TCNJ Baseball and Softball Enter NJAC Tournament as No. 1 Seeds

The baseball and softball tournaments for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) begin Tuesday. First round games are at campus sites of the higher seeded teams. Friday’s second round then moves to host sites; Kean will host the remainder of the baseball tournament while Montclair State hosts the softball bracket.

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) enters both tournaments as the No. 1 seed after fantastic, nationally recognized regular seasons.

The baseball team finished the regular season with a 27-7 record, 14-4 in conference play. The Lions enter the tournament ranked ninth nationally in both the D3Baseball.com and ABCA coaches poll. They are hot at the right time, having won seven of their last eight games and 13 of their last 15.

They are joined in the tournament by Ramapo, Rutgers-Camden, fellow nationally-ranked Rowan, Kean, and William Paterson. TCNJ hosts No. 6 seed William Paterson in Tuesday’s tournament opener.

Danny Borup leads the Lions this season with a .357 average. While the Lions are not a power-hitting club, they get the job done with balance throughout the roster. TCNJ was second in the NJAC this season in batting average (.317) and led the conference with a 2.17 ERA. Those numbers improve to .324 and  1.83 in conference play.

On the softball side, the Lions went 28-6 overall, 16-2 in NJAC competition. Their only two conference losses came on the road, at Rowan and at Kean.

The Lions have a pitching duo that has been dominant this season. Senior Sam Platt (9-4, 2.18) and freshman Alanna Namit (14-0, 1.07) lead the way and are a threat to toss a shutout any time they step in the circle.

Freshman infielder Lauren Conroy leads the team with a .444 average, followed closely by sophomore Megan Mayernik (.421) and juniors Jess McGuire (.420) and Gaby Bennett (.416). McGuire leads the team with four home runs.

The Lions are ranked No. 25 in the NFCA Coaches Poll. TCNJ is joined in the NJAC Tournament by fellow nationally-ranked Rowan, Ramapo, Kean, Stockton, and William Paterson. The Lions will host William Paterson in the tournaments opening round on Tuesday.

Baseball Opening Round Matchups

No. 5 Kean at No. 2 Ramapo

No. 4 Rowan at No. 3 Rutgers-Camden

No. 6 William Paterson at No. 1 TCNJ

Softball Opening Round Matchups

No. 5 Stockton at No. 2 Rowan

No. 4 Kean at No. 3 Ramapo

No. 6 William Paterson at No. 1 TCNJ

The tournaments are double-elimination.