Jersey City, NJ:  The Ramapo College baseball team opened the 2019 season with an 8-0 win over St. Joseph's College – Brooklyn tonight at Caven Field. With the non-conference victory, the Roadrunners stand at 1-0 while the Bears move to 1-1-1 overall.
 
Junior starting pitcher CJ Growney (1-0) fired a four-hit shutout in six complete innings of work while he collected six strikeouts in his first win of the season. Senior Kyle Haag worked the final inning for Ramapo as he struck out all three batters he faced.
 
Ramapo scored one run in the first, fourth and fifth innings before they tacked on five runs in the bottom of the sixth for the 8-0 lead. In the first inning, Ramapo got on the board when junior Jake Gursaly drove home senior Nick Cuba with an infield fielder's choice 1-0. Cuba led off the inning with a walk. The Roadrunners added their second run in the fourth inning when senior Liam Duffy laced a double down the left field line plating junior Kyle Buser who walked earlier in the inning 2-0. Senior Nick Camilleri came up big in the bottom of the fifth when he recorded a pinch-hit double down the left field line which allowed senior Vincenzo Sita to come around and score for the 3-0 lead.
 
With one out in the sixth, junior Justin Grippo laid down a bunt single before Duffy and Cuba hit back-to-back singles to left field to load the bases. Following a pitching change from the Bears, William DeLuca recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning before Ramapo scored five more runs. Back-to-back walks to Sita and rookie Kyle Lisa would plate Grippo and Duffy, 5-0. Gursaly then broke the game open with a bases clearing single to deep center field as Lisa, Sita and Cuba all scored to push the score 8-0. Haag entered the game on the mound for Ramapo in the top of the seventh and recorded three straight strikeouts.
 
Ramapo recorded eight hits in the game as Cuba, Camilleri, Gursaly, and Grippo each poste one hit while Duffy led the way with a 2-3 day at the plate with one run scored and one RBI. Gursaly recorded a team high four RBI in the game.
 
The Roadrunners and Bears were schedule to play two seven-inning games in a non-conference double header. In the second inning of game two, the game was called due to darkness.

Ramapo returns to action on Saturday, March 16th at the RussMatt Invitational in Kissimmee, FL when they take on #13 Concordia University – Chicago. The game will take place at Osceola Heritage Park Field #5 at 1:15pm.