Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson baseball team (22-15, 10-6 NJAC) wrapped up a bid for the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament, earning a 12-5 victory against Montclair State (20-13, 11-4 NJAC) April 24 as the Pioneers played their final regular-season home game at Pioneer Baseball Park. Prior to the contest, WP honored its five seniors -- Vince Joyce (Franklin, N.J./Wallkill Valley), Dan Limone (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck), Anthony Perrone (Midland Park, N.J./Bergen Catholic), Steve Schlitzer (West New York, N.J./Memorial) and Steve VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, N.J./Pequannock).

The Pioneers, who have two regular-season games remaining, have secured a berth for the NJAC Tournament, which begins with first-round games at campus sites May 1. The Red Hawks have also solidified a postseason bid, and are in a four-way tie for first place in the NJAC standings with three games to play.

Three singles by Michael Nunes, Lou Politan and Rob Bowness gave the Red Hawks a 1-0 edge during their first trip to the plate, but the Pioneers fought back for three runs in the home half of the inning. A Will Courter (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) single was followed by walks issued to Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) and Perrone, loading the bases with one out for Joyce, who singled to center to plate Courter and tie the score. John Elia (Emerson, N.J./Pascack Valley) then delivered a two-run base hit up the middle, pushing WP ahead, 3-1.

William Paterson tacked on two more in the second, thanks to a Guadango RBI-single and a wild pitch that allowed Courter to score from third, making it 5-1 game. Montclair's Andrew Himmelfarb singled in Robert Clark to cut that advantage by one in the top of fourth, but WP responded two runs of their own during the bottom of the inning after a Guadango run-scoring fielder's choice and a Joyce RBI-single, pushing William Paterson ahead, 7-2, after four.

Jeff Miller blasted his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot over the left-center fence, for a 7-4 game in the fifth. The Pioneers extended their lead back to five (9-4) with a pair of runs in the sixth, before Bowness hit a solo homer in the seventh, his sixth of the year, to make it 9-5. William Paterson finished the scoring with three runs in the eighth after an error, an Elia sacrifice fly, and a Derek Koppinger (Columbia, N.J./North Warren) ground-out.

Courter led the Pioneer offense with his 4-for-5 effort and three runs scored. Perrone, Joyce, Elia and Vin Ganz (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) each had two hits for WP.

Politan paced the Red Hawks with three hits, while Bowness was 2-for-5 with the home run and two RBI.

Freshman Chris Mongelli (Riverdale, N.J./Pompton Lakes) picked up the victory to improve to 3-3, pitching 8.1 innings and allowing the five MSU runs. Tim Stringer suffered the loss (3-5), giving up six runs in 3.1 innings.

William Paterson will finish the regular season Saturday, April 26, with a doubleheader at Richard Stockton. Montclair State will host New Jersey City for a single game Friday, April 25, at 3:30 p.m.