Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State baseball team opens its 40-game slate with a neutral site doubleheader on Saturday against Swarthmore College.

GAME INFO

The first pitch at the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Md., is scheduled for noon, with the second game starting approximately at 3 pm. There will be no live stats or video links available for this game.

The Red Hawks close out their time in Aberdeen with a twin-bill against McDaniel on Sunday afternoon before heading back down I-95 next weekend for a three-game set against Catholic. March opens with a single road game at Stevens on March 4 before hosting the Ducks in their home-opener on March 5. Montclair State will then head to Myrtle Beach to face Bridgewater State and Eastern Nazarene before coming home for a six-game homestand. The Red Hawks will square off against Trinity (Conn.) three times and Manhattanville twice in addition to Eastern.

Montclair State will finish off non-conference action with home games against DeSales and Baruch, with the NJAC schedule opening up on April 2 as the team faces Rutgers-Newark. The home NJAC schedule starts with Ramapo on April 8 and the following day will host NCAA World Series participant Rowan. The team will also welcome TCNJ for the final doubleheader of the year on April 16 and will finish off their home portion of the schedule against Kean on April 28. The regular season concludes on April 30 when the Red Hawks face off against Rutgers-Camden. The First Round of the NJAC Championship Tournament begins at campus sites on May 3 before heading to Kean University May 6-8.

The Red Hawks finished 2021 with a 20-10 mark and went 11-7 within the challenging New Jersey Athletic Conference. They opened the year with a bang, as first baseman PETER COSENTINO belted three home runs in a win over Cabrini. Montclair State won eight of their first nine contests, including an 11th inning walk-off against NJCU on March 25. The team erupted for 21 runs in a 21-5 victory over TCNJ before JASON MOORE hit a three-run walk-off homer against Stockton on April 10. MSU earned the No. 4 seed in the NJAC Tournament, and after dropping the first game to Kean, they rebounded to force a deciding game with a 13-4 triumph.

The Red Hawks bring back most of their lineup, including All-NJAC performers PETER COSENTINO, MICHAEL MURPHY, ANTHONY GUARINO, JOE NORTON, ANDREW OLLWERTHER, and JASON MOORE. Cosentino, who was tabbed to the D3Baseball.com Preseason All-America Team, was named a Third Team All-American by the same organization last spring. The Whitehouse Station, NJ native, enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2021, leading MSU in virtually every offensive category. Cosentino posted a .426 batting average with 49 hits, 42 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, and 32 RBI. Murphy started every game in his first year, hitting .363 with 41 hits and 34 runs scored. Guarino batted .361 and will provide veteran leadership behind the plate while Ollwerther reached base safely in every game and became just the sixth Red Hawk with five hits in a game. Norton led the Red Hawks in steals and crossed home 39 times from his leadoff position. He enters 2022, needing just 20 hits to become the 13th player in program history to record 200 hits. Moore saw time in both the infield and outfield, and his ability to play all over the field is instrumental for the Red Hawks. Three of the top-four leaders in innings pitched come back for the Red Hawks, led by left-hander PATRICK CUCCURULLO. He led the Red Hawks with 43 strikeouts in 38 innings while BRIAN REISS appeared in 12 games, notching a 3-1 mark with a pair of saves. Reiss' lone start came against Kean in the playoffs, as he worked 6.0 innings of one-run ball.

The Red Hawks will have several new faces on their roster, led by MATT PONTARI, NICOLAS CURCIO, RYAN MCKENNA, and JOE GISONDA. Curcio is a left-handed pitcher from Hackettstown, NJ, while Pontari is a right-handed arm from Middletown, NJ. McKenna is a transfer from the College of William and Mary, where he saw action in 15 games last spring. Gisonda is an infielder that transferred from the University of Albany and should compete for one of the open middle infield slots.

"If we take care of ourselves and play our very best baseball, good things will come to this group."