WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson baseball team (25-13, 12-6 NJAC) wrapped up the 2023 regular season with a 15-8 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) home victory over New Jersey City (NJCU) (12-16, 2-16 NJAC) May 1 at Jeff Albies Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Pioneers got two quick outs to open the game, but the Gothic Knights drew three consecutive walks before a base hit plated two to give NJCU the early advantage.
• William Paterson cut the deficit in half (2-1) in the bottom of the first. Two straight walks and a wild pitch put runners on second and third before a groundout to the left side of the infield by graduate student Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) allowed a run to cross.
• In the bottom of the second, sophomore Austin Jack (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) evened the score with a solo home run to deep left field.
• William Paterson took the lead in the third after back-to-back walks by Lombardo and graduate student Steve led off the inning to set up Carter for a two-RBI single to right center.
• The Pioneers broke the game open in the fourth by scoring six two-out runs off eight hits to go ahead, 10-2. Lombardo singled after the second out was recorded and scored on a two-run homer by graduate student Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional). Junior Chris Alberti (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) came in to pinch hit and singled before moving to second on a Carter base hit. Junior Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) drove in Alberti with a single of his own and two more runs came in to score once Jack ripped a single to center.
• William Paterson added one more run in the frame off an RBI single from junior Tyler Ruban (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Twp.).
• The Gothic Knights plated their fourth run of the afternoon in the fifth, but the Pioneers got it right back in the bottom half of the frame after loading the bases and drawing a two-out walk.
• In the top of the sixth, NJCU hit a leadoff home run to trim the deficit to eight (12-4). However, the Pioneers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning and plated four runs after a walk, sacrifice fly, two-RBI single by Lutz and an RBI base knock by Ruban.
• NJCU trimmed the deficit to seven, 15-8, after a three-run eighth inning, but that would be as close as the Gothic Knights would get as the Pioneers secured the conference win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Jack batted 3-for-4 with a triple, a home run, a career-high six RBI and two runs.
• Lombardo batted 2-for-2 with a double and five runs while drawing four walks.
• The five runs brought him to 77 for the season, breaking the single-season program record of 72 previously set by Dan Pasqua in 1982.
• Carter drove in three and scored once during a two-hit outing.
• Yelin recorded a home run, three RBI, two runs and three walks.
• Lutz finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
• Junior Nick Nielson (Avenel, N.J./Colonia) picked up his second win on the mound this season.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers will await the remainder of NJAC games to be completed this week before the conference tournament field is set.  

 
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