BOX SCORE 

CHANDLER, ARIZ. – The William Paterson baseball team (10-4) slugged 14 hits, but it wasn't enough to overcome Wesleyan (6-8) as the Pioneers suffer 15-7 loss, March 23 at the Greater Phoenix Invitational.

An Adam Derner (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) single allowed junior Ryan Gibbons (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) to score after he led off the game with a double down the left-field line, putting the Pioneers in front 1-0.  Gibbons laced his second double of the day in the next inning to score sophomore A.J. Flores (West Orange, N.J./West Orange), who had previously singled, and advanced on a Cardinal error.  Senior shortstop Anthony Dorio (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) roped one up the middle to allow Gibbons to run home, making the lead 3-0.

Wesleyan answered in its half of the third inning as junior Steve Moran was hit by a pitch, and later scored on a Donnie Cimino single.  Joe Giaimo's double to right-center plated Cimino and Andrew Yin, who had reached base on a fielder's choice.  The Cardinals pulled ahead 4-3 on junior Chris Bonti's single to left-center that allowed Giaimo to score.

The Pioneers responded in the top of the fourth, aided by Scott Ptaszynski's (Wharton, N.J./Morris Hills) one-out triple.  Gibbons' third extra-base hit in as many at-bats pushed Ptaszynski across the plate.  A failed pick-off attempted moved Gibbons to third, and he later trotted home on a Dorio single to make the score 5-4 in favor of WP.  Wesleyan put up three runs on three hits to regain the lead, 7-5, in the bottom half of the frame.

Cimino's two-RBI single highlighted a three-run seventh inning for the Cardinals, extending its lead, 13-5.  Two unearned runs surrendered by the Pioneers allowed Wesleyan to break the game open and move ahead, 15-5.

The bases were loaded in the ninth for Rob Somers (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) as the senior delivered an RBI grounder to the right side.  A wild pitch plated Rob Pasternak (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), who had previously reached on a pinch-hit walk to make the score a final 15-7.

The loss went to junior Matt Goitz (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) who tossed 3.1 innings and surrendered six earned runs.  Senior Dan Alcala (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) threw 1.0 inning, allowing three earned runs.  Glenn Flora (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) saw action in 2.2 innings, striking out two and allowing two runs.  Sophomore Pete Savastano (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) tossed 1.0 inning, surrendering one hit.

Gibbons finished the day going 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, and Dorio was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

William Paterson will finish its spring trip against Johns Hopkins at 9:00 a.m. MT on Saturday, March 24.