Little Falls, NJ (3/28/09) – Sophomore catcher/designated hitter Kevin Bond (Cedar Grove, NJ / Cedar Grove) drove in three runs in the first game and belted a two-run homer in the nightcap as Montclair State swept Rutgers-Camden in a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader at Yogi Berra Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Junior rightfielder Scott Evangelist (Northfield, NJ / Holy Spirit) had two RBI in the second contest as the Red Hawks won 5-3 and 8-3, moving to 7-8 overall this season, 2-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Sophomore rightfielder Tom Clarke (Brick, NJ / Brick Memorial) had two RBI in the opener and belted a two-run home run in the second for the Scarlet Raptors which fell to 4-13, 0-2 in the conference.

In the first game, Rutgers-Camden took a 1-0 lead in the first as John Santilli (Folsom, NJ / St. Joseph’s-Hammonton) drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a double-play grounder. The Raptors extended the lead the next inning to 2-0. Jason Reed (Millville, NJ / Millville) singled to lead off the frame and moved to second on sacrifice. He would go to third on a wild pitch and scored as Santilli singled to second base.

Montclair State would answer with three runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead.  Timothy Swift (Tenafly, NJ / Tenafly) walked with two out and moved to second on a single by Jay Bionde (Pompton Plains, NJ / Pequannock). Evangelist walked to load the bases and Bond cleared them with a double to left field giving MSU a 3-2 lead.
The Red Hawks widened the lead to 5-2 with single runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Bond walked to start the sixth and eventually scored on an error. Michael Boggi (Towaco, NJ / Montville) had RBI single in the seventh inning to account for the final MSU run.

Rutgers-Camden would draw to 5-3 in the eighth as Clarke singled home Dean Straga (Mullica Hill, NJ / Clearview Regional), who collected a base hit to lead off the inning. The Raptors had the tying runs in scoring position, but righthander Michael Streaman (Westfield, NJ / Westfield) came out of the bullpen to get a double-play ball to end the threat.

Zach Brown (Green Village, NJ / Morristown) pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down the win for the Red Hawks. It was Brown’s first save of the year.

Senior lefthander Michael Vitale (Bayonne, NJ / Bayonne) got the victory as he moved to 1-2. Vitale allowed two runs and six hits in 6.1 innings, working around six walks while fanning two. Andrew Hoffman (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill West) took the loss. Hoffman (1-2) allowed four runs and four hits in six innings, walking four and striking out four.

Santilli and Steve Meyers (Millville, NJ / Millville) had two hits apiece for Rutgers-Camden while Bond finished 2-for-3 for the Red Hawks.

Bond got Montclair off to a solid start in the nightcap as he crushed a pitch over the centerfield wall for his third home run of the season in the first inning staking MSU to a 2-0 lead. The Red Hawks added three more in the second Kevin Miller (Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield) and Evangelist each had a run batted in, and an RBI base hit Jason Lopez (West New York, NJ / Memorial) in the third gave the Red Hawks a 6-0 cushion.

Rutgers-Camden got on the board in the fifth via a Montclair error, but MSU got that run plus another in the bottom of the sixth. Miller would score all the way from first on Bionde’s base hit to right-center and Evangelist followed with a double off the right-field wall to make the score 8-1.

Clarke accounted for the final runs of the game with a two-run shot to right in the ninth inning – his first of the year.

Junior lefthander John Masklee (Totowa, NJ / Seton Hall Prep) got the win as he evened his record at 2-2.  Masklee went the first six innings allowing one unearned run and four hits, striking out six. Cory Downham (Pitman, NJ / Pitman) took the loss to fall to 2-1.

Montclair State returns to action on Tuesday, March 31 as the Red Hawks travel to Center Valley, PA to face DeSales University at 3:30 pm. Rutgers-Camden is home at Campbell’s Field on Monday, March 30 to face The College of New Jersey at 3:30 pm. That is a makeup from Thursday’s rainout.