New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

WILKES-BARRE, PA (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior left fielder ANDREW RIVERA (Edison, NJ/Edison) went 3-for-3 with five RBIs including what turned out to be a critical three-run homerun in the eighth inning as New Jersey City University withstood a five-run ninth-inning rally by hosts King's College to claim its first road victory of the season, 10-6, on Tuesday afternoon at Lipo Field.
 
NJCU (9-11) snapped a four-game losing streak while sending the Monarchs (8-12) to their third loss in a row. NJCU outhit King's 14-10 and led 10-1, with three runs in the third and four more in the eighth to break open what had been a 3-1 contest after five innings.
 
Rivera's second career round-tripper, a shot to right center with two runners on, highlighted a day where 11 of NJCU's 14 hits came from a quartet of players.
 
Freshman shortstop MICHAEL MARTUCCI (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and his eighth double of the season, batting as the cleanup hitter, and sophomore designated hitter ROB ROMAN (Hoboken, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) scored twice, drove in two runs, and batted 2-for-4 with his second career double in the five spot in the lineup. Junior ORLANDO BOLANO (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) bumped his batting average up by going 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs and a double.
 
Sophomore righty RYAN MITCHELL (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) had tossed just 9.1 innings of relief this season in five relief appearances before being called upon to make his first career start and he tossed eight innings of four-hit, one-run baseball before getting into late trouble in the ninth, ahead by nine runs. He ended up winning his first game (1-0), striking out five versus two walks in 8.2 innings, against six runs and eight hits.
 
Junior righty WENDELL RODRIGUEZ (Ponce, Puerto Rico/County Prep) came on in relief as the third NJCU pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the bases loaded and junior third baseman Cody Krupa (Slatington, Pa.) at the plate representing the tying run. Rodriguez nailed down the win by striking out Krupa on four pitches to claim his second career save—both coming this season.
 
For King's, junior first baseman Chris Sweeney (Mountain Top, Pa.) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run—powered by his sixth homerun of the season, a two-run shot, in the five-run ninth. Junior left fielder Brian Mikus (Malvern, Pa.) was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs while junior designated hitter Eric Bohem (Stewartsville, NJ) went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
Junior righty Pat Matthews (Binghamton, NY) took the loss (0-4), allowing five runs and eight hits with a strikeout and walk in 5.1 innings. Freshman righty Richie Bartumioli (Elwood, NY) struck out four versus no walks in 2.2 innings of relief but surrendered five runs on five hits.
 
NJCU scored once in the top of the first when junior center fielder MICHAEL PATTERSON (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) led  off with a double and scored on an RBI single by freshman first baseman ALEX WEINSTEIN (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin). NJCU added a second inning run when Bolano singled with one out and scored on Rivera's first RBI of the game—a single through the right side.
 
King's cut the lead in half with a third inning RBI single by Bohem, scoring Mikus who reached on a one-out single  before stranding two of its 10 runners left on base in the contest. NJCU pushed the lead back to two, 3-1, as Martucci led off the fourth with a single and scored on a one-out double by Bolano.
 
The 3-1 lead held until the sixth when NJCU seemingly widened the gap with three runs as seven Gothic Knights batted. With one out, Martucci tripled to left field and scored on Roman's RBI double. Bolano reached on a fielder's choice that pushed Roman across for a 5-1 differential before he came home on a two-out single up the middle by Rivera.
 
Leading 6-1, NJCU tacked on what appeared to be meaningless insurance runs when it scored four times in the eighth as seven batters came to the plate. The runs certainly proved to have meaning.
 
Martucci led off the top of the eighth with his second extra base hit of the game—a double to left center—before Roman knocked him in with a single up the middle. Bolano singled to give NJCU a pair of runners on with no outs. After a one-out fielder's choice erased Bolano, Rivera slammed his first homerun of the season on a 1-0 pitch over the right center fence for the eighth, ninth and 10^th runs.
 
In the ninth, Krupa doubled and sophomore second baseman Anthony Re (Bloomfield, NJ) made it 10-2 with an infield single. After a strikeout by Mitchell recorded the second out, Mikus continued the rally when he doubled to left center for the third and fourth runs. Sweeney was down to his final strike before lofting a 1-2 pitch to left field for a two-run homer and a 10-6 score.
 
Sophomore lefty ZACK MARKLE (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) entered in relief with no one on base, but allowed a single to Bohem, followed by a walk and single to left by junior catcher Tim Marchetti (Hazelton, Pa.) to load the bases. But Rodriguez was handed the ball on the bump by head coach Jerry Smith and the decision paid off as Wen-Rod sealed the win with his game-ending K.
 
NJCU plays its first home New Jersey Athletic Conference game of the season on Thursday, April 5 when it hosts William Paterson University (15-5, 1-1 NJAC) at 3:30 p.m. in the first of a two-day home and home series in Jersey City, NJ.