LANCASTER, PA -- The College of New Jersey used a run in the top of the seventh and two in the top of the eighth inning to defeat Franklin & Marshall College 5-2 in non-conference baseball action.
The Lions (16-11, 4-7 NJAC) took the lead in the third inning as TCNJ second basemen Chris Schoonhoven led the inning off with a double. Schoonhoven advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bryan Flynn and came across the plate courtesy a sacrifice fly by Jason Gumnitz to take a 1-0 lead.
F&M answered in the bottom of the inning as Eric Milavsky (So., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) singled and advanced to second on a Rob Georgiou (Sr., Tappan, NY/Bergen Catholic) single. After a two out walk to Scott Haft (Jr., Jupiter, FL/Jupiter), Milavsky scored on a single by the middle by Dan Weber (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) to knot the score at 1-1.
TCNJ came back in the fifth to make it 2-1 as Blake Bullis led the inning off with a double to left field then moved ninety feet closer on a sacrifice bunt by Schoonhoven before Gumnitz doubled to give the Lions a 2-1 advantage.
New Jersey tacked on another run in the seventh as Schoonhoven scored on a RBI triple by Flynn for a 3-1 lead.
Franklin & Marshall cut into the lead in the bottom of the seventh as Chris Smith (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Robinson) smoked a two out double down the third base line and scored on a double by Haft to cut the deficit to 3-2. However, the Lions added two runs in the eighth to take the 5-2 victory.
On the mound, starting pitcher Jeremy Knox (So., Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) took the loss as he pitched six and two thirds innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out two with a walk. Vincent Petrillo earned the win for TCNJ allowing two runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts over six and two thirds innings. William Opel earned a save going two and one third innings with two hits and two walks allowed while striking out two.
At the plate, Georgiou, Smith and Milavsky led the team with two hits, while Haft and Weber drove in runs.
Franklin & Marshall (20-14, 11-4 CC) will return to the diamond on Wednesday April 21 when they travel to Capitol Athletic Conference foe York College of Pennsylvania. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.
