Wayne, NJ – William Paterson senior Dan VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, N.J./Pequannock Twp.) struck out seven Red Hawks in a complete-game victory, leading the Pioneers (18-12, 10-3 NJAC) to an emphatic 16-3 win against rival Montclair State (15-12, 6-4 NJAC).

VandeVrede improved to 3-3 this season by scattering seven hits and allowing just three runs, two of those crossing the plate with two outs in the top of the ninth.  The win kept William Paterson in front of Kean (8-3) and The College of New Jersey (8-3) in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) standings with a little more than a week remaining in the regular-season schedule.  

The Pioneers posted three runs to the scoreboard during the bottom of the second inning after senior center fielder John Elia (Emerson, N.J./Pascack Valley) led off the frame with a hard-hit ball to MSU third baseman ZACHARY BROWN (Green Village, N.J./Morristown) that was mishandled and then thrown over first baseman JASON LOPEZ's (West New York, N.J./Memorial) head, allowing Elia to run to second.  A MARC PALESTINA (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) sacrifice and a Rob Somers (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) walk gave WP runners at the corners, setting up a Don Hays (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) RBI-single to right field.  Freshman Anthony Dorio (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) then laced a double down the right-field line to score Somers and Hays, making it a 3-0 Pioneer advantage.

William Paterson crossed the plate again during the third, as junior right fielder Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands) led off the frame with a base hit to center, stole second, moved to third thanks to an Elia groundout, and scored on a Palestina sacrifice fly.

The Pioneers made it a 6-0 score with two fourth-inning runs.  Dorio's double to left-center was followed by a Miguel Lugo (Jersey City, N.J./St. Mary's) single and a Will Courter (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) double, this one to right-center, to plate Dorio.  After a Guadango fielder's choice resulted in Lugo being tagged in a rundown between third and home, the Red Hawks elected to intentionally walk sophomore left fielder Mike Moran (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Twp.) to load the bases with two outs.  However, Elia made MSU pay by drawing a full-count walk, forcing Courter home for William Paterson's second run of the inning.

Guadango's stand-up double to the gap in left-center field knocked in Lugo and Courter to hand the Pioneers an 8-0 advantage after six innings.

Montclair State got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh.  Junior MICHAEL BOGGI (Towaco, N.J./Montville) was hit by a pitch and was safe at second after WP's attempt to turn two on a MIKE ERCOLANO (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Twp.) grounder was too late to the bag. A Lopez base hit to left field then scored Boggi for the Red Hawks' first run of the day.

William Paterson removed any doubt about the outcome with a seven-run seventh inning.  Lugo's single up the middle scored two runs, a Courter base hit plated two more Pioneers, Elia doubled in a run with a blast to right-center, and pinch hitter Frank Franco (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) drove in two more with a hard-hit single to left-center.  Dorio scored William Paterson's final run of the day when he trotted home thanks to an eighth-inning James Gregory (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) base hit.

MSU put together two hits and a walk with two outs in the top of the ninth, the last a SAM POLITAN (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) double to the right-center gap to score JOSEPH ZEMBRYSKI (Rutherford, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) and TIMOTHY SWIFT (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) for the final 16-3 score.

In all, WP had 19 hits on the day, including six doubles.  Lugo was 4-for-6, driving in two runs and scoring twice, while Dorio had two doubles as part of a 3-for-4 effort, collecting two RBI and crossing the plate himself three times.  Guadango finished 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, and Courter was 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Lopez was the only Red Hawk with a multi-hit effort, as he was 2-for-3 at the plate.  Freshman KEVIN WIEME (Bayville, N.J./Paramus) started for Montclair State on the mound and allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits over 3.1 innings to take the loss (0-1).

William Paterson will play a conference doubleheader at The College of New Jersey Saturday, April 18, at 12:00 p.m.    Montclair State will visit Richard Stockton for a twin bill April 18, also at 12:00 p.m.