Mahwah, NJ – Fueled by a two-out rally in the seventh inning, the #15/18 Montclair State University baseball team edged Ramapo 9-7 on the road Thursday afternoon to win their eighth-straight contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (28-7, 12-3 NJAC) drew back-to-back walks with two outs in the opening stanza to place CHASE FISCHER and MATT KALISKE on base for DANNY O'BRIEN, who ripped a single to left field to plate the opening two tallies of the afternoon. O'Brien advanced to third on the play due to an error, as JOHN TOMSHO notched a walk immediately after and stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Another walk would load the bases for BILLY TIGAR, who worked a full count walk of his own to bring in the third run of the frame for the visitors. Ramapo cut into the deficit in their half of the first, putting a runner on third after a single, stolen base, and error. A single to right field during the third at-bat of the inning would bring in a marker to slice the gap to two.
• The Roadrunners would equalize in the bottom of the third, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. Right after, they would plate a pair of runs on a double down the left field line to make the score 3-3 after a third of game play. In the following frame, Ramapo would take advantage of a double to left center with a single down the left field line to nudge in front by one. Montclair found the counter in their portion of the sixth, as MICHAEL WANSAW JR. punched a single through the right side, with Tigar drawing another walk to put two on. Two at-bats later, JARED LEVIS tallied a hit to bring in the leveler for the visitors.
• Montclair surged ahead in the seventh, taking the lead on a home run to left field from Kaliske. With two outs, Tomsho and Wansaw singled to put two on for CHRIS GONZALO, who recorded a single up the middle to drive in the second tally of the inning. LUKAS EGENHAUSER registered a walk to load the bases, with Levis tallying another crucial hit on a single to right field to corral two more runs and make the score 8-4. The Roadrunners answered in the same stanza, using a pair of singles and a flyout to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly trimmed the difference to three, with a single through the left side later in the frame making the gap two with two to play. 
• The Red Hawks tacked on their final run of the afternoon in the ninth, with Egenhauser singling to right center and Levis getting hit by a pitch. After a double steal, JOEY NOLAN recorded a crucial sacrifice fly to nudge the lead back to three. Ramapo registered a leadoff triple in the final portion of the game, and would bring that runner home on an infield single after a strikeout. PATRICK TEEHAN punched out the next batter, and would work around another runner in scoring position after a runner took second on a passed ball. The closer would induce a groundout to first base to seal the critical road victory for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Levis led the way offensively for Montclair with a pair of hits and three runs batted in. He extended his hitting streak to six games, totaling 13 over his last eight contests. The three RBI marked a new season-best for the junior.
• Wansaw added two hits, pushing his hitting streak to eight games and increasing his season total to 53, which ranks second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Kaliske's homer was the fifth of his collegiate career, all coming during his senior campaign.
• O'Brien registered his 10th collegiate multi-RBI day, with Tomsho extending his hit streak to 12 games dating back to April 2. The freshman has recorded a hit in 23 of his 25 collegiate games.
• COLIN BERNHARD notched his third victory of the season, spinning a pair of scoreless frames in relief. Teehan earned his sixth save of the campaign and 18th of his collegiate career, going the final two innings while punching out three batters.
• The Red Hawks totaled 11 hits on the day, marking the 25th time this season in which they have collected double-digit hits in a game.
• Montclair's 28 victories are the most since the 2022 campaign, with their 12 NJAC wins matching the highest total since 2023. Their eight-game winning streak is a new season-best.
• As a team, the Red Hawks lead the NJAC in batting average (.385), on-base percentage (.470), slugging percentage (.493), hits (430), doubles (77), and runs (378). 

FROM THE BALLPARK

"Our team showed great resilience today being able to battle and grind for a tough win on the road. We will look to refocus for another game tomorrow back home." - Head Coach Dave Lorber

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host Ramapo in their regular season home finale on Friday, April 24. First pitch from Yogi Berra Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 PM.