STOCKTON DOWNED 9-5 BY TCNJ

Mike Wasco

Boxscore

Richard Stockton (18-16, 6-9 NJAC) fell victim to a late surge by College of New Jersey (22-15, 10-5) as the Lions snapped a 5-5 tie with four runs in the eighth inning and handed Stockton a 9-5 defeat. The loss dealt a serious blow to Stockton’s fading NJAC playoff hopes.

For Stockton, Mike Wasco (Riverside/Riverside) went 1-3 with a triple, run scored and an RBI while Dan McGuckin (Sicklerville/Winslow Twp.) was 1-3 with an RBI.

Barry Larro (Cedarville/Cumberland) extended his streak of reaching base to 18 straight games when he was hit by a pitch in the third inning and pushed his hitting streak to eight contests with his seventh-inning single. Wasco extended his streak of reaching base to 13 consecutive games.

The Lions jumped out to an early 2-0 edge on a two-run homer by Mike Galeotafiore in the top of the first but Stockton got one run back in the bottom half as Mike Bush (Manahawkin/Southern) reached on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Marc Asta (Jackson/Jackson Memorial) for a 2-1 count.

The Ospreys took a 3-2 lead in the third inning as Wasco tripled in a run and then scored on a squeeze bunt by McGuckin. TCNJ went back on top 5-3 with three runs in the sixth frame. Nick Cifelli and Rob Vafiadou rapped RBI singles and Mike Murray notched an RBI with a groundout that scored Cifelli.

Stockton pulled into a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning. Larro and Nick Scalise (Northfield/ Mainland) singled, and both runners scored on an error. The Ospreys could not sustain the momentum as TCNJ answered with the four-run outburst in the top of the eighth that decided the outcome.

In the decisive eighth inning, TCNJ loaded the bases with one out and Mike Murphy scored on a wild pitch to snap the 5-5 tie. Joe Dispoto followed with a two-run double and Jon Gabriel added an RBI single to give the Lions a 9-5 lead.

TCNJ pounded out 15 hits, led by Jimmy Ruzich with three safeties and two runs scored. Galeotafiore went 2-5 with a home run and two RBI while Murphy and Scott Kelly each finished 2-4 with a run scored. Three Lions’ pitchers held Stockton to just five hits.