William Paterson 12, Stockton 11
William Paterson 20, Stockton 7

Scott Fisher

Game 1 / Game 2
Richard Stockton (15-17, 4-14) concluded the 2009 season with a pair of NJAC defeats at William Paterson (22-15, 12-6) by scores of 12-11 and 20-7. In the opener, Scott Fisher (Toms River/TR East) went 5-6 with three doubles, his school-record 10th home run of the season and four RBI. Jay Merulla (Logan Twp./Kingsway) was 3-5 with a double and a run scored.

Marc Asta (Jackson/Jackson) slugged a two-run homer in the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3 and Stockton took a 4-3 lead when Fisher scored on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh frame. William Paterson responded with six runs in the bottom half and later led 12-6 after eight innings. In the ninth, Dan McGuckin (Sicklerville/Winslow Twp.) stroked an RBI single and Asta notched an RBI with a sacrifice fly before Fisher slammed a three-run homer to pull Stockton within 12-11 with two outs. Nick DiGirolamo (Dumont/Dumont) followed with a triple but was stranded as the Ospreys fell by one run.

Asta and Fisher continued to swing hot bats in the nightcap, but Stockton was overwhelmed 20-7. Asta went 5-5 with a double and two runs while Fisher smashed a pair of two-run homers for four RBI. Fisher’s first blast put the Ospreys on top 2-0 in the first inning, but William Paterson answered with nine runs in the bottom of the first.

In the fifth inning, Asta singled in a run and Fisher hit his third home run of the doubleheader to make the score 12-5. Matt Allen (Salem/Woodstown) produced two RBI with a single in the sixth inning to close the gap to 12-7 before William Paterson put the game out of reach with eight more runs in its next two offensive turns for the 20-7 final.