Montclair, NJ – Behind timely home runs in each game, the Montclair State University baseball team swept Ramapo in doubleheader action to open up New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Yogi Berra Stadium.

Montclair took game one by a score of 5-3 before taking down the Roadrunners 4-2 in the second game of the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (16-7, 2-0 NJAC) received a strong start from PATRICK CUCCURULLO, who retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced over the opening three innings. Ramapo broke through in the fourth, however, on a home run to right field and a single up the middle later in the stanza to put the visitors up two. Montclair threatened in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases on a walk by BILLY TIGAR, but Ramapo generated the final two outs to get out of the jam.
• Cuccurullo continued his strong performance on the mound, as he retired seven out of the next eight batters, including back-to-back strikeouts in the seventh to close out his day. Montclair broke through in the bottom half of the inning on a leadoff walk by MATT SHUHET and a single to right field from LUKAS EGENHAUSER, leading to an RBI single from CHRIS GONZALO following a pitching change to cut the deficit in half. 
• Following a sacrifice bunt during the next at-bat to put two runners in scoring position, ZACH STEARNS walked to load the bases once again for the Red Hawks. Later in the stanza, CHASE FISCHER blasted a home run to right center to clear the diamond, vaulting Montclair in front, 5-2. Ramapo shaved off a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, but went down in order in the ninth as PATRICK TEEHAN sealed the victory for the home side.
• Ramapo jumped out early in game two, plating a run in the top of the first on a single to left field following a double to right field during the previous at-bat. The Red Hawks equalized in the bottom half of the stanza, as back-to-back singles from MARCUS JOHNSON and Fischer led to an RBI hit from Tigar to level the game. Montclair took the lead in the third, as a throwing error placed two runners in scoring position for MICHAEL MURPHY, who drove in Fischer from third on a sacrifice fly.
• After falling behind with two outs to begin the top of the fifth, Ramapo would level the contest. After a hit batter, a triple to center field drove in the equalizer, and with two runners in scoring position, COLIN DOWLEN was able to notch the final out of the stanza on a fly out to right field. Ramapo was able to escape a bases loaded jam in the bottom half of the frame on a groundout to the pitcher with two outs.
• JACK HAVESON entered the game in relief in the sixth and retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. JUSTIN KILYK led off the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit home run to deep center field to push the home side in front. Egenhauser was hit by a pitch during the next at-bat and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gonzalo. Stearns reached on a muffed throw by the first baseman which plated the run from second to double the advantage for Montclair. Haveson shut the door in the ninth to complete the doubleheader sweep for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Cuccurullo punched out six batters over seven innings, earning his third victory of the campaign. He has notched back-to-back seven inning performances, pushing his career total to four. In all five of his six starts this season, Cuccurullo has gone six or more frames, and has punched out five or more batters in all of them.
• Teehan went the final two innings of game one to record his seventh save of the season, which is tied for most in the nation. He moved into a tied with Frank Dippold for third in program history with 10 career saves.
• Fischer's grand slam marked his fourth of the season and fourth in his last six games. He has amassed an eight-game hit streak while totaling 13 hits, 16 runs batted in, and seven extra base hits during that stretch.
• Johnson recorded his fourth three-hit performance of the campaign in game two, increasing his team-leading total to 33. Tigar notched his fourth multi-hit game of the season, with Kilyk's home run marking his fourth of the year.
• Dowlen punched out five batters over five innings, with Haveson throwing the final four frames of the day to earn the victory.
• Montclair has won nine of its last 10 games dating back to March 15. It went 10-2 during its season-long 12-game homestand. The doubleheader sweep marked their first to open NJAC play since the 2022 campaign.

FROM THE FIELD

"A really nice way to start NJAC play; big hits by JUSTIN KILYK and CHASE FISCHER. Strong pitching all day leads to a good team result." - Head Coach Dave Lorber

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face William Paterson on Thursday, April 3. First pitch from Wayne, NJ is scheduled for 3:30 PM.