Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
MONTCLAIR, NJ – Rowan University and Montclair State University split a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader on Saturday. Montclair State won the first game, 8-7 and Rowan had a 10-8 victory in game two.
The Profs finish the regular season with a 28-10 record and a 12-6 NJAC mark. The Red Hawks are 22-14 overall and 13-5 in the conference. Both teams advance to the NJAC Championship Tournament. In the first round on Thursday, May 1, fourth seeded Rowan travels to the three seed The College of New Jersey at 3:30 p.m.
In the first game, left hander Michael Vitale (jr. Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) got the win on the mound for the Red Hawks. Vitale (4-1) pitched one scoreless inning in relief. Right hander Kevin O’Hara (jr. Clayton, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) took the loss in relief.
Right fielder Robert Clark (sr. Livingston, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) led Montclair State with two hits (four at bats), a triple, a home run, three RBIs and one run scored. First baseman Lou Politan (sr. Livingston, NJ/Livingston) went one for five with two RBIs and one run scored. Center fielder Michael Nunes (sr. Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) added three hits (four at bats), one RBI and one run scored. Designated hitter Rob Bowness (gr. Sparta, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) drove in two runs.
For Rowan, center fielder Garrett Mull (jr. Chatsworth, NJ/Lenape) was two for four with a home run, one RBI and one run scored. Left fielder Frank Hasenauer (sr. Iselin, NJ/John F. Kennedy) contributed with three hits (four at bats), a double, a triple and two runs scored. Second baseman Joe Franceschini (sr. Toms River, NJ/Toms River E.) went two for three with one RBI. Catcher Robert Fox (sr. Ocean Twp., NJ/Ocean Twp.) recorded two RBIs and third baseman Paul Urbanovich (sr. Rutherford, NJ/St. Peter’s Prep) scored twice.
Rowan went up 4-0 after scoring two runs in the first and second innings. In the first, shortstop Roland Rodriguez (so. Miami, FL/Miami Killian) came home on a wild pitch and right fielder John McMullin (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) singled in Urbanovich. Mull hit a solo homer and Hasenauer scored on an error in the second inning. Montclair State cut the lead to two runs (4-2) in the bottom of the second on Politan’s two RBI single.
Both teams got one run in the fifth inning. Designated hitter Tom Reindel (jr. Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) scored on Fox’s single for the Profs and Nunes singled in left fielder Ed Kloepping (jr. Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville) for the Red Hawks. Franceschini’s RBI single in the sixth gave Rowan a 6-3 advantage. In the bottom half, Clark drove in two runs with a triple to right center field.
Rowan added one run in the top of the seventh on a RBI single by Fox. In the eighth, Clark hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to one (7-6). Bowness hit a two out single that brought home Politan and Nunes in the ninth.
In the nightcap, left hander Gary Winkler (sr. Glendora, NJ/Paul VI) pitched 3.1 innings in relief for the win. Winkler (2-0) did not allow an earned run. O’Hara was on the mound for the final inning and picked up his sixth save. Lefty Enrique Gomez (sr. Edison, NJ/St. Joseph’s) took the loss for the Red Hawks.
Rowan was led by Fox with four hits (five at bats), two doubles, one RBI and one run scored. McMullin went three for five with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Urbanovich was two for five with two RBIs and one run scored, while Ready had three hits (five at bats), one RBI and one run scored.
For Montclair State, Kloepping posted two hits (four at bats), a home run, two RBIs and one run scored. Catcher Mike Ercolano (fr. Vernon, NJ/Vernon Twp.) added two hits (four at bats), a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Shortstop Kevin Cuozzi (sr. Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) went two for four with two RBIs.
The Red Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Bowness drove in Nunes with a single. Rowan got five runs in the top of the third. Ready singled in Mull and Urbanovich followed with a RBI single that brought Franceschini home. McMullin hit a three run homer to give Rowan a 5-1 advantage. In the bottom half, Kloepping recorded a RBI single. The Red Hawks added one run in the fourth and three in the fifth to go ahead 6-5. In the fourth, Clark’s sacrifice fly plated Nunes. In the fifth, Kloepping hit a solo home run. Cuozzi and Nunes each drove in a run with a single in the fifth.
Rowan went up 9-6 with four runs in the sixth. Mull and Fox scored on an error, shortstop David Lenig (so. Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville) came home on a fielder’s choice and Hasenauer crossed the plate on Urbanovich’s single. In the bottom of the seventh, Cuozzi’s RBI single brought the Red Hawks within two (9-7). Rowan added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a single by Fox that scored McMullin. Montclair State got one run in the bottom half, but Rowan held on for the victory.
