UNION, N.J. (5/4/19) – Mike Perone Jr. finished 2-for-4 with a homerun, two RBI's and a run scored as the second seed Kean University baseball team came up short with a 4-2 loss to the fourth seed College of New Jersey on the second day of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament.
David Cardona III went 2-for-4 with a homerun, two runs scored and an RBI for the Lions who improve to 29-9 overall. Derek Walker went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for the Cougars who fall 29-13 overall.
TCNJ scored two runs in the first and a run in the fifth to hold a 3-0 lead into the eighth. Kean finally got a run across the plate when Perone Jr. tallied just the second homerun of his career with a two-run shot down the left field line to score himself and John Carello. Kean trailed 3-2 entering the bottom half of the inning, before Cardona smashed a solo shot to left for the 4-2 advantage.
The Cougars bats went quiet in the ninth as Walker recorded a single to move Zachary Marzano to second, before both were caught in run downs that ended the game on a double play.
Tyler Hopman struck out four batters in the complete game loss.
Head Coach Neil Ioviero and the Cougars will return to action today, Saturday, May 4th, against the sixth seed Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark in an elimination game beginning at 12:00 p.m.
