Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
The Ramapo men’s baseball team came out victorious at home against the FDU-Florham Devils in a non-conference game on Tuesday, April 23. The final score was 13-3 and the win improves Ramapo’s record to 20-10, while FDU-Florham’s record drops to 11-24.
The Roadrunners dominated the board in the bottom of the second inning, scoring four runs, including sophomore Matt Carovillano’s two-run home run. Justin Grippo and Anthony Kuzmenko each respectively scored, which brought the score to 4-0 in favor of Ramapo.
Eventually, FDU-Florham scored once at the top of third inning to break the shutout, yet they still faced a deficit of three points. Senior Nick Camilleri welted a double straight into the open gap of left-center field, bringing the score to 5-1. Ramapo expanded their lead in the fourth inning when freshman Kyle Lisa scored on a wild pitch.
The sixth inning approached with no action from the Devils, but the same couldn’t be said for the Roadrunners. Lisa and Kuzmenko each scored, bringing the team’s lead to 8-1. In the seventh inning, junior Derek Romberg came up strong with an RBI double, plating Camilleri for 9-1. Derek Romberg helped add another run to the board after Lisa’s single hit.
FDU-Florham added two more runs to their score at the top of the eighth inning, but Ramapo kept their foot on the petal by adding three runs during the bottom of the inning. Camilleri’s single lead to the last run of the game from Carvillano, effectively bringing the score to 13-3.
Sophomore pitcher Thomas Feehan managed to strike out three players in six innings, helping eliminate any rhythm that the Devils attempted to create. This impressive performance also marked his first win of the year on the mound.
Pitchers Matt Stewart, junior Sean Keleman and freshman Dan Russo pitched one inning each for the Roadrunners. Stewart, a sophomore, struck out one, walked one and did not let up a hit. Keleman followed in the eighth inning with one strike out, no walks and four hits. Freshman Dan Russo was Ramapo’s final pitcher placed in the game. He faced the smallest group of batters due to the strength of Ramapo’s defense. This eventually led to a double-play that ultimately ended the game.
Overall, Camilleri appeared to be the standout player of this game as he finished perfect at the plate, going 4-4 with two RBI and scoring one run. Lisa followed closely, finishing 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. It’s also hard to forget the statistical performance of Carovillano after he went 2-5 with three RBIs and another two runs.
The Roadrunners will return to the diamond again on Thursday, April 25, at 3:30 p.m. for a NJAC game against Rutgers-Newark at Jeff Maund Memorial Field. It does not stop there, however, as this weekend is full of more NJAC games. They will also be opposing Rutgers-Newark again for a home game this Friday, and there will be a doubleheader this weekend against Rutgers-Camden at the Rowan University Baseball Stadium.
ddeange1@ramapo.edu
