MONTCLAIR, N.J. – William Paterson (12-9-2, 5-1 NJAC) finished off a baseball regular-season sweep of Montclair State (8-14, 2-4 NJAC) with a 6-5 road victory April 10.
 
The Pioneers crossed the plate three times during their first at-bat. Senior right fielder Mike Abate (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) started the game with a single down the right-field line, then advanced to second thanks to an error after a ground ball off the bat of senior left fielder Mike Rowe (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove). Junior center fielder Anthony Hoagland's (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) single to left loaded the bases, and after a pair of strikeouts, junior catcher Jorge Solodkin (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) drove in two runners with an infield base hit. Freshman third baseman Carlos Perez (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) made it a 3-0 score with his run-scoring single to short.
 
The Red Hawks got one back during the home half of the first thanks to a base hit, wild pitch, groundout and RBI-single up the middle.
 
Freshman shortstop Matt Ferrara (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) opened the second inning with a base hit up the middle, followed by an Abate single to right, a Rowe sacrifice and a Hoagland run-scoring groundout for a 4-1 edge.
 
A leadoff error, groundout, walk and Philip Scott base hit to center field added one MSU run in the third.
 
Montclair State evened the score at 4-4 during the bottom of the fifth inning after producing three singles and a double. The Red Hawks had the bases loaded with one out, but a 6-4-3 double play limited the damage and ended the inning.
 
Perez pushed the Pioneers back out in front with a solo home run down the left-field line to lead off the top of the sixth, and senior first baseman Eriq Colón (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) extended the lead to 6-4 later in the same frame with a two-out, bases-loaded single through the left side.
 
A triple and run-scoring groundout added one MSU run in the eighth. Back-to-back walks put the tying run in scoring position with two outs during the bottom of the ninth inning, but WP got a lineout to center field to end the game.
 
Perez finished 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, while Abate went 3-for-5 while scoring twice. Solodkin drove in a pair of runs and Colón had two hits.
 
Junior starter Mario Danza (Monroe, N.J./Monroe Twp.) went 4.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk. Classmate Adam Miller (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) gave up three hits and one run in 0.1 inning, and junior Bryan Kopko (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) earned the win in relief with 2.2 shutout innings, striking out one and walking one (2-2). Senior Frank Colasante (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) registered his fifth save with 2.0 innings of work, surrendering one run on one hit and two walks while posting a pair of strikeouts.
 
Freshman third baseman Joe Norton was 4-for-4 with a triple, RBI and run scored. Senior starter Matt Long took the loss, allowing 10 hits, six runs (two earned) and a walk while striking out five (1-1).
 
William Paterson will host Rutgers-Newark Thursday, April 13, at 3:30 p.m.
     
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