Baseball Unable to Capitalize in 8-4 Setback to New Jersey City

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team threatened in the ninth but stranded nine baserunners in an 8-4 loss on the road to New Jersey City University on Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference battle.

The Basics

• Final Score: New Jersey City 8, St. Joseph's 4
• Records: New Jersey City (8-4), St. Joseph's (5-6)
• Date: March 23, 2016
• Location: Jersey City, N.J.
• Field: Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex
• SJC Starters: McGreevy (RF), DeFillippo (LF), Luebcke (3B), Condon (DH), LoPrinzi (C), Rapp (SS), Salem (C), Arroyo (2B), M. Camerada (CF), Pallatto (P)

How it Happened

• The Bears offense was held hitless the first two innings and New Jersey City struck first with a four-hit, three-run bottom of the second. Jeff Reinecke and Taylor Born each connected for RBI-doubles in the frame. The Bears did manage two baserunners in the top of the second reaching on back-to-back errors, but came away empty-handed.
• Kyle Kafer's no-hit bid ended early in the fifth following Brandon Salem and Jonathan Arroyo's consecutive singles to start the inning. The runners advanced to scoring position on a balk and Anthony Camerada's ensuing base knock brought Salem home to end the shutout as well. The Bears loaded the bases and threatened to take the lead, but was unable to inflict any more damage.
• Andrew Niech got the run right back, connecting for a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to move New Jersey City's advantage to 4-1.
• Nicholas LoPrinzi and Francis Rapp began the top of the sixth with consecutive four-pitch walks and Brandon Salem's bunt advanced them to second and third with one out. But reliever Anthony Keri retired the next two men to quiet the rally.
• NJCU tacked on one in the sixth and three more insurance runs in the seventh. St. Joseph's entered the ninth inning trailing 8-1, but did not go quietly. Michael Camerada laced a run scoring triple to start the rally and brother Anthony Camerada followed that up with a double to bring his brother home. A fielder's choice would plate one more, but the Bears would be unable to claw all the way back.

For the Bears

• Anthony Camerada led the Bears in hitting and production, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in a reserve role entering in the bottom of the third.
• Michael Camerada hit 1-for-4, the one hit being a run-scoring triple.
• Adam Schwartz (1-for-1), Brandon Salem (1-for-3), Jonathan Arroyo (1-for-3) and John Condon (1-of-4) rounded out a seven-hit day for St. Joseph's with one hit apiece.
• Making his first start of the season, Thomas Pallatto (0-1) surrendered four earned runs and fanned two in five innings on the mound.

For the Gothic Knights

• Andrew Niech slugged a game-high four hits in five at bats, finishing with one homerun and two RBI.
• Nick Ruscingo hit 3-for-4 with the lumber and drove in one.
• Taylor Born (2-for-2) and Jeff Reinecke (1-for-3) each finished with one double and one RBI.
• Kyle Kafer (2-0) earned the victory after holding the Bears scoreless for the first four innings. He allowed one earned run and three hits in five innings of work.
• Anthony Keri threw four innings in relief to earn his first save of the season,

Inside the Box Score

• New Jersey City committed four defensive miscues, but the Bears were unable to capitalize, stranding nine runners on the day, batting 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-9 with two outs.
• The Gothic Knights doubled St. Joseph's hit total, 14-7.

The Bear Facts

• Their second consecutive loss, the Bears dip below .500 at 5-6.
• NJCU extends their lead in the all-time series to a perfect 5-0 in the first meeting since 2012.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears have a day off before hosting SUNY Polytechnic Institute at Padavan-Preller Field on Friday, March 25 for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. with live stats available on SJCBears.com.