The men’s baseball team dominated all competition over the weekend, putting four straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) wins in the books against Rutgers-Newark University and New Jersey City University (NJCU).
The action began against Rutgers-Newark last Thursday where the Roadrunners got off to a strong start with three runs in the top of the first. Thanks to RBI singles from Jack Tallent and Matt Lalomia, Ramapo brought two runners in, with Tallent later scoring during a stolen base from Lalomia to tack on a third run.
The Scarlet Raiders would close the gap, trailing by one run in the bottom of the second. Thanks to RBIs from Christian Alonso, Tyler Guadagno and Tallent, however, Ramapo secured the comfortable 6-3 win.
John Higgins and Zack Bailey also contributed to the Roadrunner’s 13 hits. Dominick Ciani had an impressive game from the pitcher’s mound, allowing only four hits and one earned run. Ciani had help from strong performances by pitchers Billy Scanlon and Will Paoli.
Friday’s game resulted in another win against the Scarlet Raiders, 5-3. Higgins put up three hits in an impressive performance for the Roadrunners, consisting of a two-out RBI single, a triple and a solo home run in the sixth inning. The senior had help from Robert Klawans, who blasted a two-run shot to left field in the second.
Jack Martin recorded the win after seven innings pitched, striking out five. Gerard Chiricolo and Paoli were crucial in staving off a Scarlet Raiders comeback late in the game. For Rutgers-Newark, Eric Recchia led the team with three hits.
Saturday’s doubleheader in Jersey City resulted in more triumphs for the Roadrunners. Ramapo edged out a 4-3 win in game one before being on the winning end of a 9-3 blowout in game two.
In the first game, the Gothic Knights took an early lead in the first inning. The Roadrunners were quick to bounce back, scoring in the second off of two throwing errors by NJCU. The Gothic Knights would later come back from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to tie the game, 3-3. Klawans reached second base on yet another error from NJCU and later scored on a Ciani hit, securing a Roadrunner win.
Bailey led in hits for Ramapo, going 3-5, including two doubles. Nick Danbrowney made it through eight innings with six strikeouts, and Paoli recorded his sixth save of the season.
Game two was a Ramapo slugfest, producing 16 hits for the Roadrunners. Klawans, Lalomia, Higgins, Bailey, Ciani and Guadagno were all the biggest contributors to the blowout. Lalomia also booked his 100th career hit in the win.
James Pazdera didn’t give up a single run through six innings on the mound. Ryan Lasko and Matt Ivanicki helped close out the game, with Ivanicki recording his first save of the season.
After the weekend, the Roadrunners improved their record to 15-8 overall and 5-1 in NJAC play. Their record currently ties them for first place in the division.
Ramapo will play at home today at 3:30 p.m. for another NJAC matchup against William Paterson University (WPU) and travel to Wayne to face WPU again on Friday afternoon.
jlaforg2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jenna Barnes
