Lakewood, NJ -Junior righthander Dan Sweeney went the distance on a six hitter and freshman centerfielder Rick Pignatello scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball as part of a two-run eighth inning rally as William Paterson advanced to the NJAC baseball tournament championship game with a 4-2 victory over Montclair State at FirstEnergy Park on Saturday evening.

Sweeney (5-1) struck out a season high seven batters without a walk and retired the last 10 batters he faced after Montclair sophomore BRIAN BUTLER (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo Regional) drilled an RBI double in the gap to give the Red Hawks a 2-1 lead in the sixth.

WIth the game tied at two in the bottom of the eighth, Pignatello led off with a single through the left side. He then stole second and moved to third on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt by freshman Brian Gelalia. Pignatello then scored the winning run on a passed ball, and Gelalia followed moments later on a run scoring single by junior Ken Lup.

The Pioneers tied the game at two on an RBI groundout by freshman Mike Rivera in the seventh.

MSU opened the scoring in the top of the third on an RBI groundout by sophomore DANNY RODRIGUEZ (South Brunswick, NJ/South Brunswick) to score junior ROB BLACKBURN (Sussex, NJ/Vernon), who led off the frame with a single. WPU responded in the bottom half of the third when freshman Joe Grawehr lashed an RBI single for the Pioneers first hit.

Freshman JAIRO MENDEZ (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was the hard-luck loser for the Red Hawks. He allowed four hits and four runs (two earned) while striking out seven and walking three over seven-plus innings.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 for Montclair, the only player with multiple hits for either team.