Box Score 

UNION, N.J. – Trailing 4-1, third-seeded William Paterson (24-16) scored twice in the fourth and once in the fifth to tie the game before opening up the flood gates by crossing the plate six times during the bottom of the eighth, pulling away for a 10-4 victory against sixth-seeded Rowan (21-15-1) in an elimination game of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Baseball Tournament May 2 at Kean University.

William Paterson will play The College of New Jersey at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, and again at 4:00 p.m. if the Pioneers should win the first contest, to decide the tournament champion. TCNJ is 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament following a 10-1, 10-inning win against Montclair State Saturday, while the Pioneers' only loss of the tournament came at the hands of the third-seeded Lions, 23-13 April 28 in Wayne.  The winner of the NJAC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After senior Don Hays (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) was hit by a pitch to start the eighth, he was sacrificed to second and ran to third thanks to a wild pitch. Freshman designated hitter Rob Somers (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) was intentionally walked to set-up the double play, but a slow-rolling single by freshman Anthony Dorio (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) to shortstop was enough to score Hays from third base and break the 4-4 deadlock. A double steal led to another intentional walk, this one issued to junior Miguel Lugo (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's), to load the bases for senior Will Courter (Roseland, N.J./West Essex), who plated Somers and Dorio with a ground-rule double to right field. The very next batter, junior Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands), bounced a double over the fence in center, scoring two more Pioneers and making it a 9-4 game. Two batters later, sophomore Mike Moran (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Twp.) finished the scoring with a RBI-triple to right-center field.

Freshman Steve Coral (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley) tossed the complete-game victory (6-1), striking out seven and walking two while allowing four runs on 10 hits. Five Pioneers each contributed two hits, led by Courter's 2-for-3, two-RBI effort that included a double. Guadango was 2-for-4, hit a double and drove in two runs, and senior John Elia (Emerson, N.J./Pascack Valley) had a double and two RBI.

Lugo and Courter led off the bottom of the first inning with a pair of singles, and after a double play left Lugo at third base, Elia doubled down the right-field line to score the WP second baseman and hand the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.

Rowan answered with two runs in the top of the third. A double, single and walk loaded the bases with zero outs, and David Lenig was hit by a pitch to force across the tying run. Coral struck out the next hitter, but a fielder's choice allowed Marc Magliaro to score from third base, and the Profs were ahead, 2-1.

Three straight singles, the last a base hit that resulted in a throwing error by Moran in center field, gave Rowan a 4-1 edge in the middle of the fourth. The Pioneers fought back with two runs of their own during the bottom of the frame. Elia was hit by a pitch and Moran singled to center and advanced a base on the throw, giving WP runners at second and third with one out. Hays and sophomore Frank Franco (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) then hit back-to-back RBI-singles, cutting the Prof lead to 4-3.

Lugo doubled to start the bottom of the fifth, and after a Courter walk, ran to third on a Guadango sacrifice and scored thanks to an Elia groundout to first base, tying the contest at 4-4.

The Profs had their best chance to re-take the lead in the top of the eighth. Rowan's leadoff hitter, Tom Ready, was awarded second base after Dorio's throw to first was wide, and after a strikeout, John McMullin was intentionally walked to set-up a potential inning-ending double play. Garrett Mull then hit a grounder that Courter fielded and stepped on third for the force out, but his throw to first was off the mark, and McMullin tried to take advantage by rounding third and heading for home. However, Franco retrieved the ball and rifled it home in time for Hays to make the tag-out at the plate, the third out of the inning to keep the score even at 4-4.

Rowan closer Todd Burdette took the loss (1-2), giving up five runs on three hits in 0.1 inning on the mound. Brad Woodend was 3-for-4 with two doubles, and Ready and Jordan Marsch each had two hits.