RED HAWKS SHUT DOWN YORK (PA), 6-1

Little Falls, NJ (4/30/08) – In its final game the day before opening the NJAC Tournament, the Montclair State baseball team got a solid team pitching performance as five Red Hawk hurlers allowed only five hits as MSU knocked off York College (PA), 6-1 at Yogi Berra Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore second baseman Andrew Himmelfarb (Nyack, NY / Nyack) had a pair of runs batted in as Montclair improved to 23-14 with the win. The Red Hawks will face local rival William Paterson on Thursday, May 1 in the opening round of the NJAC Tournament at 3:30 pm.

Mike Connelly (Selden, HNY / Newfield) and Steve Pokopec (York, PA / Northeastern) each went 1-for-3 for the Spartans, who fell to 12-27 with the loss.

MSU got all of the scoring it would need with a pair runs in the first inning. Rob Clark (Livingston, NJ / Seton Hall Prep) singled with one out and Rob Bowness (Sparta, NJ / Seton Hall Prep) added a two-out single to keep the inning going and a wild pitch allowed Clark to score with the first run. Freshman catcher Mike Ercolano (Vernon, NJ / Vernon) followed with an RBI double as Montclair grabbed a 2-0 lead.

The Red Hawks would add a run in the fifth as Himmelfarb walked with one out and stole second before moving to third on a passed ball. Clark then lofted a sacrifice fly. MSU would break the game open the following inning scoring three times. Montclair loaded the bases on two walks and a single before Kevin Cuozzi (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy) was hit by a pitch to force home the fourth run. Himmelfarb singled to center scoring two more a Montclair extended its lead to 6-0.

 Senior righthander Tim Stringer (Annandale, NJ / North Hunterdon) earned the win as he went the first five innings allowing three hits while striking out three and walking three. Stringer improved to 4-5. Jake Hughes (Schwenksville, PA/Souderton) suffered the loss to gall to 3-3.  

Junior third baseman Stephen Piscitello (Hauppague, NY / Hauppague) had two hits for Montclair State.