In baseball, there are both hot streaks and cold streaks for both players and teams. The Montclair State Red Hawks baseball team is on quite the hot streak as they have now won four straight games. The latest victory came at their home ballpark, Yogi Berra Stadium, where the Red Hawks won in dominating fashion, routing the Baruch College Bearcats 21-4.
Red Hawks Bats Rake
Montclair State plated ten runs in the first four innings alone. Both Peter Cosentino and Jorden Jurkiewicz hit solo home runs in the top of the fourth, their sixth and eighth homers of the season respectively, in the top of the fourth. The big lead Montclair State built early on allowed head coach Dave Lorber to give his starters some rest while also giving some other players playing time.
"There's fun in playing. Everyone knows that," said Coach Lorber. "You want to get an opportunity. Today was the day that allowed us to give guys a lot of opportunity. They deserve it and it was fun to watch."
The Red Hawks bats continue to perform among the best in their conference. Montclair State currently ranks first in the NJAC in runs scored with 174 and at batting average at .352. They also rank second in home runs with 19. Most of all, Jurkiewicz continues to dominate at the plate. In his last five games, Jurkiewicz is 15-for-26 with three home runs and nine RBIs. He's currently hitting .493 for a 1.503 OPS on the season.
"Everything's kind of remain the same the entire season," said Jurkiewicz. "I'm just looking to have some fun. Get my swing off. Really nothing's going through my mind. I'm just focused and having fun."
Patrick Cuccurullo Bounces Back
In his previous two starts against Trinity College and Swarthmore College, Montclair State pitcher Patrick Cuccurullo wasn't at his best, allowing seven earned runs in eight innings. He bounced back when he took the field against Baruch College, tossing five shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Coming into the game, Cuccurullo's ERA on the season was 4.24, and following the game, he had lowered it to 3.49.
"Baseball is a game of ups and downs," said Patrick Cuccurullo. "You're gonna have your ups. You're gonna have your downs. Kind of just sticking within myself, knowing what I can do. Trusting the coaching staff and the guys behind me and it went my way today."
Up Next For Montclair State
The Montclair State Red Hawks currently stand with an overall record of 15-5 on the season, currently second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference behind Kean University at 17-4. They'll remain at home to take on Desales University Tuesday, March 29, at 3 p.m. EDT. And despite their four-game winning streak, the Red Hawks know they cannot take the foot off the gas.
"You just do your work everyday the way that the game demands it," said Coach Lorber. "You don't give up at-bats when you get the opportunity. And you make the guy behind you's at-bat easier for them."
