Chandler, AZ – Junior second baseman KEVIN CUOZZI (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) drove in three runs, including the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as 10th-ranked Montclair State opened its Arizona Trip schedule with a 7-6 victory over Wartburg College on Saturday morning.

Senior ANDREW VICARO (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) and junior LOU POLITAN (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) each had two hits as the Red Hawks picked up their first win of the season (1-2) in the first of their seven-game slate in Arizona. The meeting was the first between Montclair and Wartburg since the 2000 NCAA Division III World Series when MSU posted a 7-2 win en route to the national championship.

Montclair State trailed 3-1 heading into the top of the fourth inning before scoring twice to tie the game. Vicaro led off the inning with a single and scored as MATT HARTWICK (Ringwood, NJ/ Lakeland Regional) smacked a double to left-centerfield. Cuozzi then tied the game as he brought home SCOTT EVANGELIST (Northfield, NJ/Holy Spirit) with a ground out. The Red Hawks then took the lead in the sixth as Cuozzi's misplayed grounder with the bases loaded allowed Evangelist and Politan to score for a 5-3 Montclair advantage.

Wartburg would tie the game in the bottom of the sixth as AJ Lewis delivered a two-out, two-run triple to knot the game at 5-5.

In the eighth, Evangelist singled to open the inning and was sacrificed to second by Hartwick. Cuozzi then punched a single through the right side to give Montclair State the lead. Two batters later, Nunes' single extended the Red Hawks lead to 7-5, which proved to be the difference as Wartburg would get a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Ryan Martin brought home Ryan Johnson on a ground out to cut the MSU lead to a run.

Junior righthander MARTY CABALAR ( Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany Hills) came on in the ninth and allowed a one-out double to Mike Johnson. But Cabalar came back to get the next two hitters, including a strikeout of Jake Shandri to end the game.

Junior lefthander ENRIQUE GOMEZ ( Edison, NJ/ St. Joseph's) picked up the win in relief. Gomez (1-0) allowed four hits and a run in two innings or work. He struck out one and walked one. Danny Rose took the loss for Wartburg.

The Red Hawks return to Chandler on Sunday, March 11 for their second game of the trip. Montclair will face Wheaton (MA) College at 7:00 pm EST. Last year, Wheaton eliminated MSU from the NCAA Division III World Series with a 13-4 victory. The Red Hawks finished fourth at the World Series.