WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson baseball team (21-13, 8-6 NJAC) closed out its 2023 non-conference slate with a 13-10 home victory over St. Joseph's Long Island (24-4, 13-1 Skyline) April 25 at Jeff Albies Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Golden Eagles loaded the bases in the top of the first and a balk allowed a run to score to give them the early 1-0 advantage.
• William Paterson responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Graduate student Colin Lombardo (Edison, N.J./Edison) drew a base on balls and after advancing to second following an error on a failed pickoff attempt, he scored on a base hit by classmate Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional).
• A single by graduate student Carson Weis (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) and a walk by classmate Steven DiGirolamo (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) loaded the bases and brought up sophomore Tyler Ruban (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) who delivered with a two-RBI double. Junior Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) then drove in two on a single before one final run scored on a double by senior David Backo (Wallington, N.J./Wallington) that put the Pioneers ahead, 6-1.
• St. Joseph's L.I. got one run back in the second. After a two-out bunt single and a costly throwing error put two runners in scoring position, a wild pitch allowed a run to cross to trim the deficit to four (6-2).
• In the third, the Golden Eagles opened the frame with back-to-back singles. After both runners advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt, a single drove in one and an infield groundout drove in another to make it a two-run game (6-4).
• The Pioneers pushed the lead to five (9-4) after scoring three runs in the fifth. Lutz was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and stole second before sophomore Eliot Germanson (New York, N.Y./LaGuardia) was walked. Backo came up and drove in Lutz with a single to right and Lombardo picked up an RBI on a single to left. After loading the bases, graduate student Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) drew a base on balls and a third run came in to score in the inning.
• The Golden Eagles had runners on the corners in the sixth with one out before a sacrifice fly trimmed the deficit to four (9-5).
• In the seventh, the Golden Eagles strung together four hits and plated two runs to pull within two (9-7).
• William Paterson loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh to set up Carter for a two-RBI ground rule double. Two batters later, sophomore Tom Radigan (Verona, N.J./Verona) came in to pinch hit and he drove in one run on an RBI infield single to extend the Pioneers' lead to five (12-7).
• St. Joseph's was threatening in the eighth after three consecutive singles to start the inning loaded the bases. A wild pitch was able to get a run across, but despite the ensuing batter drawing a walk to load the bases once again, the Pioneers were able to get out of the jam with a timely double play.
• William Paterson got the run right back in the bottom of the eighth after Austin Jack (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) hit a leadoff triple before scoring on a Lombardo double to push the advantage back to five (13-8).
• In the ninth, the Golden Eagles recorded three consecutive one-out hits that resulted in two runs scoring to trim the deficit to three (13-10), but that would be as close as they would get as senior Dan Castaneda (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) got the remaining two outs and picked up his fourth save of the season.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Six Pioneers recorded a multi-hit outing.
• Carter batted 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI.
• Lombardo went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI.
• Yelin picked up two hits in five at-bats with two runs and an RBI.
• Weis finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Lutz tallied two hits with two RBI and two runs.
• Backo recorded a double during his two-hit performance while scoring once and driving in one.
• Matt Lemiuex improved to 4-0 on the season.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers return to action Thursday, April 27, for a road New Jersey Athletic Conference showdown at Ramapo in Ramapo, N.J., slated for 3:30 p.m.

 
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