Jersey City, NJ  - Junior catcher JUSTIN BATES walked with two outs in the top of the ninth inning as Montclair State rallied for a 4-3 victory over New Jersey City at the Thomas M. Gerrity Complex on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Hawks (19-14) got a much-needed victory as it swept its home-and-home series against the Gothic Knights (17-15, 5-9 NJAC). At 7-7 in conference play, MSU is currently on the outside-looking-in in seventh place however it is just one game out of a playoff spot heading into the final week. MSU closes out its NJAC slate against Ramapo on Thursday and Friday, April 26-27 and a doubleheader at home against Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, April 28.

In a well-pitched game by both starters, NJCU senior left-handed pitcher Kyle Kafer and Red Hawks senior right-handed pitcher MICHAEL MANFRA, each threw in excess of 125 pitches but received a no decision.

Montclair State scored in the first inning before NJCU tied it in the third and the Red Hawks regained a 2-1 margin in the sixth. It remained that way until the bottom of the eighth.

Trailing 2-1, junior shortstop Nick LoGatto beat out a grounder to third and sophomore designated hitter Juan Pena reached on a softly hit single to second. With two runners on and one out, Manfra stepped off the mound and picked LoGatto off second, running him down for a big out. Pena, who had a big lead at first, moved up on a pitch in the dirt. Another wild pitch allowed Pena to go to third on ball four to senior first baseman Dan Berardi and when Bates tried to throw Pena out, the ball dribbled away. Pena tried to turn third and score but was tripped and awarded home plate on the interference.

On the throwing error, Berardi took second base. Junior lefty MAX MAARLEVELD came on in relief to try to keep the game tied, 2-2, but senior center fielder Mike Ramirez lined a go-ahead RBI single to right for a 3-2 lead, as Berardi slid in feet first to beat the throw to the plate.

But the tide changed again in the top of the ninth. Junior left fielder NICK MARTINEZ singled with one out. Junior right-handed pitcher Anthony Carfora came on in relief and tried to nail down a two-out save. He fanned the first batter he faced, freshman designated hitter ANDREW OLLWERTHER. The third out proved harder to get.

A wild pitch moved Martinez into scoring position where junior CONNOR KELLY pinch ran. Junior first baseman IAN LYNCH singled to deep left center to tie the game. Carfora got in a jam, walking and hitting the next two batters to load the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, Bates made up for his eighth-inning throwing error, walking to force in freshman pinch runner ROB LOMBARDO with the go-ahead run, 4-3. Carfora struck out the next batter to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Senior righty Mike Matarazzo retired NJCU 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning to nail down his first save.

Montclair State had 12 hits, led by Bates who batted 3-for-4 with the game-winning walk. Freshman second baseman AIDAN SUPP, Lynch, Ollwerther and Martinez each had two hits, as those five players accounted for 11 of the 12 Red Hawk hits.

Maarleveld was the pitcher of record when MSU regained the lead and ultimately ended up getting credited with his first win (1-0). Manfra went 7.2 innings, striking out five batters (two walks) against three runs (two earned) and seven hits. He fired 129 pitches. Manfra retired 10 Gothic Knights in a row between the fourth and eighth innings, and fanned back-to-back batters to end the seventh.

Before its crucial conference contests this week, the Red Hawks will host York College (PA) on Tuesday, April 24 at 3:30 pm.