Clearwater, FL - The Montclair State baseball team managed just four hits, but combined that with a solid pitching effort as the Red Hawks evened their record with a 4-2 victory over Wheaton College (MA) in the Clearwater Invitational at the University of Tampa on Sunday afternoon.

Third baseman MIKE WEISS (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) drove in a pair of runs and senior lefthander JEFF GOGAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) tossed eight solid innings as Montclair State (2-2) improved to 2-0 on their Florida Spring Trip.
The Red Hawks trailed 1-0 heading into the the bottom of the fourth, but took the lead as TOMMY WARTH (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) drew a leadoff walk and stole second. PJ Baccarella (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) singled to move Warth to third and Baccarella then stole second. However the runners remained there for the next two outs until Weiss delivered a single to center field giving MSU a 2-1 lead.

Montclair extended the lead to 4-1 in the fifth with a pair of runs. ETHAN BOYD (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) collected an infield single with two out and stole second before Warth drew another walk. Baccarella then lined a single up the middle to score Boyd for a two-run lead. Warth scored the final run as he came home on an infield error.

The rest was left up to Gogal (1-1) as the All-American worked his way through eight innings. Gogal allowed two runs and nine hits, striking out five and walking one. The win was the 22nd for Gogal (22-5), who moved into a tie with Rich Waller for fifth on the all-time MSU list for victories.

In the ninth, Wheaton threatened as it loaded the bases with two out, however, freshman righthander Bill Christopher (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) fanned pinch-hitter Travis Anthoine to earn his second save in as many opportunities.

Baccarella finished 2-for-4 for Montclair State.

The Red Hawks continue their play in the Clearwater Invitational on Monday, March 15 as they take on Colby Sawyer (NH) at 10:00 am. The game is a change from the original schedule as MSU was to play Springfield (MA).