Pomona, NJ – Montclair State (19-16, 11-6 NJAC) outslugged RichardStockton (20-12-1,8-8-1 NJAC) 12-10 in the first game of today's NJAC baseballdoubleheader but Stockton rallied to win the nightcap 5-4.
With thevictory, Stockton clinched its first NJAC Tournament berth in schoolhistory and tied the school record of 20 wins set in 2005. Despite the split, MSU moved into third place in the NJAC standings and can clinch the No. 3 seed and first-round home game in the upcoming NJAC Tournament which gets underway on May 3, with a win over Rutgers-Newark on Monday.
MICHAEL NUNES (Hazlet/Raritan) led Montclair to the 12-10 win in theopener by going 2-5 with a triple, home run and five RBI.
ROBERT CLARK (Livingston/Seton Hall Prep) went 3-3 with three runs and
LOU POLITAN (Livingston/Livingston) was 2-3 with two runs for the Red Hawks.
PatGoodwin (Egg Harbor Twp./Holy Spirit) went 2-5 with three RBI while Chris Discher (Cherry Hill/CH West) was 2-5 with a double and two runsfor Stockton.
Nunes tripled in two runs in the third inning to give Montclair an 8-6 lead, and he later slammed a three-run homer in the fifth to put the RedHawks on top 11-7.
JESUS CASTANO (West New York/Memorial) pitched seveninnings and allowed just three earned runs (four unearned) on nine hitswith four strikeouts for the win. Castano is now 6-1 overall this season.
In the nightcap, Stockton rallied from a 4-2 deficit with a three-run ninth inning that was capped when Pat Goodwin stroked a walk-off RBIsingle to score Matt Allen (Salem/Woodstown) with winning run in a 5-4Stockton triumph. Allen also notched an RBI single in the inning. JohnO'Hara (Clayton/Gloucester Catholic) pitched a perfect top of the ninthto earn the win.
Goodwin went 2-5 with an RBI and Allen was 1-4 with a run and an RBI forStockton. Clark went a perfect 4-4 with a double and an RBI while
JEFF MILLER (Wyckoff/Ramapo) was 2-4 with a double and an RBI forMontclair State.
Stockton will travel to Rowan for its regular season finale on Monday at3 pm. Montclair State will host Rutgers-Newark in an NJAC game on Monday at 3 pm.