TCNJ OPENS NCAA TOURNEY WITH 13-1
WIN OVER PENN STATE BEHREND
LAKEWOOD, N.J. (5/13/09) - The
College of New Jersey baseball team opened the NCAA Division III
Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament with a 13-1 victory over Penn
State Behrend on Wednesday morning at FirstEnergy Park.
With the win, fifth-seeded TCNJ (25-16-1) advances to face
either top-seeded Kean University or Penn State Berks at 4:30 p.m.,
on Thursday. Fourth-seeded Penn State Behrend, also nicknamed the
Lions, takes the field again on Thursday at 10 a.m., facing the
loser of the Kean and Penn State Berks game.
Pitching dominated the first four innings, as Penn State
Behrend's Andrew Chrobak (New Castle, Pa.) and
TCNJ starter Connor Henderson (Monmouth Junction, N.J.)
kept the hits to a minimum. Chrobak retired 12 of the first 13
batters he faced, while Henderson allowed only one run on three
hits over that span.
TCNJ's bats then got going in the fifth, sending 11 batters to
the plate and pushing five runs across to take the lead.
Anthony Palmiotto (Manchester, N.J.) tied the game at one
as the freshman singled in Ryan Anzelone (Vernon, N.J.).
Senior Adam Tussey (Brooklawn, N.J.) then put the Lions in
front for good with an infield single to plate Mike
Galeotafiore (Brick, N.J.). After TCNJ increased the advantage
to 3-1 on a run-scoring fielder's choice by James Ruzich
(Verona, N.J.), two more crossed home plate as Chris
Esperon (Union. N.J.) doubled in a pair making it a 5-1 lead.
In the sixth inning, TCNJ tacked on four more runs, as Tussey
and Ruzich each had RBI hits and senior Jeff Toth (Parlin,
N.J.) had a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 9-1.
TCNJ added two more runs in each of the seventh and eighth
innings to close out the scoring.
Henderson was the beneficiary of the offense outburst by TCNJ,
as he cruised through his seven innings of work allowing just the
one run on four hits. The win was his team-leading seventh of the
season.
Relievers Joe Marchitelli (Jackson, N.J.) and Eric
Gertie (Cinnaminson, N.J.) each pitched a scoreless inning, as
TCNJ's three pitchers held Penn State Behrend to only five hits.
Tussey and Esperon each finished with three hits to pace TCNJ's
offense.
For Penn State Behrend, Ryan Liddle (DuBois,
Pa.) had solid game at the plate going 2-for-2 with a
double and run scored.
