By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
The College’s baseball team went 3-1 this week, including a series split against Stockton University at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
It's the College’s fourth consecutive season playing a game at the home of the Trenton Thunder, now a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League, and previously the Double-A affiliate for the New York Yankees.
Having won two of their last three games in Trenton, the Lions would play a rare doubleheader in the minor league stadium, facing off against a middling Stockton squad.
The College’s offense struggled in the opening game, being shut out through the first seven innings. Senior Dan Merkel started on the mound and held it down, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing three earned runs. Down four runs in the eighth inning, the Lions finally came through on a two-run single from junior Tyler Provost. However, it was too little too late for the College, as they fell 4-2 in the first game.
Eager not to be swept, the Lions came out hot in the latter half of the doubleheader. Starting with an RBI double from fifth-year Gianni Marano, the College would score four runs in the bottom of the first, partly thanks to multiple fielding errors committed by Stockton.
Fifth-year senior Jordan Gray had his best start of the season, tossing six innings of two-run ball en route to his second win of the year. Offensively, the Lions continued to pour it on, scoring an additional eight runs. Senior Zach Hochheiser and senior Mike LaGravenis each came around to score a run three different times, while Hochheiser had four runs batted in by himself. It was also a nice game for seniors Justin Marcario and Ryan Goodall, who combined for three hits and three RBIs.
Going 4-8 between the two games, Marcario continues to add to his electric season, where he now has a batting average of .370, good for ninth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Marcario was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week, due to his blistering performance that has seen him go 14 for his last 20 at the plate, including 10 runs batted in.
On Sunday, April 13, the College hosted New Jersey City University for a doubleheader. Ranking dead last in the NJAC, NJCU was in for a tough set of games against the Lions, losing the games 17-0 and 12-0, respectively.
For the two games, Marcario went six for seven from the plate, while also batting in six runs. The College also got big-time performances from LaGravenis and Goodall.
Fifth-year senior Ben Amon earned a shutout win in the first game, throwing a full seven innings and allowing just four baserunners while striking out nine. His nine strikeouts were a season-high, and now ranks second on the club with 37.
In the second game, senior Jackson Malouf earned his fourth consecutive win, having a strikingly similar performance to Amon with seven innings pitched and just four baserunners allowed. His performance played a part in him also being named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week.
The Lions now sit in second place in the NJAC, with a much-anticipated doubleheader showdown with first-placed Kean on Saturday.
