Box Score
UNION, N.J. – Sophomore
Mike Moran (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Twp.) was 4-for-5 with a two-run home run as William Paterson (14-12, 6-3 NJAC) swept the regular-season series by defeating #5/12 Kean (22-7, 7-3 NJAC), 8-1, April 10 at Jim Hynes Stadium. The win came eight days after the Pioneers defeated the Cougars, 17-11, in Wayne.
Southpaw
Ryan Steidl (Randolph, N.J./Morris Knolls) earned his first win of the season for the Pioneers (1-1), tossing 8.0 strong innings and allowing just one run and six hits. He walked one and fanned four in the victory.
WP jumped on top with two runs in the top of the second. With runners on the corners,
Marc Palestina (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) hit a ball in between second and third. Third baseman Nick Ramagli held the runner at third initially and got the force at second, but Moran then took off for home and second baseman Mike Moceri alertly threw to the plate. However, after the ball was dropped at home, Moran used an acrobatic play to score. Later in the inning,
Don Hays (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) lofted a sacrifice fly to bring home Palestina.
Kean quickly responded with a single run in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Gabe Ramirez hit his first home run of the year.
But that would be as close as the Cougars would get as the Pioneers tacked on single runs during the fourth and seventh before putting the game away in the eighth with four scores. After back-to-back walks in the inning and a passed ball to move up the runners,
Will Courter (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) hit a ball through the left side to drive home two. Moran later followed in the inning with his first home run of the season to right-center.
Junior Joe Bartlinski suffered the loss for Kean. Bartlinski (4-2) allowed four runs, two earned, in 7.0 innings of work. He also walked three and struck out two.
Offensively,
Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) was 2-for-5 with two runs scored for the Pioneers, while freshman Dylan Laguna had two of the six Cougar hits on the day. Moceri kept his hitting streak alive with a single to push the streak to 10 games.
William Paterson will play a doubleheader at Rutgers-Camden Saturday, April 11, at 12:00 p.m.
