2016 NJAC Baseball Championship Central | Box Score | TCNJ Recap | Rowan Recap

UNION, NJ --- The College of New Jersey capitalized on another gritty pitching performance as they defeated Rowan University, 4-3 in the third round of the 2016 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship.
 
The second-seeded Lions (30-9) will face Ramapo College (31-9) tomorrow at noon. The Roadrunners play Montclair State University in the evening game tonight. Regardless of its outcome, TCNJ will play Ramapo tomorrow and needs to win two games to claim its first NJAC title since 2009.
 
Sophomore Joe Cirillo came through with another big start for the Lions. He raised his record to 7-2 this season, working through some turbulence early on before dominating the Prof line-up.
 
Rowan opened its day completing a suspended game against William Paterson University. The game picked up in the top of the 13^th and the Profs earned an 8-7 decision in the 15^th inning. They carried that momentum into the opening frame against the Lions, as Dillon Mendel stroked a two-run single to put Rowan ahead.
 
In the bottom of the second, TCNJ cut the deficit in half. Junior Alex Christian singled with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a ground out. Sophomore Mike Follet drove a ball through the middle to score Christian to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Mendel knocked in another run with a ground ball to short in the third, but senior Garen Turner answered with an RBI-double to left to draw within a run.
 
Turner knocked in his second run of the game with an infield single. Sophomore CJ Gearhart reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, scoring Patrick Roberts, who had singled to right. That gave TCNJ its first lead of the contest.
 
Cirillo settled in to post five consecutive scoreless innings and make that lead stick. He surrendered three runs over eight innings, walked none, and struck out three. Cirillo gave up 10 hits in the outing, but battled to protect the Lions' one-run lead in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. He didn't allow a runner past second base after the third inning.
 
Head Coach Dean Glus went to his closer in the ninth. Sophomore Matt Curry was all business in picking up his ninth save. He struck out the first batter he faced, and put the game away with a pop out and comebacker that he tossed to first to end the game. Curry has not allowed a run in his last six appearances and hasn't given up an earned run in his last eight.
 
If Ramapo defeats Montclair in tonight's game, the Lions will have to beat the Roadrunners twice. Should the Red Hawks stay alive tonight with a victory, TCNJ will need to defeat Ramapo and then Montclair to capture the title.