Box Score
CAMDEN, N.J. – Senior designated hitter Ted King (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor South), junior shortstop Dan Limone (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) and freshman left fielder Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) each went 3-for-5 to lead a 16-hit attack as the William Paterson baseball team defeated Rutgers-Camden, 12-6, May 1 in the regular-season finale for the Pioneers.
William Paterson, which won three straight games and four of its last five, ended its season at 19-15-2 overall and 6-11-1 in the NJAC.
Rutgers-Camden, which played its final game of the season on Tuesday night after the William Paterson game, fell to 14-24 overall and 2-16 in the NJAC.
Rutgers-Camden jumped on the board early with a three-run first-inning home run by senior left fielder Mike Morris (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township).
Paterson exploded for six unearned runs in the third inning, following a one-out error. The Pioneers sent 10 men to the plate and collected five hits, including an RBI triple by Guadango, RBI singles by King and Limone and a two-run single by senior third baseman Mike Rivera (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic).
The Raptors cut the gap to 6-5 in the bottom of the third inning when freshman right fielder Paul Painter (Blackwood, N.J./Highland Regional) ripped a two-run homer, but William Paterson broke the game open in the late innings. The Pioneers plated an unearned run in the eighth and scored five times off six hits in the ninth. The big hit in the inning was a two-run double by King.
King finished the day 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs, while Guadango was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Limone was 3-for-5 with one RBI.
Leadoff man Rick Pignatello (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills), the Pioneers' senior center fielder, had one stolen base on the day to finish his career with 88, one shy of the program's career record set by Bruce Dostal (1984-87).
Junior Steve VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, N.J./Pequannock) earned the win in relief, scattering two hits without allowing a run over 3.0 innings. Senior Tim Cowan (Elizabeth, N.J./Roselle Catholic) picked up the save, giving up one run in the ninth.
Rutgers-Camden senior Jason Ronca (Eastampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) worked eight innings, allowing 10 hits, four walks and eight runs, only one of them earned. He struck out four.
