ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The New Jersey City University baseball team, after weather postponed its road doubleheader by a day and turned it into a pair of seven-inning games, split a road twin bill on Sunday afternoon, March 24, against Muhlenberg College. The Gothic Knights, led by a stellar pitching performance from junior righthander Andre Dean (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield), took game one 4-1, before falling just short in game two, 9-6.

Game 1: NJCU 4, Muhlenberg 1
NJCU (5-7) got things started in the top of the first thanks to a miscue from the Mules (6-10) by way of a two-out passed ball that allowed freshman first baseman Enrique Beltra (Monroe, N.J./Ranney) to score from third and make it 1-0. After Dean worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first, including a pair of strikeouts, both teams went down in order in the second. The third was just as quiet on both sides before the Gothic Knights scored the eventual-game-winner in the top of the fourth. Sophomore designated hitter Dom Yarson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) led off with a base hit before stealing second with one out. Fifth year leftfielder Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) brought him home right after that with a one-run single down the line in left to make it 2-0.

Muhlenberg cut it back down to a one-run game in the next half inning thanks to a run-scoring double following two of just their four hits in the contest. NJCU scratched across another run in the top of the fifth thanks to some speedy heads-up baserunning by senior second baseman Justin Moreno (Brooklyn, N.Y./Trenton Catholic). He led off by getting plunked, then stole second — he advanced to third on a bad throw from the Mules' catcher. Then, he beat out the throw home from short during the next at-bat to make it 3-1. The Mules managed to load the bases in the home half, but Dean stayed focused and worked his way out of that jam without allowing any more runs.

The Green and Gold added on the final insurance run in the top of the sixth as a one-out single up the middle from junior catcher Nick Vaughn (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) plated rookie centerfielder Ray Gelok (Clifton, N.J./Passaic Tech) from second to make it 4-1. Dean sent Muhelnberg down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the complete-game victory. His final line was 7.0 innings with just one earned run on four hits and a walk — he struck out a career-best 11 batters.

Game 2: Muhlenberg 9, NJCU 6
The Gothic Knights started out strong once again in the second game, kicking things off with a two-run first inning. Rookie rightfielder Jeremy Ricourt (Perth Amboy, N.J./JFK Memorial) led off the game with a triple to center and a subsequent sac fly from Beltra made it 1-0. Senior third baseman Garrett Allo (Monroe, N.J./East Brunswick Tech) followed with a single and then stole second. Yarson was next with a base hit to put runners on the corners before Gelok made it a two-run game with a RBI single to plate Allo. Yarson eventually stole third, but a double-play ended the inning in the next at-bat. The Mules got one back in the home half with a two-out single to make it 2-1.

NJCU once again took a two-run lead in the top of the second as Vaughn led it off with a single before stealing second. An error allowed him to get to third eventually before Ricourt brought him home with an infield single to make it 3-1. Senior righthander Ali Pompey (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) settled down in the home half, working around a one-out single to keep the score the same. Muhlenberg did scratch one across with a one-out double in the bottom of the third, making it 3-2, however a two-out rally by by the Mules in the bottom of the fourth put the home team up, 5-3. They did more damage in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs to make it 9-3. NJCU rookie righthander Danny Olear (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) came in to get the final out of the inning.

Jersey City was not done just yet, however, as Frenandez led off the top of the sixth with a double. Two outs and two at-bats later, rookie Jordan Martins (Edison, N.J./Edison) came in as a pinch hitter and knocked in Fernandez with a single to left, making it 9-4. Ricourt was next with a single, advancing to second on the play to put two runners in scoring position. Beltra promptly blasted a two-run double to left to make it 9-6 — the rally would end there. Olear worked a 1-2-3 home half, but NJCU went out the same way in the next half inning to close out the week.

DH Highlights:
- Ricourt was 4-for-8 with two runs, a double, a triple and two RBI.
- Vaughn was 2-for-5 with a run, a RBI and two stole bases.
- Fernandez was 3-for-8 with a run, a double and a RBI.
- Beltra had a 1.292 OPS, going 1-for-3 with a run, a double, three RBI, two walks, two hit-by-pitches and a sac fly.

Up Next:
NJCU continues its early-season road trip with its 10-straight game away from Jersey City on Tuesday afternoon, March 26, at 4:00 p.m. against The College at Old Westbury.