By Jhett Laurie
Staff Writer
The Lions’ baseball team clinched the third seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference on Sunday, April 27, after a showdown with Montclair State. The team kicked off the week on the road, taking on Ramapo College, seeking a huge divisional win in an attempt to secure a home playoff game.
Ramapo put two runs on the board in the second inning on a fielding error. The Lions fought back in the fourth inning, scoring two runs on a groundout and a wild pitch.
The bats fell silent after this inning, putting up four hits across the final five innings. The College fell to Ramapo 8-2, pushing their battle for the conference further out of reach.
Ramapo then traveled to Ewing to take on the College at home, where they desperately needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
With senior Jackson Malouf on the mound, the Lions sought to shut down Ramapo’s offense. Malouf delivered, pitching an outstanding complete-game shutout. He relied heavily on his defense, as he only struck out four while forcing 14 groundouts.
The Lions fought desperately to get a run on the board to support their pitcher, failing to capitalize on any scoring chances. The gridlock was finally broken in the bottom of the eighth, as junior Jack O’Donnell and fifth-year Gianni Marano each got on base.
Fifth-year Ryan Goodall would reach on an error, loading the bases for senior Justin Marcario. Marcario would come through with a single to center field, scoring O’Donnell and Marano to give the Lions the lead.
Malouf would close out the game, retiring three straight batters. The showdown for third place in the NJAC was set.
The series, originally set for Saturday, April 26, was rescheduled to Sunday due to weather concerns.
Before the game, the Lions took the time to honor their 16 seniors and graduate students. Each player was named and honored in a memorable moment for the team.
The first game kicked off at 11:30 a.m., and the Lions wasted no time, taking the lead in the first. Senior Mike LaGravenis opened up with a double, followed by O’Donnell reaching when getting hit by a pitch. Goodall would rope a double down the right field line, bringing both baserunners home. Marcario would bring Goodall home with a single. Senior Andrew Fernandez hit the third double of the inning, bringing two runs in.
The Lions offense would not let up, putting up three runs on a home run from Fernandez. O’Donnell opened the bottom of the fifth with a home run. The team would score an additional three runs on three more hits, and another four runs on four more hits in the sixth.
O’Donnell would record his second home run of the day, scoring LaGravenis who doubled to start the inning. Goodall would hit his second double, bringing in an RBI. The Lions held a comfortable 17-5 lead.
Montclair would attempt to rally in the final three innings. However, the 12-run deficit would be too much to overcome, and the Lions would secure their first win of the series, winning 17-14.
The second game would prove to be more of a test for the Lions, as both teams' offenses would stay red-hot.
Montclair State pulled ahead in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of a sloppy inning from the Lions. Six of the nine runs scored by Montclair State in these two innings would be unearned. Not backing down, the College began grinding away at the Red Hawks' lead.
A series of great at-bats in the third inning would allow the Lions to bring across two runs. With the bases loaded and only one out, the team flopped, recording two straight outs and stranding three on base.
The College would find themselves in a similar situation in the fifth: bases loaded and one out. There would be yet another undesirable outcome, as the team would ground into a double play, killing hopes of a rally.
Montclair State would attempt to pad their lead, bringing a run across in the sixth inning. An outstanding relay from right field would catch an additional baserunner at the plate to end the inning.
The Lions would pull off a miraculous rally in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game with a monstrous seven-run inning. Fernandez would open the inning with his second home run of the series. In a massive effort, capped off with Fernandez’s second hit of the inning, a double to score two, the Lions brought home six runs with two outs.
Montclair State would pull ahead again in the top of the eighth, scoring one run to make the score 11-10. Junior Mike Doran would give the Lions their first lead of the game in the bottom of the inning, clearing the bases with a double. Fernandez would strike again, bringing home his fourth RBI of the game.
The Red Hawks would take the lead again in the top of the ninth, with a grand slam giving them a one-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
Desperately needing a run to keep the game alive, Marano would hit a solo home run to tie the game. Goodall would reach second with no outs, but the Lions were unable to bring him home to secure the win.
In an anti-climactic swing, the game was called in the ninth due to darkness. This would be the first tie for the Lions since 2003. Fernandez made the most of his Senior Day, tallying nine RBIs and seven hits, four of which were extra-base hits. Marano and LaGravenis each had five hits within the series as well.
The series was an absolute offensive assault, with the teams combining for 61 runs and 76 hits. The Lions secured their first home playoff game since 2018 and clinched the third seed in the NJAC Tournament.
