Montclair, NJ- The Montclair State University baseball team heads into a two-game conference slate with #8/#7 Kean on Thursday and Friday  

GAME INFO
Thursday's contest will be played at Jim Hynes Field, and at Yogi Berra Stadium on Friday. Live coverage of the games can be found at montclairathletics.com

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair split its doubleheader this past Saturday against #7/#9 Rowan, falling in game one, 7-6, but bouncing back for a 4-2 win in game two. COLIN DOWLEN set down the side in order to kick off the day and retired six of the first seven batters he faced leading to the Red Hawks taking the lead in the home half of the second inning. CHASE FISCHER led off the frame with an infield single and would steal second during the next at-bat, advancing to third on the same play due to a throwing error by the catcher. JOHN TOMSHO drove him in on a sacrifice fly to push the home side in front. The two sides held each other scoreless until the sixth, where a double and a walk placed two on for the Profs, who equalized with a single through the right side. A walk would load the bases right after, but Dowlen escaped the jam with a strikeout. MATT KALISKE sent a ball to left center in the Montclair half of the sixth and advanced to third as a ball fell between two outfielders, with Tomsho driving him in with his second sacrifice fly of the afternoon. Rowan surged in front in the next stanza, loading the bases with just one out that would lead to a double to left center that plated two tallies. After a pitching change, a looping single to center field drove in two more runs to build a 5-2 lead for the visitors. The Red Hawks chipped away at the deficit right away, as JARED LEVIS was hit by a pitch and ZACH STEARNS drew a walk to put two runners on for BILLY TIGAR, who ripped a single through the right side to drive in Levis from second. Rowan answered right back in the eighth, as a double and a fielding error would bring around the sixth run of the day for the Profs. Another double down the left field line during the next at-bat pushed the margin to 7-3 with one and a half frames to go. Montclair began to stage a rally in the home half of the eighth, loading the bases on an infield single from Fischer and walks from Kaliske and Tomsho. During the ensuing at-bat, MICHAEL WANSAW JR. placed a single to left center to record two runs to cut the deficit to two. Following a pitching change from the Profs, LUKAS EGENHAUSER sent a single to right field to drive in Tomsho to trim the gap to one. The Red Hawks put the tying run on second in the ninth, but could not equalize as Rowan took game one.
The Red Hawks received a strong start out of freshman CHRIS MATESIC, who retired the Profs 1-2-3 in the top of the first and struck out the side in the second inning, setting the table for Montclair to break open the scoring in the bottom of the second for a second-straight game. Fischer led off the inning with a walk, as Kaliske doubled to left field immediately after to plate a run. Keeping the momentum going, DYLAN BRIGGS ripped a double to left field during the next at-bat to double the advantage for the home side. Rowan placed two in scoring position in the top of the third, but Matesic halted the run by inducing a flyout to end the inning. In the top of the fourth, the Profs placed the first two in scoring position on a single, hit by pitch, and balk. A fielder's choice during the next at-bat would cut the difference in half to 2-1, as Rowan would have the potential tying-run cut down at home on a fielder's choice that saw Matesic toss the ball to Stearns for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch moved runners back into scoring position, but another flyout would end the push from the visitors. Montclair doubled their lead in the home half of the sixth, as Kaliske and Briggs drew back-to-back walks to begin the frame. After a fielder's choice to third shuffled the baserunners, Egenhauser tallied another crucial base hit, singling through the left side to plate Briggs. Levis walked to load the bases, but after a pitching change, Rowan was able to generate a double play to end the inning. The Profs kicked off the eighth inning with a leadoff home run to left field to make it a 3-2 ballgame, and would place two on with one out on a walk and single, forcing a pitching change from Montclair. PATRICK TEEHAN entered from the bullpen gates, recording a strikeout on the first batter he faced and generating a groundout to end the frame. Remaining in the eighth, a pair of singles from Briggs and Wansaw paired with a walk from Egenhauser loaded the bases, prompting a pitching change for the visitors. Levis provided a critical insurance run with a sacrifice fly, making the score 4-2 going into the ninth. After a single and a fielder's choice, Teehan induced a lineout to center field to put Rowan down to their last out. A ground ball hit to Egenhauser would end the day, as he turned and got the final out at second to seal the victory for Montclair.
 
MONTCLAIR STATE (20-6, 4-2 NJAC): 2026 Statistics
ROWAN (20-6-1, 4-2 NJAC): 2026 Statistics


SCOUTING KEAN
The Cougars enter this doubleheader as the #8 team in the nation according to D3baseball.com national poll and #7 in the nation according to the ABCA National poll. They almost mirror Montclair's record at 20-6-1 and a 4-2 NJAC record. They are coming off a 7-3 win against Messiah on Tuesday. Last season, Kean finished 41-11 and an astounding 17-1 in conference play. In the NJAC's double-elimination tournament format, they lost to Rutgers-Camden, 7-4, defeated Ramapo, 4-2, and were eliminated by TCNJ, 9-1. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and cleaned house in regionals with wins against Husson (4-2), Middlebury (13-6), and Cortland (4-3). They faced off with Salve Regina in Super Regionals, where Kean won 4-3, lost in game two, 5-4, and secured its trip to the DIII World Series with a triumph in game three, 5-2. In the DIII World series they defeated Johns Hopkins, 5-3, but were eliminated with two losses to Endicott, 6-4 and 5-4. According to the 2026 NJAC Preseason Poll, Kean is the favorite to win this season's NJAC title.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Hawks and the Cougars' longstanding rivalry hits games 152 and 153. Montclair is ahead of the series, 100-51, but has lost the past five matchups.   

LAST MEETING
These two programs met last season on April 14, where Kean earned a decisive 11-1 win.


UP NEXT
Montclair State University will honor its senior class before an NJAC doubleheader against TCNJ on Saturday, April 11, starting at 11:30 a.m.