Montclair, NJ- The second-seeded #13/#15 Montclair State University baseball team hosts William Paterson in the NJAC Semifinal.

GAME INFO
First pitch from Yogi Berra Stadium is set for a 3:00 p.m. start. Live coverage of the games can be found at montclairathletics.com

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair earned a sweep at Rutgers-Newark by scores of 10-4 and 4-2 on Saturday to close out the regular season. 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.
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 a 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 outs. 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 at 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.
 
MONTCLAIR STATE (30-8): 2026 Statistics
WILLIAM PATERSON (16-22): 2026 Statistics


SCOUTING WILLIAM PATERSON
The Pioneers entered the NJAC Tournament as the sixth seed with a 16-22 overall record and a 7-11 NJAC record. They punched their ticket to the NJAC semifinals, stunning Kean 3-2 in 11 innings. 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 were 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 123-90.

LAST MEETING
In their last meeting earlier this season on April 3, the two teams got into a shootout with William Paterson emerging triumphant at 16-14 for a series split in the regular season.  


UP NEXT
The winner of this game takes on the winner of Rowan-Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, May 1, in a best-of-three series for the NJAC crown. The first game is set for 11:30 a.m. at a location to be determined by seeding.