AUBURNDALE, FLA. – Freshman right fielder
Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) belted a pair of doubles and junior Jeff Lombardi, Jr. tossed 6.1 solid innings as the William Paterson baseball team (6-5) scored a 3-2 victory against Ripon (0-6) March 14 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.
A Carter double,
Greg Cuevas (West New York, N.J./St. Mary (Rutherford)) groundout and wild pitch handed the Pioneers a 1-0 edge during the top of the third inning.
WP doubled its advantage in the fifth when Carter hit a two-out single, moved to second on an error and crossed the plate thanks to a Cuevas base hit.
Sophomore designated hitter
Eric Breun (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) opened the sixth with a single, was sacrificed to second by sophomore second baseman
Matt Ferrara (Paramus, N.J./Paramus), and went to third after a
Carlos Perez (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) base hit. Freshman pinch hitter
Francis Deane (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) then delivered an RBI-single for a 3-0 lead.
A base hit, two-out error and single allowed Ripon to score a pair of unearned runs in the home half of the seventh.
Carter finished 4-for-5, including two doubles, and scored a pair of runs. Cuevas went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Perez was 2-for-4.
Lombardi (1-0) scattered five hits over 6.1 innings, giving up one unearned run while striking out four and walking four. Sophomore
Zac Polzer (North Haledon, N.J./Passaic County Tech) was charged with an unearned run and two hits while striking out one in 1.2 innings on the bump. Junior
Jack Benson (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) and
Doug Olcese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) combined to strike out the side in the ninth, with Olcese picking up the save.
Junior second baseman Nick Taranto went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Red Hawks. Junior Brice Swick (0-1) pitched the complete game, allowing three runs (two earned), 12 hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
The Pioneers will play a seven-inning doubleheader against Bowdoin Friday, March 16, at 5:30 p.m.
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