Newark, NJ – The #15/18 Montclair State University Baseball team closed out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Rutgers-Newark on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Hawks (30-8, 14-4 NJAC) took down the Scarlet Raiders 10-4 in the opener and came back in the ninth inning to take game two, 4-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• Montclair put the first two batters on to kick off the day, as JARED LEVIS was hit by a pitch with ZACH STEARNS drawing a walk during the next at-bat. MATT KALISKE ripped a double to center field to break the scoring open, and DANNY O'BRIEN singled to right field in the ensuing at-bat to make the margin two. A wild pitch would plate Kaliske, with an infield single from MICHAEL WANSAW JR. driving in O'Brien to make the score 4-0. After Wansaw stole second, BILLY TIGAR punched a single to left field to record the fifth and final run of the frame for the Red Hawks.
• Rutgers-Newark countered right away in the home half of the first, putting two in scoring position on a hit, walk, and double steal. A hit batter would load the bases with one out, as the Scarlet Raiders got on the board with two-straight walks to cut the difference to three. After a strikeout put the stanza on the brink, a single to center field drove in two more markers to make the score 5-4 after one full inning. The Red Hawks countered in the third, as LUKAS EGENHAUSER notched a sacrifice bunt to move Wansaw and Tigar into scoring position early in the inning. During the next at-bat, Levis cleared the bases with a single to vault the gap back to three. The junior stole second and would take third on a flyout, leading to an RBI single from CHASE FISCHER to push in the eighth run of the day for the visitors.
• After working around runners on the corners in the home half of the third, COLIN DOWLEN set down the side in order over the next three innings to maintain the lead. The Red Hawks tacked on two more runs in the fifth, all with two outs. With Stearns and Egenhauser on, Fischer singled up the middle to load the bases for Kaliske, who notched another crucial hit to plate the ninth and tenth tallies of the afternoon. Stearns threw a runner out attempting to steal to end the bottom of the seventh, with Dowlen retiring the side in order again in the eighth. PATRICK TEEHAN entered the game in the ninth and would halt a late push from the Scarlet Raiders to seal the game one victory for the road side.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• Levis led off game two with a single through the right side, stealing both second and third during the next two at-bats to put a runner 90 feet away for the visitors. Rutgers-Newark escaped, however, notching a strikeout and groundout. CHRIS MATESIC set down the Scarlet Raiders in order in the home half of the inning, with the home side working around a double from Tigar in the top of the second. Rutgers-Newark broke through right after, putting a runner on second after an error and moving them to third on a groundout. During the next at-bat, a double to left field plated the opening run of the contest. A ground ball moved that runner to third, but Matesic notched a key strikeout to keep the gap at one.
• EVAN WOOD entered the game in the third, retiring six of the first seven batters he faced. Montclair equalized the game in the fifth, as CHRIS GONZALO led off the stanza with a single to center field. An error on a bunt attempt allowed JOEY NOLAN to reach safely, with Egenhauser moving the pair into scoring position with just one out. Levis recorded a sacrifice fly to plate the leveling runner in Gonzalo from third. Montclair searched for the go-ahead run in the sixth, as Fischer notched a single with O'Brien doubling during the next at-bat to put two on with no out. Rutgers-Newark escaped the jam, however, retiring the next three batters.
• The home side took the lead again in the bottom of the eighth, as a walk, wild pitch, and bunt single put runners on the corners with no out. A fielder's choice plated a run to make the score 2-1, as Wood generated a pair of flyouts to hold the game at that. Montclair battled right back in the top of the ninth, with Wansaw drawing a walk and advancing to second on a passed ball. Tigar moved Wansaw to third on a flyout, with Stearns getting hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. JOHN TOMSHO was intentionally walked after Stearns stole second to load the bases for Egenhauser, who punched a single to left field to tie the game. Levis recorded his second sacrifice fly of the day to push the Red Hawks ahead 3-2, and JAXON GRANT registered a pinch hit double to plate Tomsho for a key insurance run. Wood retired the side 1-2-3 in the home half of the ninth to clinch the sweep for the visitors.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Fischer and Tigar matched a season-high three hits during the opening game and finished the day with four along with a run batted in. 
• O'Brien tallied a pair of hits in each game, his 16th and 17th performances this season of multiple hits.
• Levis accumulated three hits and four runs batted in for the afternoon, driving in seven runs over Montclair's last four games. He has reached base safely in every single game this season for the Red Hawks.
• Kaliske totaled two hits and three runs batted in during game one, his sixth performance this year driving in three or more. Tomsho has notched a hit in 24 of his 27 collegiate games. Egenhauser collected a trio of hits across the two games.
• Wansaw registered a hit in each game to push his hitting streak to 11 dating back to April 10. During that span, he has totaled 22 hits and ranks second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the season. He sits atop the league in batting average at .414.
• Dowlen earned his seventh victory of the season on the mound in the opener, spinning a career-best eight innings while punching out eight batters. He has four outings this season with eight or more strikeouts.
• Wood went the final seven innings in game two, setting a new career-best en route to his third win of the year.
• The Red Hawks totaled 17 hits in the first game, marking the 26th time this season in which they have collected double-digit hits in a game. Montclair has scored 10 or more runs in 21 games this season.
• With the sweep, the Red Hawks finished the regular season with 30 wins for the first time since 2022 and 15th time in program history.
• As a team, Montclair leads the NJAC in batting average (.353), on-base percentage (.461), slugging percentage (.481), hits (474), doubles (86), and runs (398).
• The Red Hawks will be the two-seed in the 2026 NJAC Tournament, making their 27th appearance in the competition and fifth over the last six years.

FROM THE BALLPARK

"Gutsy performance by Colin, and Evan was fantastic in relief. It's always good to find a way to win. Special regular season put together by our program and now we look to postseason play." - Head Coach Dave Lorber

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host a NJAC Tournament Semifinal game on Thursday, April 30. First pitch from Yogi Berra Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 PM, with the opponent to be determined.