On Saturday afternoon, the Montclair State University Red Hawks (18-7) split a doubleheader with the Rowan University Owls (16-5) at Yogi Berra Stadium.
Game 1
In the first matchup, Red Hawks freshman Ethan Gonzalez (1-1) took on the Owls Eli Atiya (5-0).
After a sluggish four innings resulting in zero runs from both teams, the Owls started hit pay dirt in the fifth. Junior Chris Curcio teed off with a single, followed by a deep ground ball by sophomore Pat Defeciani to start putting runs on the board. Sophomore Anthony Schooley hit a single of his own and then took advantage of the wild pitch problem by Montclair and advanced a base. After all of this, Rowan was able to jump out to a comfortable 4-0 lead.
While Montclair State did nothing to respond in the bottom half of the inning, Rowan continued to run away with the game, adding more runs. With Curcio and senior Trip McCaffery on base, Pat Defeciani pounded a double to deep right-center field, bringing home both runners. He eventually scored by sophomore Ryan Murphy on a sacrifice groundout. Murphy would add a solo homer in the final inning to cap off a dominant game one victory for the Owls by a score of 8-0.
Game 2
The second pitching matchup featured Red Hawks senior Brian Reiss (1-1) against Owls junior Michael Miles (1-1), a 2019 draft selection by the Cincinnati Reds.
In the first inning, the Owls made it seem like they would apply the same type of pressure and run away with this game just like they did in the first leg. Ryan Murphy and Pat Defeciani quickly made their way on base, and then Anthony Schooley picked right back up where he left off, hitting a booming ball to left-center field that brought both runners home. Senior Ryan Mostrangelli replicated Schooley's double on the following at-bat and brought him home to give Rowan an early 3-0 lead. At a time when Montclair State could have packed up and thrown in the towel, they responded. Their key players like seniors Peter Cosentino and Joe Norton got base hits to set up sophomore Jorden Jurkiewicz with a high flying sacrifice fly, beginning to put points on the board for the Red Hawks after a quiet nine innings.
While Miles was a tall task for Montclair to handle, they were able to run up the pitch count on him early, which fatigued his arm and allowed them to load the bases and respond with runs slowly. Sophomore Michael Murphy and junior Miles Feaster added singles of their own in the first inning and helped load the bases and bat in runs to tie the game at 3-3. With the bases loaded, Ryan McKenna drew a walk to give Montclair their first lead all day after an action-packed first inning.
Joe Norton added a run in the third before Rowan could respond lightly in the sixth. After Ryan Murphy got on base, Ryan Mostrangelli hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home. This would only warrant one run as the Owls still trailed 5-4. In the bottom of the sixth, Jorden Jurkiewicz hit a single down the third base line, and then a throwing error ensued, allowing him to jump the gun to second base. Miles Feaster came back again with another base hit to bring Jurkiewicz home and extend that lead back to two runs. Although Chris Curcio and Trip McCaffery were able to log base hits, the Owls could only muster up one run the following inning as Montclair State was able to squeak by in the second game, 6-5.
What's Next for Both Teams
Due to a rain delay earlier in the week, Montclair will hit the sheets and be back in uniform in roughly 14 hours at Yogi Berra Stadium. They have a doubleheader scheduled against Ramapo College (9-10-1). The same will go for Rowan as they get to head home this time and take on NJCU (8-14) in a doubleheader.
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