UNION, N.J. – The William Paterson baseball team (7-21, 2-8 NJAC) dropped a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) road games to Kean (18-11, 5-4 NJAC) April 13. The Cougars took game one, 9-1, before capturing a 7-6 victory in the second contest.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Kean loaded the bases in the bottom of the first but only managed to get one run in after a wild pitch gave the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.
- The Cougars once again found themselves with the bases loaded and this time plated three runs in the second inning to extend the lead to four (4-0).
- Senior Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) opened the top of the fourth with a single to right and the Pioneers had two runners in scoring position following a double by freshman Ty Kobylakiewicz (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge). Junior Connor Luckie (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton High West) drove in Lutz with a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to three (4-1).
- Kean tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth before adding one in the seventh and two more in the eighth to push the lead to eight (9-1).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Koyblakiewicz finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double.
- Junior Ruven Pino (Fairview, N.J./Bergen Catholic) recorded two hits.
- Lutz tallied a base hit and a walk while scoring the Pioneers' lone run.
- Luckie drove in one run.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It was a scoreless game until the Pioneers broke through in the fourth inning with five runs. WP had the bases loaded with one out when Pino and junior Tom Radigan (Verona, N.J./Verona) recorded back-to-back RBI singles. A third run came in to score on a groundout to the right side by sophomore Mike Novak (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) before Lutz drove in two more with a base hit through the left side to put the Pioneers on top, 5-0.
- William Paterson made it a six-run game (6-0) in the fifth when Kobylakiewicz led off the frame with a solo home run.
- Kean got on the board in the sixth after three singles plated a run to trim the deficit to five (6-1).
- The William Paterson lead held until the Cougars rallied in the eighth inning and scored six runs to take their first lead of the game before securing the 7-6 come-from-behind win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Koyblakiewicz went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.
- Radigan batted 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.
- Pino logged a two-hit outing with an RBI and a run scored.
- Lutz drove in two runs and drew two walks.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson will play host to St. Joseph's University-Long Island Tuesday, April 16, at 3:30 p.m.
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