BOX SCORE 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (20-9, 8-3 NJAC) dropped a 9-4 decision to visiting No. 2/3 Kean (25-6, 9-2 NJAC) in a battle of first-place New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) baseball teams April 18 at Jeff Albies Field.

The Pioneers struck first, crossing the plate once during the bottom of the second.  Junior first baseman Trevor Haughney (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) hit a leadoff single to left field and was sacrificed to second by junior shortstop Rob Pasternak (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield).  Sophomore designated hitter Mike Arnold (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) drilled a fly ball to the deepest part of the field, hitting off the base of the center-field fence, and Haughney easily scored on the double.

The Cougars answered with a two-run third.  Two hit by pitches put Tyler Smarslok and Nick Ramagli aboard with two outs.  Junior Joe O'Connor's base hit to right drove in Smarslok and tied the score, leaving Kean with runners on the corners.  The Cougars ran the delayed double steal and the throw to the plate was late.  Senior catcher Vin Fondacaro (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Twp.) tried to catch and swipe the tag all in one motion, but the ball popped out and Kean owned a 2-1 lead.

The Cougars extended their lead by the middle of the fifth.  Base hits by Smarslok and Ramagli and a walk issued to O'Connor loaded the bases for freshman first baseman Salvatore Taormina.  His single to left was overrun by freshman Tyler Garguilo (Paramus, N.J./Paramus), allowing two extra runs to score on the play and make it a 5-1 score.

Base hits by junior second baseman Scott Ptaszynski (Wharton, N.J./Morris Hills) and junior outfielder AJ Flores (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) were followed by a Ryan Gibbons (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) liner back up the middle, plating Ptaszynski with one out in the bottom half of the fifth.  Junior third baseman Rich Guillod (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley-Demarest) represented the tying run at the plate, but his blast into the neighboring softball field was on the wrong side of the left-field foul pole.  Guillod later popped out, and WP was unable to take further advantage of the scoring opportunity.

Ramagli's flyball landed just over the padding on top of the fence in left, pushing Kean's lead to 6-2 during the top half of the seventh inning.  WP fought back for a pair of eighth-inning runs, using base hits by Gibbons and Guillod and a two-run single up the middle off Pasternak's bat.

Kean finished the scoring with three in the ninth.  Ramagli singled in sophomore third baseman Andy Lopez, and later stole third and scored when the throw bounced into left field.  With pinch runner Connor Paglia on first and O'Connor on third, the Cougars again employed the double steal for the final run of the game.

Gibbons was 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored, Guillod finished 2-for-4 and Pasternak drove in a pair of runs for the Pioneers.

Senior Tim O'Shea (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) allowed six runs (four earned) and six hits in 7.0 innings, striking out five and walking four (4-1).  Sophomore Ryan Monaghan (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) gave up two runs on three hits in 1.2 innings, and classmate Joe Moran (Wharton, N.J./Morris Hills) surrendered a run and two hits in 0.1 inning.

Ramagli went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.  Sophomore Charles Thielmann threw the complete game (6-1), allowing four runs and nine hits while striking out six and walking two.

William Paterson will finish the home-and-home series by visiting No. 2/3 Kean Friday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m.

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