Mesa, AZ – Junior first baseman
LOU POLITAN (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) blasted a solo home run in the top of the 11 th inning as Montclair State posted its fourth straight victory with a 9-8 triumph over Denison (OH) on Tuesday afternoon.
Juniors
MICHAEL NUNES (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) and
MATT HARTWICK (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) each drove in a pair of runs as the Red Hawks remained perfect on their Arizona swing (4-0) while improving to 4-2 overall.
The Red Hawks broke out on top with three runs in the fourth inning. Politan led off with a double down the right field line and moved to third on
KEVIN CUOZZI's ( Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) single. Hartwick then laid down a sacrifice that was misplayed to score Politan with the first run. Two batters later, Nunes tripled to centerfield scoring Cuozzi and Hartwick. Montclair would then add three more in the fifth to build a six-run cushion. Cuozzi was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in one run and Hartwick drew a walk that plated another.
SCOTT EVANGELIST ( Northfield, NJ/Holy Spirit) then lofted a sacrifice fly for the final run as Montclair led 6-0.
Denison would answer back with three runs in their half of the inning, but Montclair countered in the sixth as
ROB BOWNESS (Sparta, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), who hit 10 home runs last season, connected for his first – a solo shot, as Montclair restored the lead to 7-3.
Denison would pull within two in the bottom of the sixth and took the lead in the seventh, scoring three times. Montclair State would tie the game in the eighth on an unearned run.
ANDREW VICARO (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) doubled to lead off the inning and an error allowed pinch runner
MICHAEL FRANK (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) to move to third with no one out. Frank scored on a double-play as the Red Hawks evened the game at 8-8.
Reliever
MARTY CABALAR ( Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany Hills) came on in relief in the eighth inning and allowed a lead off single. The runner would move to second on a sacrifice, but Cabalar ended the threat by striking out the next two hitters. Cabalar would go on to pitch the final four innings to earn the victory. The righthander struck out five and walked one as he picked up his first win of the season (1-0).
The Red Hawks return to Chandler, AZ on Wednesday, March 14 for a pair of games. Montclair will face Springfield College at 3:30 pm and then take on Alvernia College at 7:00 pm.
