Montclair, NJ –
ANTHONY GUARINO's one-out double in the bottom of the ninth was the only run the Montclair State baseball team needed en route to a 1-0 victory over William Paterson Friday afternoon at Yogi Berra Stadium.
PATRICK CUCCURULLO tossed seven shutout innings for Montclair State (26-7, 11-1 NJAC), striking out a career-high 10 batters. Cuccurullo is the first Red Hawk pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts since Tyler Diefenbach did against Oneonta on March 23, 2019.
In the first, the lefty Cuccurullo mowed down the Pioneers, fanning all three hitters. Montclair put a runner in scoring position in the home half of the inning, as
JOE NORTON led off with a hit by pitch and moved to second on a passed ball. Norton took off with
JORDEN JURKIEWICZ at the dish, but the ball hit right at a Pioneer infielder who stepped on second to retire the side.
In the third, William Paterson had their best chance as Colin Lombardo smashed a two-out triple to center. Cuccurullo finished the inning with a groundout to preserve the scoreless game. Riley Weis of William Paterson set down seven straight Red Hawks before Norton led off the fourth with a single. A walk to Jurkiewicz put on first and second, but Weis notched a pair of fielder's choice groundouts to end the threat.
The Red Hawks loaded the bases in the fifth, as
JASON MOORE doubled before
RYAN MCKENNA and Norton walked. Weis induced a fielder's choice to keep the game deadlocked at zero. William Paterson had first and second with one out in the seventh, but Cuccurullo tallied a line out and got a called strike three to end his day.
DARREN GONZALEZ relieved Cuccurullo in the eighth and allowed just one hit over two innings. With one out in the ninth,
MILES FEASTER was hit by a pitch, bringing up Guarino. The graduate student, who went 4-for-5 yesterday, laced a 1-1 offering down the left-field line. Feaster went around third and beat the throw home to give MSU their ninth consecutive victory.
Norton reached base three times in the game while Feaster was aboard twice. Both sides totaled four hits, with Gonzalez notching the relief win to move to 3-0 on the year.
The Red Hawks return to action tomorrow, heading to South Jersey to face Stockton in a doubleheader. The first pitch in Galloway, NJ, is scheduled for 11:30 am.
