East Brunswick grad Dylan Lugo leads off the bottom of the first for Middlesex College against Union College in Edison, NJ, on May 3, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
As it turns out, the Middlesex Colts baseball team got all the runs it needed in the first inning.
On “Sophomore Day,” Middlesex sent 14 batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring nine runs – eight of which were unearned – en route to a 21-6 win over Union College to open their three-game regular season-ending series Friday afternoon in Edison.
In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio – presented by Edison Pizza & Restaurant – Middlesex pounded out 17 hits and was the beneficiary of a dozen walks issued by seven different Union pitchers in a seven-inning ten-run rule shortened affair.
Angel Deaza – the Edison Pizza & Restaurant Player of the Game – hit a solo home run to get the scoring started with one out in the first. He walked later in the inning, scoring twice, and was also hit by a pitch in the second inning, in his third at bat. He finished the day 1-for-2.
After the home run, Mike Wansaw flied to center, and Middlesex started to do its damage. Rob Gonzalez walked, Conor Drury singled, and Nate Friedman reached on an error, which should have been the third out. Sal Della Fave drove in two with a double to make it 3-0, and Matt Troche walked to load the bases. Hunter Almeida walked in a run to make it 4-0. Dylan Lugo scored two with a double to make it 6-0, and Wansaw and Gonzalez each drove in runs with singles, while Almeida scored on a wild pitch, and the Colts had a 9-0 lead after one.
Middlesex chased Owls starter Chris Lamond after just 2/3 of an inning.
Union tried to make it a game, scoring three runs in the third, on back-to-back RBI doubles by Xavier Nieves and Jeremy Batista, while Greg Ayube hit a sac fly to right to make it 9-3.
But the Colts answered by scoring six more runs in the bottom of the inning, sending 11 hitters to the plate in the frame. Lugo had a single to knock in his third run of the game, and a two-RBI single by Friedman were among the highlights.
Middlesex also added two in the third to make it 17-3 before Union got a three-run home run from Monroe grad Steve Pascucci to make it 17-6, but Middlesex added a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Troche, two more in the fifth and one more in the sixth.
Starter Josh Horowitz went four innings, allowing seven hits and six earned runs on a day where it was hard to find a rhythm, sitting in the dugout for after the first two innings while 25 total Colt batters made their way to the plate. He walked three and struck out seven to get the win, and improve to 2-2.
Ryan Rzepinski pitched two shutout innings in relief, while Michael Calabrese and Pablo Baloco combined to close out the seventh and end the ballgame, holding Union scoreless over the final three innings.
It was the fifth time this season Middlesex scored 20 or more runs in a game. They scored 21 against Monroe College (Bronx) on March 16th. Their season high came on April 18th, in a 27-0 win at Delaware County Community College that went six innings as part of a doubleheader.
The win could help Middlesex grab a home game in the Region XIX playoffs, with matchups to be announced next Wednesday. The Colts are now 31-20, reaching the 30-win mark in each of the last three seasons under veteran skipper and Spotswood alum CJ Mooney.
Click below for postgame reaction from Friday’s DH Angel Deaza and head coach CJ Mooney:
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