Little Falls, NJ - To Jeff Albies, the difference between William Paterson and Montclair State on THursday wasn't so much the six extra runs and 10 additional hits the Red Hawks accumulated. The real contrast was in the attitude.

"We're going up (to the plate) tentatively," the William Paterson baseball coach said after his team lost to Montclair State, 8-2. "We had 13 check swings today. Every [Montclair State] kid that goes up there is taking a hack. That's what you teach. I hope we sat back and learned a little today."

"I think we're all good hitters," said MSU first baseman FRANK FRANCIA, who contributed a two-run single during the Red Hawks' five-run fourth inning. "I think our No. 9 hitter could hit third for a lot of teams." Ninth-place hitter JEFF SCHRIBER, MSU's catcher, went 3-for-4 including an RBI single in the fourth. He is batting .343 this season.

"Everybody from one through nine on this team hit the ball," said Schriber." That's one of the main reasons the Red Hawks (26-3-1, 13-1 NJAC) have won 13 consecutive games, their longest such streak since a 15-game winning streak in 1994. MSU is one game ahead of second-place Rowan (23-5, 10-2).

William Paterson (13-3, 8-3) had won eight of its previous 11 games, but couldn't keep its momentum going, despite the early wildness of MSU starter SCOTT ALLAN (6-0).

Allan walked leadoff batter Robin Roberts in the first and hit John Saldi with a pitch with one out. But he struck our Jack Lipari and retired Rob Riley on a groundout to escape trouble. In the third inning, he issued three walks to load the bases with one out, but struck out Lipari looking and got Riley to fly out to end the inning.

"We had opportunities to knock [Allan] out of the game early," Albies said. " We had him on the ropes and we had guys up there taking strikes."

"I twas the first-inning jitters again," Allan said. "I had that the last time I faced them," Allan allowed two first-inning runs against the Pioneers on March 30, but righted himself and earned a 6-3 victory.

"I could tell he had real good stuff," Schriber said. "I just told him to relax" Allan did, allowing three hits and two unearned runs and striking out eight over 7 1/3 innings. BRIAN ELLERSON went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and CHRIS BARAN had two hits and two RBI for the Red Hawks, but FRANK LONGO went 0-for-5 ending a 19-game hitting streak. WPU's Jason Messina (5-1) allowed nine hits and six runs over five innings.