GETTYSBURG, PA | The New Jersey City University (NJCU) baseball squad opened its 2026 campaign this evening against Gettysburg College. The Gothic Knights dropped their opener, 20-3, at Patriots Park North.

NJCU (0-1) scattered four hits and tallied four errors as a team. Mike Novak (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) finished 1-for-2 with an RBI while Daniel Kapsch (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), Nick Vaughn (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township), and Jeremy Ricourt (Perth Amboy, N.J./JFK Memorial) added a hit. On the bump, Andre Dean (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) (0-1) got the start and hurled 43 pitches in one inning of action. In that inning, he tallied three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs.

Gettysburg (5-0) used 12 hits to tally 20 runs and recorded two errors in the field. Dominick Balsamo paced the team, going 2-for-4 from the dish with 4 RBI. Henry Smith went a perfect 3-for-3 with 2 RBI and two walks in the win. John Francesconi (1-0) picked up the win in five innings. He tallied four strikeouts and allowed just two hits.

Gettysburg seized an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first before doubling its advantage in the third and fourth innings. In the fifth, Balsamo launched a three-run homer to balloon Gettysburg's lead to 11-0.

The Gothic Knights finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Johnovan Rodriguez (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) was walked home, followed by another walk-in RBI for Novak. Gettysburg exploded for six runs in the seventh before tacking on another trio in the eighth. Nicholas Diadema (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) attempted to ignite the Gothic Knights' offense in the eighth with an RBI, but NJCU couldn't sustain the rally.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Sunday, March 1, when they take on Hood College and Wilson College at 10:00 am and 2:30 pm.

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