UNION, N.J. – The William Paterson baseball team (15-9, 2-3 NJAC) rallied from an early deficit to win the night cap, 4-3, after an opening 13-2 loss at No. 14 Kean (22-6, 5-1 NJAC) April 9.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pioneers struck first with a first-inning run when senior third baseman Colin Lombardo (Edison, N.J./Edison) led off with a single through the left side, graduate student first baseman Carson Weis (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) was hit by a pitch and senior catcher Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) delivered a run-scoring base hit through the left side.
- Three singles, a double and a sacrifice fly allowed the Cougars to touch home three times during the home half of the second.
- Five base hits led to three more Kean scores in the fourth.
- Kean made it a 7-1 game in the sixth with a double, bunt single and sac fly.
- Senior right fielder Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J./Bergen Catholic) opened the top of the seventh inning with a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored when senior shortstop Chris Liriano (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) singled to left field, making it a 7-2 game.
- Six runs on five hits, two hit by pitches and a pair of errors pushed the Cougars ahead by a 13-2 count after seven frames.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Liriano was 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Lombardo went 2-for-4 and scored once.
- Junior Ian Metzger (Verona, N.J./Verona) was charged with 10 hits, six runs and three walks during 5.0 innings as the starter (5-3).
- Sophomore Pat Warburton (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) tossed 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits, and senior Jordan Manne (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) scattered two hits and a walk over his 1.1 innings, striking out two.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Kean took a 3-0 second-inning lead with four singles.
- Junior left fielder Elliott Hayward (Marlton, N.J./Old Bridge) opened the top of the fifth inning with a home run to left.
- WP took the lead during the sixth. Yelin reached on a leadoff error and advanced to second and third via wild pitches. He trotted home when Martin doubled down the left-field line, and after Hayward was later hit by a pitch and reached second on a wild pitch, sophomore second baseman Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) singled in the tying and go-ahead runs, making it a 4-3 game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Senior center fielder Justin Grippo (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) finished 2-for-4 with a double, and Lutz drove in two runs.
- Senior Riley Weis (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) improved to 3-1, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks, posting six strikeouts.
- Freshman Neel Telidevara (Dayton, N.J./South Brunswick) earned his second save with 3.0 hitless innings of relief, striking out one and walking one.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson travels to The College of New Jersey for a single game Monday, April 11, at 3:30 p.m.
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