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Trenton Catholic) led off with a walk, followed by Taylor, who reached via an error. A subsequent wild pitch put both runners into scoring position. Hernandez then walked to load the bases for Voss, who drew a free base of his own to force in a run and make it 6-2 at the time.

The Cougars put up 10 more runs over the next four innings before Jersey City put up one last rally in the bottom of the ninth. Freshman John Abrahamsen (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) led off by getting hit by a pitch, followed by a walk drawn by Moreno. Then, with one out and the bases loaded thanks to a walk from junior Caleb Ware (Newark, N.J./University), Voss came to the plate and cleared all runners with a three-run triple to center. Unfortunately, the next two Gothic Knights struck out to end the game, 16-5.

Up Next:
NJCU looks to get off the schneid tomorrow, Saturday, April 23, when Ramapo College comes to the Gerrity for a pair of NJAC games. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by game two.