Ladies and gentlemen, baseball is back at Montclair State University as the Montclair State Red Hawks baseball team took the field for the first time at home this season. The Red Hawks came into their home opener on a scorching start to the season, going 10-4 in their first 14 games. That was the second-best overall record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference at the time and only a half a game behind Kean University for the best overall record.
Montclair State would face the Eastern University Eagles in their first game this season at their home ballpark, Yogi Berra Stadium. The Red Hawks came out with an 11-10 victory over the Eagles in a game that featured ups and downs.
"311 days," said Montclair State head coach Dave Lorber on how long it's been since they last played at Yogi Berra Stadium. "311 days till we step foot back out here. Circumstances out of our control. Never take it for granted. Never take it for granted. This is our home. This is our field, and we're excited to be here."
Montclair State jumped out in front early, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning to give themselves a 6-1 lead. Four of those runs came from back-to-back two-run singles from Michael Murphy and Jason Moorer. However, things went downhill for Montclair State quickly in the top of the fifth. Eastern University scored eight total runs in the fifth inning alone as Brad Clemens drove in three of those with a double. The Red Hawks went into the bottom of the fifth down 10-6.
This would be the point when Montclair State would start bouncing back. The Red Hawks added two runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a pair of RBI groundouts from Ryan McKenna and Anthony Guarino. However, the big blow came off the bat of Jorden Jurkiewicz in the bottom of the sixth, when he crushed one to left field for a two-run home run, his sixth bomb of the year, to tie the game at 10-10.
Jordan wouldn't stop there. In the bottom of the eighth, he would come to the plate with a runner on third and a chance to put the Red Hawks ahead. He would do just that, hitting an infield single to score Peter Cosentino from third, putting the Red Hawks up 11-10, which was the final. Jorden Jurkiewicz finished the game going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, improving his season stat line to a .468 AVG, .509 OBP, .979 SLG for an OPS of 1.488 to go along with six home runs and 23 RBIs.
"It's definitely exciting," said Jurkiewicz. "It's one to remember. First time on Yogi since my visit. I just expect to do something similar every time I play and have some fun."
On-Deck For Montclair State
The Montclair State Red Hawks currently stand with an 11-4 overall record on the season, now tied for second with Kean University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. They'll head on the road to take on Swarthmore College Saturday, March 19 at noon before returning home to Yogi Berra Stadium on Sunday, March 20 for a doubleheader against Manhattanville College, with the first game starting at noon.
