Galloway, NJ – The #29 Montclair State University Baseball team kicked off New Jersey Athletic Conference play with a road doubleheader sweep of Stockton on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Hawks (18-4, 2-0 NJAC) used 21 hits to power towards a 21-3 victory in the opening tilt before taking down the Ospreys 12-6 in the second contest of the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• JARED LEVIS was hit by a pitch to lead off the day, and ZACH STEARNS put runners on the corners with a single to left center. During the next at-bat, a wild pitch brought Levis home to open the scoring, with BILLY TIGAR tripling to right center to double the advantage. DANNY O'BRIEN plated Tigar on a groundout to push the gap to three, as the Red Hawks got another big hit on a RBI single from MATT KALISKE to make the score 4-0. An error from the Ospreys later in the frame plated another tally, as Levis singled to left field to help bring in the sixth runner of the first. Stearns recorded his second hit of the day right after, driving in the final two markers of the first inning to make the difference eight.
• Montclair added to their lead in the top of the fourth, a frame kicked off by a pair of hits from O'Brien and CHASE FISCHER. During the ensuing at-bat, Kaliske ripped a double to left field to bring in O'Brien, with Fischer coming home on a sacrifice fly from JOHN TOMSHO to vault the visitors into double-digits. They kept the offensive push going into the fifth, as a fielding error from Stockton scored Levis from third. Fischer plated the 12th run of the day on a sacrifice fly, with Kaliske tallying his second double of the afternoon to bring in another marker. The second error of the inning from the home side plated Kaliske, with a RBI double from Egenhauser making the lead 14 at the midway point.
• After the Ospreys put two on the board in the home half of the fifth, Montclair answered right back in the sixth, led off by a double down the left field line from Tigar. With the bases loaded shortly after, Kaliske notched his third RBI hit of the day to plate a run, with a wild pitch bringing home the 17th marker of the afternoon. Two at-bats later, MICHAEL WANSAW JR. singled to right center to drive in a pair of runners to push the gap to 19. Levis and Stearns each recorded an RBI single in consecutive at-bats to continue the strong day at the plate for the visitors, who built a 21-2 lead that frame. Stockton added their final run of the opening game in the bottom of the seventh, as a double down the right field line would lead to a tally on a pair of groundouts. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• Stearns doubled to right field in the opening stanza of the day's second game, as the bases would later get loaded on walks from O'Brien and Fischer. Kaliske was hit by a pitch during the next at-bat, bringing in the first run of the tilt. Stockton countered with the leveler in the bottom of the second, leading off the frame with a double to center field. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third, with an infield single plating the equalizing run. The Red Hawks regained the lead in the fourth, as LUKAS EGENHAUSER singled through the right side to drive in DYLAN BRIGGS. A bunt single from Tigar later in the fourth drove in Egenhauser, with O'Brien singling through the left side to make the score 4-1.
• Stockton trimmed the gap to two in the home half of the fourth, with Egenhauser using a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to make the difference 5-2 at the midway marker. The Red Hawks tacked on another pair of runs in the visitor half of the sixth, led off by an infield single from Stearns. After he advanced to second on a wild pitch, Tigar moved him to third on a flyout for O'Brien, who singled down the right field line to tally the sixth run of the contest. A throwing error by the catcher later in the stanza plated O'Brien to push the difference to five tallies. The Ospreys climbed back in the home half of the seventh, placing two runners in scoring position right away, with an error plating the first marker of the frame. An infield single and sacrifice fly later in the inning made the score 7-5 with two to play.
• Briggs added another key hit to his record in the top of the eighth, singling to right center to drive in O'Brien to add a crucial insurance run. Stockton countered with a tally of their own in the home half of the eighth, but the Red Hawks would blow the game open in the top of the ninth. With runners on first and second and one out, Tigar ripped a single to left field to bring Levis home to nudge the lead to three. O'Brien tallied another RBI hit to score Stearns and push Montclair into double-digits, with Fischer singling to center field to make the lead five. The final run of the day came two at-bats later after JAXON GRANT loaded the bases on a pinch hit single, as DYLAN BRIGGS used a safety squeeze bunt to make the score 12-6. 

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Kaliske totaled four hits and five runs batted in on the day, matching his career-highs in both categories in game one with four apiece. O'Brien also collected five RBI on four hits for the day, recording his third career game with three hits and three runs batted in and second over his last three appearances.
• Stearns collected five hits and drove in three runs on the day, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Over his last three starts, he has totaled seven hits and six runs batted in.
• Tigar extended his hitting streak to 31 games dating back to April 18, 2025. During that stretch, he has amassed 61 hits and 49 RBI, leading the NJAC in both categories this season. He finished with his 13th and 14th multi-hit performances of the campaign, totaling five hits and three runs batted in on the day.
• Levis has recorded multiple hits in four of his last five games, drawing three walks along with four hits and two runs batted in on the day. He has nine hits over his last five games.
• Egenhauser continued his tear at the plate with four hits and three runs batted in for the afternoon, recording four multi-hit games over his last five. The senior has driven in seven runs on eight hits over his last three contests.
• Wansaw pushed his hitting streak to eight games, finishing the day with a pair of hits and runs batted in. Fischer and Briggs each collected a trio of hits and drove in two runs for the doubleheader.
• COLIN DOWLEN earned the victory on the mound in game one, striking out eight over five frames. CHUCK ENNIS took the game the rest of the way, matching his season-high with four innings while earning his second save of the campaign.
• In game two, CHRIS MATESIC improved to 5-0 on the year with five innings on the mound, with PATRICK TEEHAN notching his third save of the year.
• For the day, Montclair totaled 33 runs on 38 hits across the two games. Their 21 runs in game one set a new season-high, with their 21 hits matching the highest total for the campaign and second in as many games. The Red Hawks have recorded double-digit hits in 17 contests while scoring 10 or more runs 15 times.
• Montclair has amassed 224 hits over its last 16 games, averaging 14 a game during that span.

FROM THE BALLPARK

"Good team day. A lot of contributions from a bunch of guys to kick off conference play with a difficult sweep to start." - Head Coach Dave Lorber

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host William Paterson on Thursday, April 2. First pitch from Yogi Berra Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 PM.