Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College baseball team fell to rival Kean University today at Jeff Maund Field 7-6 in NJAC conference action. The Cougars improve to 20-12 overall, 9-3 in the NJAC while the Roadrunners drop to 25-6 overall, 7-5 in the NJAC.
Ramapo held a 6-0 lead after three innings of play before Kean got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Back-to-back doubles in the first inning from
Joe Venturino and
Connor Walsh plated the first run of the game before
Brandon Martinez drove home Walsh with a hard hit ball down the right field line. In the second inning
Bobby Shannon drove home
Scott Paulus with a single to center field to take a 3-0 lead. Paulus reached on an infield single to lead off the inning. The bases were full of Roadrunners in the third inning when Paulus reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop allowing
Matt Chemis to score. The throw trying to turn the double play got away allowing a second run to score.
Austin Unglaub then drove home Paulus to take a 6-0 lead.
Kean came back with four runs in the fourth inning and single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game 6-6. In the ninth, the Cougars pushed across the game-winning run with a bases loaded bunt single from Tyler Heisch. The Roadrunners got the first two outs of the ninth before Andy Lopez and Matt Krupa recorded back-to-back hits to put runner's on the corners. Following a pitching change, Frank Urso worked a full count walk before Heisch laid down a bunt single allowing Lopez to cross home plate with the game winning run 7-6.
Ramapo did not go quietly in the ninth as
Ryan Rinsky led off with a walk before being lifted for pinch runner
Evan Ochlan. Ochlan moved to second on a sac bunt before Kean relief pitcher Ian Fitzgerald entered the game and recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning. The Cougars intentionally walked Venturino before Fitzgerald would earn his fourth save of the season with a strikeout to end the game.
Chris Amato (4-2) struck out two, walked three and gave up 11 hits earning the win on the mound for Kean while Fitzgerald earned the save.
Jerry D'Andrea (1-2) took the loss in the final inning. He struck out one, walked one and surrendered one hit.
The Roadrunners return to action when they travel to NJAC rival the #15 College of New Jersey for a doubleheader beginning at 11:30am.