Montclair, NJ- Now receiving votes in the D3baseball.com National Poll and being bumped up to #21 in the ABCA Coaches National Poll, the Montclair State University baseball team looks to remain hot as they enter a two-game series with William Paterson on Thursday and Friday.  

GAME INFO
Thursday's contest will be played at Yogi Berra Stadium and Jeff Albies Field on Friday, with both games set for 3:30 p.m. Live coverage of the games can be found at montclairathletics.com

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair secured a doubleheader sweep in its first NJAC contests down in Stockton on Saturday, winning 21-3 and 12-6. 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 an 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 at 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. 
 
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. 
 

MONTCLAIR STATE (18-4, 2-0 NJAC): 2026 Statistics
WILLIAM PATERSON (6-12, 0-2 NJAC): 2026 Statistics


SCOUTING WILLIAM PATERSON
The Pioneers enter this two-game stint with a 6-12 record and are 0-2 after their first weekend of NJAC play. They are currently on a nine-game skid, including being downed by Desales, 9-4 on Tuesday. Last season, William Paterson was just under .500 at 19-20 and struggled in conference play with a 3-15 NJAC record. According to the 2026 NJAC Preseason Poll, the Pioneers are slotted to finish eighth this season.   
 
SERIES HISTORY
This historic rivalry between programs that have played against each other since 1934 enters matchups number 212 and 213. Montclair has the series advantage at 122-89 and has won the past seven matchups and nine of the last 10.

LAST MEETING
In their last matchup on April 4, 2025, Montclair earned an 8-2 win at Yogi Berra Stadium.  


UP NEXT
Montclair State University will welcome #7/#9 Rowan for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 4. Game one is set to begin at 11:30 a.m.