TCNJ offense roars as Fuhrman dominates Wentworth
Winter Haven, Fla…. The College of New Jersey baseball team exploded for six runs in the seventh inning and sophomore Jim Fuhrman (Hamilton, NJ/Princeton Day School) tossed seven-plus innings of two-hit ball to upend Wentworth Institute of Technology 12-2 on Monday.
Fuhrman (1-0) earned his first victory of the season, going 7 1/3 innings while striking out six to even the Lions’ season record at 2-2. The right-hander was in complete command of the game before handing the ball over to sophomore Brian O’Connell (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge), who struck out both batters he faced. The contest was called due to the 10-run rule in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Junior Nick Cifelli (Ewing, NJ/Ewing), sophomore Paul Searles (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel), and freshman Jacob Dewitt (Florence, NJ/Florence) each drove in two runs on offense. Searles knocked in two with a bases-loaded double in the seventh, while Dewitt had a pair of run-scoring singles in the triumph.
The Leopards (3-3) pushed a run across in the third to take a 1-0 lead but TCNJ responded immediately. Freshman Anthony Cocuzza (Absecon, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) lined a base hit to right field to open the third inning for the Lions. It was his first collegiate hit. Sophomore Joe Dispoto (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) followed with a perfectly placed bunt down the first-base line and beat the throw to put runners at first and second.
Junior Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-North) put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners and a Cifelli ground ball plated Cocuzza to knot the game at 1-1.
The Lions took the lead in the fourth and never looked back. Junior Michael Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) singled with one out and stole second. Dewitt roped a shot to right-center field to score Murphy. TCNJ tacked on two runs in the fifth as Fuhrman continued to cruise along, surrendering just one hit after the third inning.
Entering the seventh with a 4-1 lead, the Lions erupted. Senior Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) was hit by a pitch and classmate Jimmy Ruzich (Verona, NJ/Montclair Kimberly Academy) singled. Murphy put down a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled by the Cougar pitcher, leaving the bases loaded. Dewitt singled to drive in his second run of the game before Searles’ double down the line plated Ruzich and Murphy. Two more runs came across on an error and the Lions held a 10-2 advantage.
TCNJ registered two more runs in the eighth. A pair of rookies collected their first career hits. Freshman Joshua Limon (Easthampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) doubled to right-center field in his first collegiate at bat and freshman Michael Murray (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) singled up the middle to drive in a run.
Kelly and Dispoto each finished with two hits. Ruzich, Murphy, and Cocuzza all scored twice.
The Lions take on Worchester Polytechnic Institute tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 a.m. before having a day off on Wednesday.
Orlando, FL… The College of New Jersey softball team split earned a pair of wins on Monday as the Lions continued its spring trip in Florida. TCNJ opened with a 3-0 shutout over Moravian College and then outlasted Simmons College in nine innings.
TCNJ (3-1) has an off day on Tuesday, before returning to the field on Wednesday facing Saint Mary’s (MN) University and Neumann University.
TCNJ 3, Moravian College 0
Senior pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) tossed fired her second straight shutout as she moved her individual record to 2-0 and has not allowed a run in 14 innings this season. She allowed just the two hits and recorded five strike outs.
The Lions opened the scoring in the second inning as Nicole Brodbeck (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) singled and scored on a ground out with Kristen Lake (Readington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) getting the run batted in.
In the fourth, Brodbeck again found her way around the bases. She led off the inning with a single and scored on a Moravian error making it a 2-0 game.
Brodbeck rounded out the scoring in the sixth as she reached on an error and later scored on a single by Lake.
TCNJ 7, Simmons College 4 (9 innings)
The Lions battled back from different deficits with the third one being erased in the sixth inning as junior
Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) blasted a two-run homer scoring Brodbeck. That tied the game at 3-3 and set up extra innings.
In the eighth, the teams used the international tiebreaker starting with a runner on second base and Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) started there for the Lions and came around to score on a Simmons error.
The Sharks got that run back in the bottom of the inning sending the game into the ninth.
