UNION, N.J. (5/9/22) – Phil Marcantonio finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored as the fourth seed Kean University baseball team rallied from three runs down to secure a spot in tomorrow's NJAC finals with a 10-7 victory over fifth seed TCNJ on Monday afternoon.
Justin Diefenbach tossed a complete game with five strikeouts for the #23 Cougars who improve to 31-12 overall. Andrew Fernandez went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Lions who fall to 20-18 overall.
The Cougars fell behind 5-2 after four TCNJ runs in the fourth. Kean answered with a combined seven runs on eight hits in the sixth and seventh innings to take their first lead of the afternoon at 9-5. In the sixth,
Brett Hilsheimer and Marcantonio both recorded RBI singles. In the seventh,
Michael Lapczynski posted two RBIs, while Marcantonio and
Dylan Beyer each notched one apiece.
In the eighth, the Lions cut the lead in half with an RBI double from Fernandez. In the bottom half of the inning, Lapczynski recorded his third RBI of the afternoon with a bases loaded hit by pitch that allowed
Caleb Rodriguez to score.
Hilsheimer finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Beyer went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Lapczynski went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while
Gianni Marano,
Christian Pellone,
Kyle Adorno,
Philip Mahlik and Rodriguez all tallied a hit.
Head Coach
Neil Ioviero and the Cougars will return to action tomorrow in the NJAC finals against the third seed Pioneers of William Paterson University at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars will need to win twice tomorrow to capture the Championship.
