Union, NJ (5/2/09) – Senior righthander Michael Streaman (Westfield, NJ / Westfield) shut down The College of New Jersey for the first nine innings, however the Lions exploded for 10 runs in the top of the 10th inning and eliminted Montclair State from the NJAC Baseball Tournament Championship with a 10-1 victory at Kean University's Jim Hynes Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The loss eliminated MSU (25-15) from the tournament as the Red Hawks must now pin their NCAA Regional Tournament hopes on an at-large berth, which will not be announced until Sunday-Monday, May 10-11. The Red Hawks, who were third in the latest regional rankings, will have four more games to bolster their resume beginning on Wednesday, May 6 with a 3:00 pm at Salisbury University.

Montclair then closes out its season with a three-day homestand on May 8 with a 7:00 pm contest versus Johns Hopkins. MSU then plays Ithaca in single contests on May 9-10.

Freshman Andrew Priece (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) belted a three-run home run to left field to break a scoreless tie in the top of the 10th inning igniting TCNJ to the victory.

That 10-inning win kept the Lions (23-16-1) as the only unbeaten team remaining in the tournament as they head into the final day.

In a pitching duel that carried over into extra innings, Priece changed that with one swing of the bat catapulting the Lions to a 3-0 with one out in the 10th. That woke TCNJ’s bats up as Anthony Palmiotto (Manchester, NJ/Manchester Twp.) then doubled and came around to score on a base hit by Adam Tussey (Brooklawn, NJ/Gloucester).

The runs continued in the big inning as Chris Esperon (Union, NJ/Union Catholic) forced in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Vince Mazzaccaro (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) upped the advantage to 7-0 plating two more runs with a single. TCNJ kept the inning alive on a two-run single by pinch-hitter Greg Fare (Milltown, NJ/St. John Vianney) and Priece drove in his fourth run of the frame on a fielder’s choice making it a 10-0 margin.

Lion starter Dan Ramos-Dominko (Hampton, NJ/North Hunterdon) picked up the win turning in a sparkling performance firing nine scoreless innings allowing just six hits over that span. He racked up eight strikeouts against only one walk.

The Red Hawks got one of the runs back in the bottom of the 10th on a Mickey McGraw (Morristown, NJ / Morristown) fielder's choice RBI making the final 10-1.