NJAC Tournament:
#15 Kean 8, Stockton 7

Mike Wasco

Boxscore
Richard Stockton (19-18) erased a five-run deficit before 15th-ranked Kean (29-10) scored once in the bottom of the eighth and defeated the Ospreys 8-7 in the first round of the NJAC tournament. Mike Wasco (Riverside/Riverside) went 3-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Chris Wedding (Toms River/ TR East) and Nick Scalise (Northfield/Mainland) added two hits apiece.

Kean scored in each of the first five innings to build a 7-2 lead. Stockton’s rally began with three runs in the seventh frame as an RBI single by Barry Larro (Cedarville/Cumberland) was misplayed in the outfield, allowing two additional runs to score. The Ospreys tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning with runs on an RBI single by Dan McGuckin (Sicklerville/ Winslow Twp.) and a sacrifice squeeze bunt from Chris Discher (Cherry Hill/CH West).

Kean used a walk and a double in the bottom of the eighth to grab an 8-7 lead and Stockton was retired in order in the ninth inning to end the game. With the defeat, Stockton fell into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination NJAC tournament. Matt Allen (Salem/ Woodstown) and Jason Gordon (Brick/Brick) extended their hitting streaks to 13 and 10 games respectively with one hit apiece for the Ospreys.