MONTCLAIR, N.J. — The New Jersey City University baseball team closed out its regular-season New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) home-and-home series with #RV Montclair State University on Friday, April 14. The game was a slugfest, with both squads combining for 33 hits and 35 runs, however the Gothic Knights were defeated by the Red Hawks, 25-10. Junior third baseman Garrett Allo (Monroe, N.J./East Brunswick Tech) extended his on-base streak to 24, while junior catcher Ricky Tuero (West New York, N.J./Memorial) smacked the first homer of his collegiate career.

Jersey City (10-17, 1-7 NJAC) got things started in the top of the first, taking a 2-0 lead over Montclair State (17-7, 4-4 NJAC) thanks to a swing of the bat from rookie second baseman Dom Yarson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing). Allo led off with a single, followed by a walk from graduate outfielder Ricky Voss (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth Regional). Senior leftfielder Jimmy Vizzoni (Hamilton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) then dropped down a sacrifice to put two runners into scoring position. Two at-bats later, Yarson cranked a two-run double to put NJCU up by two.

However, that lead was unfortunately brief as the Red Hawks put up 19 runs over the first four innings to lead heading into the fifth. In the top of that inning, Jersey City tried to claw its way back into the game. Tuero started with a leadoff home run before senior designated hitter Josh Hernandez (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista Community) singled home freshman shortstop Arian Lunar (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) from third. Yarson followed with his third RBI of the day with a single of his own before sophomore first baseman John Abrahamsen (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) made it 19-6 with a RBI groundout.

The Gothic Knights then scored two more in the top of the sixth as the top of the order got it done once again. Allo led off with a single, followed by a two-out double from Voss. Vizzoni then brought them both home with a two-run single. NJCU then cut it to 19-10 with another two-spot in the top if the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, sophomore Salvatore Verlingo (Nutley, N.J./St. Mary) came in to pinch hit and singled home senior pinch runner Caleb Ware (Newark, N.J./University) from third. Allo then singled home senior outfielder Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) from third in the next at-bat. Montclair State scored six more runs in the bottom of the eighth to close out the scoring.

Highlights:
- Allo finished 3-for-5 with three runs and a RBI. He now has 10 multi-hit games this season.
- Voss was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs.
- Vizzoni was 1-for-3 with two RBI, a walk, a sac bunt and a run scored.
- Yarson was 2-for-5 with three RBI.
- The middle innings (fifth, sixth and seventh) saw three NJCU relievers string together 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts: freshmen Jeff Osborne (Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood) and Mike Napolitano (Belleville, N.J./Belleville) and senior Berto Reyes (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth).

Up Next:
Originally scheduled to travel down to Camden, N.J., tomorrow, Saturday, April 15, and face NJAC foe Rutgers-Camden in a doubleheader, NJCU's weekend action was postponed due to upcoming inclement weather. Instead, the Gothic Knights will still travel down to Camden and face the Scarlet Raptors on Sunday, April 16, in a doubleheader, with game one scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. first pitch.