COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College baseball team saw its five-game winning streak end with a 7-4 non-conference loss to a strong TCNJ squad on Thursday.
The Lions (11-1) – who received votes in this week's NBCA Division III poll – used a three-run sixth to break open a tight contest on sun-soaked Thomas Field. TCNJ, which came in ranked fifth in the nation with a .372 batting average, pounded out 15 hits in stretching its winning streak to eight.
TCNJ got two-out RBI singles from Ben Varone and John Rizzi in the second, and another by Alex Christian in the third to seize a 3-1 lead, countering a run-scoring groundout by Ursinus freshman Carter Usowski in the second.
Leading 4-1 in the fifth, Lions starter Brandon Zachary walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Ursinus appeared destined to squander the golden chance to make up ground after back-to-back strikeouts, but senior Chris Jablonski came through with a two-run single back up the box, trimming the margin to 4-3.
TCNJ came right back the following inning, extending the lead on an RBI single by Patrick Anderson, and tacked on two more on a fielding error to match the Bears' three-spot. Ursinus cut into the deficit again in the seventh, when pinch-hitter Greg Petorak lofted a double over the left fielder's head to score junior Kieran Geyer all the way from first, but the home side stranded men on second and third and were unable to mount another threat.
John Rizzi, Mike Follet, and Varone each had three hits and a run for TCNJ. Zachary worked around five walks to earn his second win of the season, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts. Matt Curry tossed a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.
Geyer reached base three times for the Bears, going 1-for-2 with two walks and a run, while classmate CJ Diana also drew a pair of walks.
Junior Lou Aikins (1-3) battled into the sixth, allowing six runs on ten hits. He struck out three and walked three. Fellow junior Connor Moriarty whiffed two in a pair of scoreless relief innings.
Junior Alex Campbell walked and scored in the second and showed off an impressive arm in the first. TCNJ leadoff man Rizzi, who came in sixth nationally with 15 stolen bases, reached on an infield single and immediately took off for second, but Campbell gunned down to Geyer to punch out the speedster.
The Bears head to Penn State Brandywine for a single game Friday before going to Penn State Berks for a doubleheader on Saturday.
