Mahwah, NJ – Shortstop Bryan Frank snapped a seventh-inning tie in the opener with a three-run homer and centerfielder Justin Grippo scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a passed ball in the nightcap as Ramapo swept Montclair State in the NJAC opener for both teams at Jeff Maund Field on Saturday.
Franko's homer helped the Roadrunners take the first game, 6-2 with Grippo's run the difference in a 5-4 win in the second game.
SAM ANGELO collected two hits in the first game and
JOE NORTON was 3-for-5 with an RBI in the second contest for the Red Hawks (8-3), who had their four-game winning streak snapped in the process.
In the first game, Montclair got out to a 2-0 lead. Norton plated Angelo on a sacrifice fly. Angelo then manufactured his own run in the fifth as he led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball.
The Roadrunners tied it up in the bottom of the fifth as an error by MSU allowed two runs to score knotting the game at 2-2. That's the way it stood until the seventh when Franko launched his homer to left putting Ramapo in front 5-2. Brian Baranok came home on a wild pitch in the eighth for the final run.
Matt Ivanicki (1-0) got the win in relief with tossing two scoreless innings, striking out two. Sean Kelemen nailed down the game in the ninth for his first save. Lefthander
BRIAN REISS (1-1) took the loss for MSU. Angelo finished 2-for-3 at the plate.
In the nightcap,
ANDREW OLLWERTHER gave the Red Hawks a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double, but that was matched in the bottom of the inning by Ramapo as Matt Carovillano delivered a run with a base hit.
Montclair went back on top in the second, scoring three times. Matt Monteiro doubled home
CHRIS BIOLSI with the first run and Norton followed with an RBI double of his own before a
PETER COSENTINO RBI ground out made it 4-1.
Kellen Hardy homered in the third to cut the deficit in half with Grippo's RBI in the fourth making the score 4-3. The Roadrunners tied it up in the fifth with Garrett Wiedemann scoring on a balk. Grippo led off with eighth with an infield single and went to second on a throwing error. He would go to third on a fly out and scored on the passed ball for a 5-4 Ramapo lead.
MSU would get the tying run into scoring position in the ninth with one out. But reliever Jeff Millett picked off the runner, which proved big as Angelo followed with a single. Millett fanned the next hitter for the final out.
Millet (1-0) got the win going the final 2 2/3 innings allowing two hits with four strikeouts. Righthander
CHRIS LUM (0-1) suffered the loss. Ollwerther had two hits.
The Red Hawks return to action on Thursday, April 8 as they go back on the road. Montclair will be in Ewing, NJ to face The College of New Jersey in an NJAC matchup at Ackerman Park with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 pm.
