Baseball

NEWS AND NOTES | HONORS AND AWARDS

Kevin Bond	Mike Ercolano	Matt Moreno

MONTCLAIR STATE BLASTS ITS WAY PAST NEW JERSEY CITY, 14-5

Box Score

Jersey City, NJ (4/8/10) – Sophomore catcher Kevin Bond (Cedar Grove, NJ / Cedar Grove) launched a pair of home runs and finished with six RBI while junior Mike Ercolano (Vernon, NJ / Vernon) and freshman Matt Moreno (Park Ridge, NJ / Park Ridge) also belted home runs as Montclair State blasted its way to a 14-5 victory over New Jersey City University at the Gerrity Complex on Thursday afternoon.

Junior shortstop Jay Bionde (Pompton Plains, NJ / Pequannock) was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run batted in as the Red Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 10-7 overall while moving to 3-2 in the NJAC with the win.

Leftfielder Ken Witte was 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI for NJCU, which fell to 9-12 overall, 0-5 in the NJAC.

The victory also gave MSU a season sweep of the Gothic Knights as Montclair registered a 9-5 win at Yogi Berra Stadium on April 1.

Bond belted home runs No. 3 and No. 4 on the season as the Red Hawks pounded out 15 hits, including nine extra base hits in the contest. Senior lefthander John Masklee (Totowa, NJ / Seton Hall Prep) was the benefactor of the run support as he improved to 2-2 on the year. Masklee went the first seven innings allowing four runs (two earned) and 10 hits, striking out seven and walking two. Thomas Vermazen took the loss falling to 0-4.

Montclair jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Mickey McGraw (Morristown, NJ / Morristown) walked and Michael Boggi (Towaco, NJ / Montville) singled with one out. After an infield fly out, McGraw took third on a wild pitch, however he would trot home along with Boggi as Bond connected for the first of his two round-trippers, a three-run shot over the left field fence. Two pitches later Moreno belted his first collegiate home run as the Red Hawks led by four.

New Jersey City would come right back tying the game in the bottom of the inning as an error by MSU helped aid the inning. Michael Fiorentino delivered a run with a ground out and a fielding error brought in another as the Gothic Knights closed the gap to 4-2. Alex Mena’s ground out made the score 4-3 before Francisco Ramirez singled to center scoring Witte as the game was knotted at 4-4.

MSU added another four runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good. Bionde doubled down the left field line to score one run and Boggi lofted a sacrifice fly for another as the Red Hawks led 6-4. Scott Evangelist (Northfield, NJ / Holy Spirit) added an RBI single for the third run before Bond capped off the inning with a run-scoring single as Montclair State led 8-4.

Bond collected his second home run in the sixth, a two-run shot to left field and the MSU lead grew to 11-4 in the seventh as McGraw roped an RBI single.

Ercolano would pinch hit for Bond in the seventh and created more damage from the No. 4 spot in the lineup as he put a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for a solo shot. Scott Glozzy (Hackettstown, NJ / Warren Hills) added the final scoring in the ninth with a two-run single.

Bond was 3-for-4 while Bionde and Boggi each had two hits.

The Red Hawks are now off until Saturday, April 10 as MSU travels to Campbell’s Field in Camden, NJ  to face Rutgers-Camden in the NJAC doubleheader scheduled for 11:30 am.