Little Falls, NJ – Montclair State University senior SCOTT ALLAN will laugh, but he does not take the blame very well.

The dents on either side of his red Eagle Talon and the missing side mirror were the fault of the other driver. The broken window on the Yogi Berra Stadium concourse – behind home plate and the press box, mind you – just happened to get in the way of a foul ball that came screaming off his bat in the eighth inning during Sunday's New Jersey Athletic Conference championship game.

There is one thing tAllan has no problem taking responsibility for – make that two things. He not only did his part on both the mound and  at the plate in helping Montclair State to its first NJAC title since 1998; he beat The College of New Jersey once again in doing so.

"I like pitching big games. I like pressure," Allan said. "And these guys (TCNJ fans) over on top of the dugout yelling at me, screaming at me all game. I like that. It doesn't bother me one bit. I love it. When we were down at their place last week, it was hell for me. They had 200 guys out there doing the same thing, and I just laughed at it."

No one from TCNJ was laughing at game's end as Allan provided top-seeded Montclair State with another big-game effort on the hill during its convincing 10-2 victory to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The southpaw from Immaculata High School bested the Lions from South Jersey for the fourth time in his career, striking out eight and walking two before giving way to classmate JIM WHALEN two out shy of a complete game. Included in those masterpieces was a nine-inning performance in the Mid-Atlantic Regional last spring in which Allan outdueled Colorado Rockies draftee Chris Buglovsky to clinch Montclair State's spot in the Division III World Series.

The Red Hawks went on to win the national championship. This time around, they have similar aspirations.

On a team of talented and productive players, Allan might just be the most valuable.

"Whether he's hitting or pitching, he's always effective one way or the other," senior third baseman CRAIG CONWAY, the 2001 NJAC Player of the Year, said of Allan, his roommate. "I don't know how he does it. It's tough to pitch and hit in the same game, and he still comes up with big hits…and while he's pitching, he still comes up with big pitches even if he's 0-for-4. He's a great player all-around."

Allan, who has stepped into GEORGE GALLAGHER's shoes on the Montclair State roster as its Mr. Versatility, also wielded some aluminum to aid his own cause Sunday. His RBI single in the eighth – which gave him 47 on the year- extended the Red Hawks' lead to 6-2. They added four more in the ninth for the final margin.

"Gallagher always teases me. He says I can't do what he did," said Allan, who is hitting .340 and posted his fifth pitching win in five decisions. "I mean, I couldn't get the batting average he had last year – he had an incredible year at the plate. Pitching-wise, I got through a couple beginning of the year flukes and jitters, but I felt comfortable the last few weeks and I've been pitching the game I know I can."

"I'm our DH, but if I go anywhere after playing here, it's not going to be as a hitter."

Allan was almost scratched from doing both due to a pinched nerve in his lower back. He missed batting practice Thursday, but fought through the discomfort and DH'd in Montclair State's first two victories of the tournament.

"He's not only a competitor, he's a warrior," Montclair State coach Norm Schoenig said of Allan. "He's extremely tough. When it's game time, he's going to be in the lineup. The day before, you don't know what it's like. It looks like he's injured, but you just know while he's going through all of that, when the game comes, he's gonna play."

In Allan's mind, whether he'd be healthy enough to start in the championship game was never an issue.

"I knew I was going to pitch," he said "The coaches weren't sure that I was going to pitch."

TCNJ was likely hoping he wouldn't, but to no avail. The only break the Lions got came in the ninth when, after Allan struck our DH Greg Guagenti, Schoenig went to the bullpen and sent his starter out to left field.

As Whalen warmed up, Allan stopped to chat with Conway and junior shortstop to chat with Conway and junior shortstop BRIAN ELLERSON on the edge of the outfield lawn. He received a tongue-in-cheek scouting report.

"He came out to us a shorts when Ellerson and I were out there and he says, 'Oh, I pitched pretty good today,'" Conway joked afterward.

"(I said), 'Yeah, you didn't do that bad, considering you scattered nine hits."

Conway paused, then added: "He didn't take it too lightly but we had to rag on him a little bit. We couldn't tell him how great he was."

There was no need. Anyone who watched Sunday already knew.