Camden, NJ – Montclair State stayed alive in the 2005 New Jersey Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with a 10-3 victory today over sixth-seeded Rutgers-Newark at Campbell's Field in an elimination game. Junior LF BRIAN BUTLER paced MSU at the plate, batting 3-for-5 while scoring three runs and driving in two others. The victory puts the fifth-seeded Red Hawks (14-21 overall) into the 3:00 p.m. game tomorrow against an opponent yet to be determined. Today also marked the ninth time this season that Montclair scored 10 or more runs in a single game.

Freshman DH MICHAEL NUNES went 1-for-3 with three RBIs for Montclair State, which won all three of its meetings this season with the Scarlet Raiders, who ended their 2005 campaign at 18-19-2. Nunes singled in two runs in the first inning for a 2-0 MSU lead, and then recorded his third RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second inning for a 6-1 Red Hawk advantage.

Montclair State senior CF ETHAN BOYD batted 1-for-3 with one run scored and two batted in, giving him 101 RBIs for his career and making him just the ninth player in MSU baseball history to record 200 hits and 100 RBIs. The 2005 NJAC Player of the Year also recorded five putouts on defense. Senior catcher ROB BLACKBURN finished 2-for-3 for the Red Hawks with three runs and two RBIs, launching a two-run home run to left field with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to complete the scoring.

MSU sophomore RHP JAIRO MENDEZ improved to 4-8 this spring with today's win, scattering seven hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings while walking no Rutgers-Newark batters and striking out three. Kevin Matawa took the loss for the Scarlet Raiders (2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB) to fall to 3-4 on the year, while catcher Mike Marcucci went 3-for-3 and scored a run.