In the top of the ninth, Michelle Kent (Sparta, NJ/Pope John) started the inning at second for TCNJ and after being sacrificed to third, scored on a passed ball. The Lions added two more runs as Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) scored on a fielder’s choice and Hommen plated Crystal Lee (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) with a suicide bunt making it a 7-4 TCNJ lead.
Sophomore pitcher Alex Carisone (Branchburg, NJ/Rutgers Prep) closed out her complete-game effort in the bottom of the inning preventing Simmons from scoring as she struck out the game’s final batter with the bases loaded.
The win was Carisone’s first on the young season as she finished with a career-high 14 strikeouts.
At the plate, Lake and Lee each had two hits for the Lions, while Huttner and Ashley Sogluizzo (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) each drove in a pair.
Orlando, FL…After putting together an undefeated fall season, The College of New Jersey women’s tennis team carried its winning ways over into the spring as the Lions posted a pair of wins on Monday in Florida.
The Lions started the day with an 8-1 win over Haverford College and then won by that same score against NCAA Division II Minnesota State University. Those wins put TCNJ at 8-0 overall.
In the win over Haverford, the top two singles matches were marathons as Karisse Bendijo (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) outlasted Alex Ferrara by the scores of 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the first position. Senior Felice Trinh (Linden, NJ/Linden) was equally as impressive in the second spot as she rallied for a 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 victory.
The Lions ended up sweeping all six points in singles play from the Fords.
In the win over Minnesota State, TCNJ cleaned up all three points in doubles as Bendijo and Allison Tierney (Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston) won in the first spot followed by Paige Aiello (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and Lauren Balsamo (Wall Twp., NJ/Wall). Completing the sweep in doubles was tandem of Trinh and Emily Petersack (Mercerville, NJ/Notre Dame) in the third position.
Balsamo finished the day with a 4-0 record, while freshman Deborah Wu (Westfield, NJ/Westfield), Aiello, and Tierney each went 3-0.
TCNJ is idle until Friday, March 16 when they host Goldey-Beacom College.
The College of New Jersey 8, Haverford College 1
Singles competition
1. Karisse Bendijo (TCNJ) def. Alex Ferrara (HAVWTN) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
2. Felice Trinh (TCNJ) def. Caitlin Gallagher (HAVWTN) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
3. Allison Tierney (TCNJ) def. Kate Donches (HAVWTN) 6-2, 6-3
4. Paige Aiello (TCNJ) def. Celia Tong (HAVWTN) 6-3, 6-1
5. Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) def. Rachel Torg (HAVWTN) 6-1, 6-0
6. Deborah Wu (TCNJ) def. Abbey Flynn (HAVWTN) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Alex Ferrara/Caitlin Gallagher (HAVWTN) def. Emily Petersack/Allison Tierney (TCNJ) 8-6
2. Paige Aiello/Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) def. Celia Tong/Rachel Torg (HAVWTN) 8-1
3. Alex Bologno/Deborah Wu (TCNJ) def. Kate Donches/Abbey Flynn (HAVWTN) 8-6
The College of New Jersey 8, Minnesota State 1
Singles competition
1. Allison Tierney (TCNJ) def. Gavin, Kathryn (MSU) 8-6
2. Dohmen, Brandi (MSU) def. Paige Aiello (TCNJ) 8-4
3. Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) def. Bosch, Joey (MSU) 8-4
4. Deborah Wu (TCNJ) def. Bakke, Shealyn (MSU) 8-4
5. Emily Petersack (TCNJ) def. May, Laura (MSU) 8-1
6. Sarah Lippincott (TCNJ) def. Robb, Hailey (MSU) 8-1
Doubles competition
1. Karisse Bendijo/Allison Tierney (TCNJ) def. Gavin, Kathryn/Bakke, Shealyn (MSU) 8-3
2. Felice Trinh/Emily Petersack (TCNJ) def. Bosch, Joey/Dohmen, Brandi (MSU) 8-3
3. Paige Aiello/Lauren Balsamo (TCNJ) def. Robb, Hailey/May, Laura (MSU) 8-3
This post was imported from a legacy archive. Please excuse any formatting inconsistencies.
![\"Enhanced](\"http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=5a94b3d3-7d63-470e-b2be-0b17ceeaeb78\")